Tata Harrier and Safari petrol review - more choice for you
The Tata Harrier and Safari have evolved quite a bit since they first launched, but a gap that always remained was that of a petrol engine option. This was a handicap, since Tata Motors could not play in a significant share of the market in this segment. But with a new turbo petrol debuting with the Sierra, it is only logical that Tata Motors has extended this engine option to its biggest SUVs.
Not much has changed visually with this update, at least on the outside. So you continue to have that strong presence to both these cars. There is a new Nitro Crimson paint option that looks fetching, as seen with the Harrier here, and you can get the Red Dark treatment too with these petrol variants.
You get 420 litres of boot space in the Safari with the third row flat. The Harrier holds a bit more at 445 litres but the space is not level to the lip like the Safari.
Tata Harrier and Safari petrol interiors, new featuresThere are a few more changes on the inside than outside. The Red Dark edition Safari seen here continues with its quite tastefully done black interiors with the red highlighting and seat covers. It doesn't feel loud and creates a unique, sporty feel inside the cabin.
But it doesn't quite have the airiness of the new beige and brown colour option that has been brought in with this update. The Harrier with this interior feels quite plush, especially the look of the wood finish on the central dash panel. But like before, we think there could have been a textured finish to this instead of the current gloss plastic look.
Otherwise there is a good deal of soft surfaces and a new sliding centre armrest. The Harrier and Safari still feel like the best put together Tata cars and there is good consistency to all the fitments all around.
There is a new Accomplished Ultra variant that makes the Harrier and Safari even better equipped than before. You now get the 14.5 inch Samsung OLED display for the touchscreen as well as the inside rear view camera. Other new features include camera washers for the front and rear, as well as a reverse gear synced outer mirror.
Like we saw in the Harrier EV, the large screen real estate makes this infotainment easier to use on the move, considering the capacitive climate panels have not changed. You have a high resolution display, logical interfaces and fluid responses. As before, the 10.25 inch driver's display is logical but still has quite small fonts. Thankfully, the resolution of the camera feed for the blind view function and many of the earlier glitches have been sorted out. We only faced a small lag when running Apple CarPlay in the Safari.
With a 2,741mm wheelbase, there is not a huge space advantage in the rear seat of the Harrier and Safari over the Sierra. But you get quite a few creature comforts like the boss mode, ventilated seats, sliding and reclining seat in the Safari. Both get sunshades, B pillar mounted vents, two Type C chargers and folding headrests.
The seats have great support and you have enough room. We only wish there was a touch more thigh support, but this is more due to the rounded edge of the seat base more than anything else.
As for the third row of the Safari, getting in is a bit tight with the wheel well protruding. The floor too could be flatter, but the seat tumbles fully so you can make your way around this. On the inside, this space is best for children but shorter adults can manage smaller journeys. Headroom is quite limited since the seatback angle is such that the car's structure around the boot gets in the way. But you do get air vents, blower controls and charging points here. The seat back is supportive but there is not much space to tuck your feet under the second row.
Tata Harrier and Safari petrol driving impressionsThe 1.5 litre Hyperion turbo petrol that debuted in the Sierra gets a different tune for the Harrier and Safari. It now makes 170 PS and 280 Nm, a 10 PS and 25 Nm increase from the Sierra. You can have it with the six speed manual or the six speed automatic as seen here.
Now you have the linear, solid pull that we also saw in the Sierra and that comes through in these cars as well. But a bit more aggression has been dialled in with this tune. You can still get to triple digit speeds quite quickly. But off the line, this engine can feel a bit spiky. It starts steadily, but there is a jump around 1,500 rpm which takes some getting used to. There are some vibrations still felt through the footwell and steering wheel, which is more apparent in the Harrier we drove, but these fade away with speed.
The engine's lack of displacement shows in high speed rolling acceleration situations, say a run from 80 to 120 kmph, where it seems to take a bit more time than you would like in such a car. This is more apparent in the Safari, which weighs 80 kg more than the Harrier.
The motor doesn't feel highly strung in other situations, especially in the Harrier. Tata Motors says a 0 to 100 kmph time of around 10 seconds can be expected. But on a steady cruise it feels quiet and refined. There is also not a lot of wind and tyre noise coming in.
Just like in the Sierra, this six speed automatic is very well mated to this engine. It is not laggy and doesn't slur through its shifts like other torque converter gearboxes. It does well to keep you in the power band and will even give quite sharp shifts under heavy acceleration. With this new gearbox, the diesel's trait of free wheeling quite easily and not having enough engine braking has also been addressed.
Tata Motors has tweaked the exhaust on the Harrier and Safari differently, so you have a surprisingly sporty grumble in the mid range. This suppresses the gruff note that you find in many Tata petrols to a fair extent. You do have a sport mode too, but this only alters responsiveness to a small extent. You can also take manual control but like in other Tata cars, the paddles aren't the most responsive and the overall nature of the engine doesn't change much.
Now not much has changed from the diesel Harrier and Safari in terms of ride and handling, but you notice that both feel a bit more agile. Sure, it still leans like a large SUV might, but it is fairly controlled and won't catch you off guard around faster, tighter bends. The electronic power steering that debuted with the facelift of these cars did make the experience easier and more agile. But now we do wish there was a bit more feeling in the dead centre.
The Harrier and Safari feel composed, but higher speed manoeuvres could be more confident given the lack of feel from the steering. The brakes are effective, but there too could have been a bit more feel at the start of their travel.
Otherwise this has always been a great riding car. It has that solid, tough, typical Tata feel. It feels like it will cruise at 100 kmph all day long for hours at an end. So in that regard, not much has changed. Even with the 19 inch wheels of the Safari we drove, the ride over broken roads was good. Even on generally uneven highways, it stays steady and quite composed.
Tata Harrier and Safari petrol expected price, verdict
This new Hyperion engine is a big step ahead for Tata Motors in terms of their powertrains and fits in naturally into the Harrier and Safari. They don't have the fully effortless feel of the diesel of course, but the engine's smaller displacement is not a handicap. These cars will be a good fit if you don't like or are unsure of diesels and they carry forward the value proposition of the Harrier and Safari. The new features add to make them still feel like a solid choice in this segment. Prices have not been announced yet, but expect these petrol variants to be about 1 to 1.5 lakh cheaper than the equivalent diesels.