Production-spec Tata Harrier SUV side profile revealed

Tata Motors are leaving no stone unturned for its flagship offering, the Harrier. The Indian automobile manufacturer have been releasing a series of videos of the Harrier SUV that showcases its different traits. Be it the land terrain response system that has been borrowed from Land Rover, the all-new Kryotec 2.0L engine or the Omega ARC platform that again shares its underpinnings with the Land Rovers SUVs. Tata Motors have officially started taking bookings of the Harrier SUV that will hit dealerships in early 2019. And now the company has released a teaser of the side profile that shows its production-spec guise.

The exterior design of the production car will follow Tata's Impact Design 2.0 showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo. So, a slimmer front grille and lights, aggressively contoured side profiles, steeply raked roofline and large wheel sizes can be expected. As for the interior, it will have to be the best ever fitted to a Tata car and build on the kind of progress that the firm has been making in this aspect.

The production Harrier (previously the H5X concept) will be based on Jaguar Land Rover's entry-level D8 SUV platform, variations of which support cars like the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar E-Pace and the Range Rover Evoque. Tata's version, called Omega-Arc (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture), will involve the use of cheaper materials and components to keep costs down.

Tata Motors recently also revealed a new engine family that will power the upcoming Tata Harrier SUV. The company has already revealed that details of the Land Rover-derived Omega is the architecture of the new SUV, and this reveal now paints a clearer picture of what this new flagship will be like.

The new engine is called the 2.0-litre Kryotec and is derived from FCA's Multijet II motor seen on the Jeep Compass. This four-cylinder, turbocharged motor is expected to produce around 140PS in the 5-seater variant that is set to debut first, the 7-seater Harrier will likely make 170PS. The new motor will have an electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger (eVGT) for better responses. The engine has also been adapted to run on varying drive modes via the terrain response system that the Harrier will come equipped with. The engine will be mated to a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic. The 5-seater should come in the Rs 9 to 12 lakh price bracket.