Harrier is set to be one of the most important upcoming vehicles to roll out of the Tata stable. To be positioned in the premium sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment, the vehicle will be built on the optimal modular efficient global advanced (OMEGA) platform. Tata Motors has released details about Harrier's platform that is taken from Jaguar Land Rover's D8 architecture.
Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, and Jaguar E-Pace are all based on Jaguar Land Rover's D8 platform. Harrier will be able to tackle any road conditions with ease due to optimised torsional and bending stiffness.
The floor plan, steering, gears and all-independent suspension are from the Land Rover, besides sharing several body components from it. There has been no compromise on safety features. Crumple zones are designed keeping in mind better protection of passengers; besides using high-strength steel. In case of an accident, the car has enough precautionary measures to prevent the impact from reaching the cabin.
Harrier is the first Tata vehicle to be built on the company’s latest Impact Design 2.0 design language. To be powered by the 2.0 litre 140 bhp diesel engine used by Fiat's Jeep Compass, Harrier will be equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and a nine-speed automatic transmission. A 170 bhp version of the same engine too will be released at a later date. Harrier is expected to get an all-wheel-drive variant as an option. The all-wheel-drive system developed by Tata will feature Land Rover's terrain response system. It will also have multiple driving modes.
