Tata Harrier is a FWD SUV and therefore doesn’t possess the off-roading prowess of a true blue SUV
SUVs have been the hot selling cakes in passenger vehicles for quite some time now. People who have been loyalists for other segments particularly hatchbacks and sedans have been shifting towards SUVs off-late. With better value for money and even better road presence, almost every other car owner wants an SUV standing at his parking bay.
However, most SUVs on sale today in India miss out on the most basic attribute essential for a true blue SUV- an all-wheel drive (AWD) system (or 4WD). These SUVs may carry the design of an SUV but essentially are front-wheel drive (FWD) cars. The Tata Harrier too is one such SUV.
The Harrier, although butch and aggressive looking, is designed for city and highway commutes. Despite its decent off-road capabilities thanks to its 14 ESP modes, it is still best used on tarmac. However, if we wonder what the Harrier would look like if designed as a utility purpose off-roader we might get our answer from this example below.
Modified Design
A digitally rendered image of a Tata Harrier, designed by Alpha Renders shows us what it could look like if designed as an all-terrain lifestyle vehicle. There are tons of changes on the exterior we see from the image. For starters, a new grille sports the ‘Tata’ badging. The highlight at front however, is the massive custom-made bumper with integrated bull-bars. It gets essential components for an off-roader like winches, custom fog lamps, auxiliary lights and tow hooks.
It gets bigger and chunkier off-road tyres with blacked-out alloys. From the gap between the tyres and the wheel arches, it seems to get a suspension lift kit that comes in handy as it adds a few inches of ground clearance. For easier ingress and egress, a modified side-step has been added. The side cladding on doors and wheel-arches remains factory fitted.
The model here is shown in a dual-tone red/black paint scheme that gets stock blacked-out ORVMs and vertically split headlamp cluster. The chrome door handles are also carried forward from the stock model. It does get an additional roof rack so that one can mount the extra luggage. Also, it gets a snorkel at the side which improves its water wading capacity.
Powertrain, Transmission Details
Tata Harrier is powered by a 2.0-litre Kryotec diesel engine which is sourced from Fiat. This unit is capable of producing 168 bhp and 350 Nm of torque. It is mated to either a 6-speed manual as standard or a 6-speed automatic transmission as an option. Its three-row version- Gravitas is expected to hit showrooms soon.
