The flagship SUV siblings get comprehensive updates with the mid-life facelift
- Heavily reworked styling
- New interiors
- Mechanically unchanged
Tata Motors has revealed the mid-life facelifts of their flagship SUVs- the Harrier and Safari. Both cars now get heavily reworked styling, new interiors and a host of feature upgrades. They get powered by the same diesel engine as before. Notably, this is the second facelift for the Harrier since it was launched in 2020.
Tata Harrier Exterior & Design
Starting off with the Harrier, the styling follows Tata’s latest design philosophy which we saw earlier with the Nexon facelift. At the front is a new, more aggressive bumper with the headlights now places further apart in a triangular insert with a vertical arrangement. The lower air dam is also larger. The grille has also grown broader and features a new pattern. Towards the side, there are again minimal changes mostly restricted to the new pattern for the larger 19 inch alloy wheels. Finally, the DRLs now get connected with an LED light bar.
Towards the rear, you now have new LED taillights with a connected light bar. The tailgate has been slightly reworked while the rear bumper is all new and now features a vertical surround for the reflectors and reverse lights. There is now a larger skid plate too. They are offering six standard colour options- Ash Grey, Lunar White, Coral Red, Pebble Grey and the new Seaweed Green and Sunlit Yellow.
Tata Harrier Interior & Features
Tata has ditched the older dashboard for an all-new look inside the Harrier. The new dashboard is a lot sleeker and the wooden trim has been replaces with leather inserts. The AC vents are now sleeker while the centre console is a lot more cleaner owing to the new electronic parking brake. The AT variants also get a stubbier gear shifter. Another major change is the new steering wheel which now gets knurled scrollers and an illuminated Tata logo. The other major change is the new massive 12.3 inch touchscreen which is now a free-standing unit. There is also a new fully digital instrument cluster.
The equipment list is also much longer now with additions such as a 10 speaker music system, dual-zone climate control, Welcome and good-bye animation for DRLs, rear sunshades, 45W USB charger, rear sunshades and more. In terms of safety, it now gets 7 airbags as an addition over the outgoing car’s 6 with the introduction of a knee airbag. There is also the updated ADAS which offers more functions such as adaptive cruise control owing to the new electric power steering unit.
Tata Harrier Powertrain & Variants
Under the hood, the Harrier facelift remains unchanged with a 2.0L diesel engine sourced from Fiat making 170HP and 350NM. The engine can be had with either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed Hyundai-sourced torque converter automatic transmission. A petrol and an electric version of the Harrier is in the works but not expected to launch in the near future.
Tata has revealed that the Harrier will be offered in four variants- Smart, Pure, Adventure and Fearless. However, sub-variants with optional packages might be announced at launch. The Adventure trim which is the second-from-top variant will get tan interiors unlike the rest of the range which gets black or grey interior colour schemes.
Tata Safari Exterior & Design
Coming to the Safari, it follows a similar design to the Harrier albeit this time around it has more unique elements. At the front, the grille is now slightly taller and broader than the Harrier. The grille inserts get a different pattern as does the skid plate. The headlamp surrounds here follow a less aggressive C-shaped design. At the side, the design for the 19 inch alloys is also distinct.
Towards the rear, you also have LED taillamps with a connected light bar along with a reprofiled tailgate. The bumper mimics the front one with a C shaped cavity housing the reflectors and reversing lights. The skid plate, just like the Harrier is also larger now.
Tata Safari Interior & Features
Inside as well, the Safari is similar to the Harrier in design and gets the same design elements. The only noticeable changes here is the use of white for the colour scheme and a different black trim for the dashboard. It does, however get a few more feature additions compared to the Harrier. These include 2nd row ventilated seats, multi-mood lights with drive modes sync, 360 camera and more. Like its smaller sibling, there is ADAS Level 2 functionality.
Tata Safari Variants & Colours
Like before, the Safari shares its mechanicals with the Harrier and gets powered by the same powertrain. Tata has announced four variants for the Safari- Smart, Pure, Adventure and Accomplished. 6 standard colours are being offered- Galactic Sapphire, Lunar Slate, Stardust Ash, Stellar Frost and the new Cosmic Gold and Supernova Copper.
Tata Harrier, Safari Dark Editions
At the launch, Tata Motors also announced that the Harrier and Safari facelifts will continue to be offered as Dark Editions. The Dark Edition cars, as before, will feature completely blacked out exteriors and interiors and will come finished in an Obsidian Black paint shade for the exteriors. We can also expect more special editions as time passes with more colour and trim options. The Dark Edition variants will be priced at a premium compared to the regular colour options for the SUVs.
The Tata Harrier and Safari will compete with rivals such as the Mahindra XUV700, MG Hector and Hyundai Alcazar among others. Both the SUVs are expected to launch by the end of November 2023 with deliveries beginning soon after. Bookings are open for both for a sum of Rs. 25,000 via Tata dealerships.
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