2,000 km update on my 2021 Tata Harrier XZA+ Dark Edition

I am very happy with my purchase so far, and time permitting will post a longer review. My Harrier Dark Edition is a stunner and attracts eyeballs anywhere I go.

BHPian Nemesis_500 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi Rave20,

I was driving an XUV500 W6 from 2015 till July 2021 and switched to Harrier XZA+ in September '21. Driven it for ~2000+ kms so far and 1st servicing done. Will share my take and hope it helps you get some idea:

• Ride Comfort: You're right, XUV was irritating on the back bench and ladies of my house always complained about it. Overall harrier's ride quality is definitely better but there's a catch. When we test drove the Harrier, we were given 2020 dark editions to drive which had 17" alloys. It literally glided over potholes and both wifey and I were convinced the rear seat comfort is supreme compared to XUV's. However when I booked the Dark Edition 2021, it came fitted with 18" alloys. Now I had driven my friend's new TATA Safari extensively and researched the forum so I knew 18" tyres had low wall height compared to 17" ones which compromised their cushioning a bit. My Harrier hence feels like a 35% improvement in ride quality on 18" and not 50% as regular Harriers do. So keep this in mind before you decide on a variant.
• Sales & ASS Experience: I bought the Harrier in Mumbai and went to 3 separate showrooms. If you've lived with a Mahindra, then you know that most of the staff at M&M and TaMo does not comprise polished individuals. You'll likely get a feeling that you're talking to a rural truck salesman so rely on this wonderful forum for proper research and set your sales expectations accordingly. Most sales people at TaMo are genuinely busy with high sales so while they'll give you time, they may not be properly rehearsed or researched in their output. Try to go via a reference for an elevated experience and talk to Sales Team Leader if possible. I ended up complaining about my Sales guy to TaMo Corporate office at one dealership and buying the vehicle without a single TD from a team leader in another dealership. Keep your expectations reasonable and you'll be rewarded. I had made a list of all issues highlighted on this forum and discussed each to my satisfaction with the team lead before my purchase. This helped me avoid any last minute disappointments and the team lead gave me genuinely good discounts considering my research (he probably felt I'll find out anyways ). He even offered me a test drive during PDI and took full payment after PDI was done. Members of the forum or on ownership groups on FB can guide you on pricing and discounts if required. I also got my 1st free servicing done recently and the overall experience was good. Just like M&M, there are multiple follow-ups on customer experience and Service Advisors are usually diligent. They did not charge me for wheel alignment or driver pickup/drop this time at least. I am assuming experience in Bangalore should be similar for I have purchased 2 cars in Bangalore so have some idea of how these dealerships tend to behave.
• Automatic vs Manual: I am a fan of manual because I am usually launching right off the zebra crossing on green signals, but in case of the Harrier, a quick study of this forum will tell you that automatic is the better choice. This is my 2nd automatic after a 10+ year gap (earlier was a 2nd hand Honda Accord in 2009) and compared to XUV, am still getting used to the 'rubber band' acceleration especially in very low rpms. That said, the Harrier is a heavy feeling vehicle to drive, not in kgs sense but given the hydraulic steering & overall solidity from within, and the automatic helps there in a big way. There are multiple reports of clutch issues and left knee inconvenience which I have avoided so far. In the Sports mode, the car literally feels its gone berserk! Unlike the XUV where I floored the accelerator and smiled away, I have to apply brakes in city traffic to avoid nudging the car ahead during tight overtakes (its that fast ). If you're driving an automatic after a hiatus like me, be prepared to let bikers and small vehicles cut you off in bumper to bumper traffic till you get a command on acceleration prediction. These, however, are minor and personal nuances and I'm very happy with the automatic's performance in both cities and highways.
• Comparison with Jeep Compass: I had also driven my friend's new Compass Limited Edition sourced in May 2021 but after XUV, it felt way too small to be a 33 lakhs on-road addition. The sense of roominess is just missing and while the suspension, build quality & drive is great, it simply does not have the commanding road presence of XUVs (I for e.g. never gave side to a Compass when I saw one in my rear-view mirror in Gurgaon & Mumbai where I drove my XUV extensively. Another thing, which Compass owners can better verify, is it seems to have relatively more service cost compared to both M&M and TaMo. Both M&M and TaMo spare parts & services are way cheaper than my wife's Honda and my friend ecosystem used to regret not buying a Mahindra only because of this. The facelifted Compass has an amazing interior but it still does not feel VFM for the asking price.
• Fuel Efficiency: My diesel XZA+ has been returning 10-11 kmpl in city and 16-17 on highways. My driving is mostly between City and Sports mode and I drive fast so am not the ideal reference for fuel efficiency. That said, its a bit disappointing as my XUV returned 14-15 kmpl from Day 1 and was not subject to driving manners. I read somewhere on the net that average will improve with time but not sure about it.
• Why not XUV700? I did evaluate this option but the over-done styling and over-reliance on electronics kind of did it in for me. My XUV was a tough mechanical horse but not the most electronically sound car (my wife's Brio was better in that sense). I simply could not muster the confidence to invest heavily in a Mahindra laptop of a car - the same reason I never selected the MG Hector. I would never use the much touted ADAS in my drives either. For me, the car's mechanicals & build takes precedence over feature brochure and that's where Harrier seemed to score. Just open and close the doors of both vehicles side by side and you'll understand what am talking about.
• Why not Safari? Well, I felt that the 100 kgs additional weight makes it presence felt in city traffic compromising maneuverability a bit. The much talked about electronic parking brake felt like holding the car back in start-stop traffic and the 18-inchers were a bummer anyway. Also did not have need of the last row and the captain seats felt narrow for healthier members of the family. Other than that, I do miss the rear disc brakes and ventilated seats in the Harrier that the Safari provides.

To sum it up, I am very happy with my purchase so far, and time permitting will post a longer review. My Harrier Dark Edition is a stunner and attracts eyeballs anywhere I go. I don't know whether I will face issues in the long run, but I firmly believe that I need not bother about what I can't control. There's not even a single car brand in India today not suffering from technical issues in their cars so only focusing on TATA's negatives is not the right approach. Keep your expectations right by researching well. Harrier is well put together product and my personal opinion is to go for it.

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