Why I chose the 2023 Harrier over the XUV 700 & Scorpio-N

Wish there was a choice of headlamps, as I am not still not a fan of LED lights.

BHPian nadodi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Having been owning small cars for a couple of decades, almost all of it being city drives, maybe less than 10K in total of highways, we decided to go for a SUV.

Primary needs:

• Comfortable long drives
• Boot space to not worry about what we carry
• Easier for senior citizens to do longer hours in it
• Made in India (yes, a few of us exist)

Few things we were a bit inconclusive and swung about were:

• 5 seater VS 7 seater
• Used car VS New
• Diesel VS Petrol

Test Drives:

June 2023

Mahindra: Rang up the nearby dealer for TD and they got both XUV700 and Scorpio N on different days

XUV 700: A menacing look at the front, resembling a limo. Decent interiors but almost a let down of a rear look. Suspension and ground clearance felt to be good for Bengaluru roads. Good infotainment unit with overwhelming features which I was not interested much to decide on the car. With the read backrest down, boot is as spacious as it can be.

Scorpio N: I liked this. Just looking at it and sitting in the driver seat, I said this is having a real SUV feel. Of course, this is also body-on-frame/ladder-frame chassis which makes it more off road ready than the crossover SUVs which comes in monocoque. However, this ended up being a bit compromised 5 seater and almost not usable as 7 seater and zero boot space with all seats in use. NOTE: With captain seats of middle row, it may be a different, spacious configuration. Home minister rejected the idea of captain seat because it wouldn't allow the middle seat passenger (the privileged passengers) to lean against each other or an aged person to laydown for a bit and oh, the dog. Makes sense for a family. After all, it is for them.

I also felt that the turning radius of the Scoprio-N a bit uncomfortable (wider radius) for U turns.

Let me admit, was quite impressed from the initial days when I had a second look at the Harrier, unignorable road presence. However, that cannot be all.

Jul 2023

TD1: I found a couple of TATA dealers nearby my residence and at random went with the one who responded first, Key Motors on Bannerghatta Main Road, BLR.

They got us both Harrier and Safari on different days to try. Since we were a bit picky about boot space, we quickly decided against Safari. Otherwise, it is a good vehicle to consider.

Harrier: Liked the drive, could see a bit sluggishness than Safari but with the badly beaten up cars that are brought for TDs, it is too hard to decide based on these too. More happy of the turn radius than Scorpio.
Our personal life took a beating towards the end of the year and we put a hold to our plans as we saw no use for any SUV for time being.

...Project shelved with an eye on what was going on still with the interested models.

In the meantime we went back to some of the points we were indecisive of.

Used Cars: I personally think it makes a lot of economic sense to wait and find a good used car for the crazy amount of money you can save due to depreciation.

Decision made: No

Reason: We don't know of a good trustworthy auto technician to help choose a good one. We know the used cars market is huge and rife with a lot of cheats looking for a gullible buyer.

5 vs 7 seater: Our closer look at more vehicles (7 seaters) brought some clarity in us to just stick to 5.

Reason:

• Hard for senior citizens to crawl in/out to last row
• Leaves it for just a couple younger ones to crawl in (and they mostly are 5"5'+ in height which makes it uncomfortable for them always)
• With all seat in use, boot isn't enough for 6 or 7 folks to travel long distances with enough baggage
• We did not want to use roof luggage rack

Diesel vs Petrol: Been reading a lot about Govt deciding on Diesel engines soon and it's risk, etc. However, not convinced of any SUV popular for it's Petrol variant. Revv of Diesel is real.

Decision: Will not keep this as a factor to decide.

Reason: Future is anybody's guess given less information. Betting on the auto manufacturers not making a move yet.

We were emerging out of the personal situation in Q1 2024 and revisiting the need. Noticed that by then Harrier had come up with a facelift.

TD2:

March, 2024

An acquaintance referred to TATA Kropex Dealer on Hosur Rd (Electronic City). Made a visit to the dealership. Very lukewarm interaction from the manager in spite of the referral connection. The boy who got the TD arranged and accompanied was a lot more enthusiastic than his boss, even followed up later better.

The facelift definitely seemed to have gone through a big change in infotainment and display units like having maps displayed directly on the primary dash panel behind the wheel and leaving the larger display for others to deal with ever changing moods for music, AC control, etc

Wish there was a choice of headlamps, as I am not still not a fan of LED lights. I see it more blinding than illuminating, but not everything comes with an option.

So what did we decide ?

Easy guess, went with TATA Harrier FEARLESS AT. Placed our order with Key Motors giving the advantage for at least being in touch and responsive. A bit better than Kropex who almost didn't bother about our business. As I type this down, I realize that there probably is a big confirmation bias at play. Yet, quite happy with the decision and hope there is nothing that will make us regret

Good and bad about a fast moving model is that you can expect/hope(given TATA) for better service support given many on road. Down side is that they are not open for much negotiation with pricing. Almost take-it or leave-it attitude and they openly say that the demand is such that we really don't need to add sweeteners to attract buyers for these.

PDI - Thanks to Team-BHP forums, was insistent of doing a PDI. A bit disappointed that the dealer made us drive a good 50 Kms round trip through toll highway with them in our (other) car to do the PDI. It is something that they must be offering to do. Never the less, was satisfied with the one that was awaiting to be registered for us with no visible damages or misfits. It had done just 10 Kms on the ODO during PDI.

NOTE: In spite of the PDI, I found a couple of not so major issues post delivery as we used the car. Things that could've been caught during PDI

• A tear in the seat cover notice only after a couple of weeks when the plastic covers were removed - claimed for warranty in first service, awaiting response
• One of the door lights not turning ON - fixed in first service
• Wide gap in the plastic panel of the boot - fixed in first service

Loan: I wanted to go for a bank loan for some part of the payment. The dealer arranged for it with their next door SBI branch. Fairly simple process with standard documentation you can expect of ID, Address and income proof. What made me feel like 1980s was them asking for passport size photos. I don't know when I got that done in a Photo studio the last time. Me questioning the manager of why they still don't have an online photo capture tool as part of their system was of no use. Got the standard, 'It is still not implemented in our branch' response.

Insurance: As warned by well wishers, the insurance premium offered by the dealer was high. Since I knew about it, I got an external quote from same insurer (TATA AIG) which was 10K less and showed to the dealer's tie-up. No question asked, they matched the quote. Make sure you do this step. I did not go with the external agent though I felt bad about it because if we do so, I believe the dealer will try to walk away in case you need to invoke your insurance anytime.

Accessories: Hardly much choice as this version is almost fully loaded except to choose the type of mats, window visors and side-step. Went for these 3 with the dealer. Disappointing that boot mat for this new edition is still not available even with the dealers and the inner boot-lid that comes stock is too basic and flimsy.

(Later, after a lot of online research I found a boot mat in Amazon that fits perfectly for this version. Remember, the contour of the boot varies by different versions so need to be careful if you are specific of a good fit. What I finally purchased fits perfect for this version, looks good and seems to live for a while, let's see: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CXSV3MHB?...fed_asin_title )

It took a couple of days for the dealer to go back and forth to co-ordinate the accessory fitting and getting the car ready for delivery from their yard to the show room. I decided to get my ceramic and PPF coating done with some external party (details will be a different post).

Registration: I had no preference for a lucky/fancy number plate OR RTO so I asked them to get it done asap with least ('other')cost.

Delivery: I had to do a bit of follow-up and nudge to roll out the car over the weekend as I had plans to travel for over a week the same weekend. Cannot complain, it was about 24 Hrs since I got the SMS from vaahan web-site about my registration that they were able to deliver. I was told that the HSRP number plates get done by RTO's registered vendors and it needs to get delivered on time.

It was finally the moment to receive the keys (from KEY Motors) and thankfully it was a quick simple event they made it to be. Sign a few papers, get a few snaps clicked of unveiling the car and a nice cake to cut as a family. I had got a box of sweets to be distributed to them. Straight we drove to a near by temple where we got a simple pooja done before we directly ventured into the maddening Saturday 7 p.m. Bengaluru traffic. The ODO when we received was 50 Kms, which is fair. The vehicle had fuel left for just 50 Kms upon delivery so second stop was a bunk for just 10 Ltrs fill for now. It was a crazy 2 Hrs for 25 Kms drive with all new controls in bumper all around traffic. Good experience, unscathed we made the trip and back home by late night, safe.

DashCam: Within a week, while the car was out for detailing, I also picked up a dashcam to be fitted before I start driving it around. Given all things we see get to see in social media and the news, better safe than sorry, it is worth an investment to go for a dashcam. After some good research, I purchased VIOFO A229, 2 Channel from Amazon.

Driving experience: Done 1200 Kms in 2 months mostly on Bangalore-Mysore Expressway, averaging 17 kmpl (with AC always ON). I am just loving it. The engine really wakes up only at 5th and 6th gear and sails the boat smooth even at 125 kmph. Huge difference in what you will feel within the city at < 50 kmph and highway > 80 kmph. Mostly a couple or solo in the vehicle so far and I don't remember of experiencing any body roll, sure the specific highway is pretty much a straight line. Will need more miles and different terrain, especially ghat hair pins to check that out.

A/C is satisfactory, again given our weather, the AC is just needed to keep the window glass rolled up to avoid dust. Haven't yet tried in hot-hot weather.

Happy about the breaking, had to break hard on the highway while at over 110 kmph to avoid a few idiots mindlessly zipping through lanes and I never felt like losing control anytime.

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