Tata Motors and its dealers are responding to increased competition in the SUV segment. Tata dealers are now offering an exchange bonus of Rs. 35,000 on the Harrier. This is the first time that any discount is being offered on the SUV, which was launched in January 2019. Tata Motors has also come up with a new warranty package called the PentaCare, says a news report. Said to be priced at around Rs. 25,000, the PentaCare warranty package will extend warranty coverage on the SUV to 5 years/unlimited kilometers. An official announcement about the new warranty scheme is likely to be announced shortly. Buyers of the Harrier are urged to check with dealers while purchasing the vehicle as having a 5-year warranty is always a good thing. Existing Harrier owners may also enquire with dealers and buy the warranty package as it’s an insurance against things going wrong during the ownership period.
Meanwhile, the Harrier lost a big chunk of sales in August 2019 even as new upstarts such as the MG Hector and Kia Seltos pulled in impressive numbers in the same month. While the Harrier’s sales fell to 635 units, sales of the Hector went up over a third to 2,018 units while the Seltos had a great first month, finishing with 6,236 units which put it ahead of the bestselling Hyundai Creta.
The new warranty package should give Harrier buyers an additional layer of protection while the exchange bonus will make the SUV more attractive. Tata Motors has also introduced two major changes on the Harrier. 1. The SUV is now available with a dual tone paint scheme. 2. It also gets a new Dark edition, with all black interiors and exteriors. The Dark Edition variant of the Harrier is based on the XZ trim and has already begun reaching Tata dealerships across India.
Coming to what the Tata Harrier offers its customers, the SUV is a 5-seater and is available in diesel-only form. The engine is a 2-liter Fiat MultiJet unit with 170 Bhp-350 Nm. It’s paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, which drives the front wheels of the SUV. Tata Motors will offer a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox option on the Harrier by the end of this year or early next year. A BS6 version of the SUV is also under development for an early 2020 debut. The BS6 variant is expected to get a more powerful state of tune for the 2-liter diesel engine: 170 Bhp-350 Nm. A 7-seat version of the Harrier, called the Cassini, is expected to make a debut by the end of this year. Prices of the current Harrier start from Rs. 13.04 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. The SUV is available in XE, XM, XT and XZ trims.