Tata Harrier EV review: Could it be better than itself?

In all my years of reviews, I’ve never quite asked this question. But back then, intelligence didn’t need to be artificial – unless you ran into a naturally stupid individual pretending otherwise. So here we are, about to dive into the Tata Harrier EV and wonder: is this really better than itself?

After all, you’re looking at a hefty Rs 2.96 lakh premium on ex-showroom prices for the base variant of the Harrier EV over the Harrier diesel with automatic transmission – and an even higher Rs 4.23 lakh difference at the top of the range.

I’ll pause here to clarify: I’m not discussing the manual-transmission Harrier. Price-wise, that would unfairly tilt the scales in favour of the diesel version, and from a driving perspective, a manual and an automatic are very different experiences.

The meat of the matter

Let’s start with what the Harrier EV isn’t. Despite sharing a name, it’s built on a completely different platform from the regular Harrier. In place of the Land Rover–derived platform that underpinned the old Harrier and the new Safari, we have a new architecture designed specifically for EV integration, with the battery placed between the front and rear axles. This yields a near-perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution – great for a 2.3-tonne vehicle’s dynamics. There is also a new rear suspension with frequency dependent damping, which varies the amount of hydraulic pressure in the shock absorber depending on road conditions. Result? A better ride quality. At least in theory.

On the powertrain front, the two-wheel-drive variants get a 238-horsepower electric motor, while the all-wheel-drive versions add a 158-horsepower motor at the front, pushing total output to 396 horsepower.

Battery options include a standard 65 kWh Lithium-Ion Phosphate pack in the base variant, while the Base+1 offers an optional 75 kWh pack. The top-of-the-line AWD loses the smaller pack, making the 75 kWh battery standard.

But you don’t drive a tech spec sheet

With that jiggery pokery data and information game behind us, we can now focus on the real stuff. 

What does it feel like really when it gets going? Silent. I’ve always been slightly unnerved by the lack of sound in a moving vehicle. In the Harrier EV that sensation is heightened because it picks up pace quite quickly. As a matter of fact the absolute top spec AWD version is the fastest made-in-India EV with a 0-100kmph time of 6.3 seconds. Since electric motors offer their entire torque from the very start, acceleration is brisk as soon as you touch the throttle. The fact that this rapid gathering of velocity accompanied by the near absence of sound takes time getting used to. 

Once you do, however, the lack of noise, vibrations and any manner of harshness from the powertrain means that the experience of being in one feels very refined. It’s the sort of refinement you’d expect in a more expensive class of vehicles. There is a sense of isolation from one’s surroundings, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing, depending on what kind of driving experience you enjoy.

It also feels big on the road. You’re sitting fairly high as you would expect in an SUV of this kind but more importantly it doesn’t shrink itself around you from the driver’s seat as some big cars sometimes tend to do. 

At 4.6 metres long and more than two metres wide, the Harrier EV is a big car and in tight spaces or very crowded roads it can feel somewhat intimidating. On the plus side, this also means a tremendous ability to dominate the road and make its presence felt. Visually, there’s no doubt that it’s imposing and you’ll enjoy that aspect of the Harrier EV. Till the time you have to find a parking spot on a busy day in the city.

Over the course of the day that I had the test vehicle I drove it around as extensively as I could, travelling from Gurgaon across Delhi to Noida and back again, with a few pit stops along the way. It was also a day when an intense shower resulted in me having to use the Harrier EV through fairly deep water in some bits of the Millennium City. I never once felt any kind of range anxiety throughout that time. The range still held good at the end of a day of driving everywhere around the city I could think of, which is a great thing. 

Comforting 

The ride quality with that new suspension really is very comfortable. It all feels plush and this Tata SUV has a tendency to iron out all except the worst of road surfaces. The interiors are quite upmarket and they better be, if you’re spending three lakhs extra over a regular Harrier. There are a whole bunch of features that kick in to make your time in the cabin comfortable but the one I like the most among these new fangled features are the ventilated seats. On a hot day, when the vehicle has been parked in the sun for some time, it’s a boon. Even on a particularly humid day for that matter.

The other thing I really enjoyed was that wonderful Harman infotainment system with a Samsung touchscreen. The resolution is great and the music from the system sounds amazing too. What I didn’t quite like though is the rear view camera in place of the regular glass mirror that one finds inside a car. It never once felt intuitive and always seemed a bit too bright for comfort. The fact that even at its lowest seat setting, that mirror/camera remained too close to my forward vision didn’t help the discomfort. Nor could I get used to the idea of a credit card like thingy and a key like a fob that are needed to use the vehicle. Could I run the vehicle without one of them? I never managed to find out in the course of a single day and played safe throughout. 

A Bong’s opinion

Well I did start with a question and it’s time to round things off and tell you if it’s all worth it. For that though we have to work our way around to the cost of ownership question. While the running costs of the EV are much lower than that of the diesel-powered Harrier, the premium for the EV offsets that somewhat. More so if you opt to get an AC fast charger installed at home. That said, there is something to be said for the convenience and refinement of the EV. There is no regular servicing to be worried about and it’s likely to be more reliable since an electric motor has far fewer moving parts.  And that silence that I found unsettling at the start? It sort of grows on you. It did on me. 

But the best part of it all, as I coasted back towards Gurgaon from Noida is that if I had the extra cash to spare, I’d be completely insulated from fluctuations in international crude prices and the governments’ usually rude pricing strategies where fuel is concerned. So I would say that the Harrier EV is indeed better than itself, the Harrier.

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