Tata’s upcoming 5-seater SUV Harrier was first previewed at Auto Expo 2018 in February in the form of the H5X concept. With the Harrier set to launch in January of 2019, Tata Motors is hard at work putting its upcoming SUV to the test. The latest spy shots of the Tata Harrier, captured by Autocar India, show the SUV testing at a rather surprising place – Kari Motor Speedway, near Coimbatore.
While the Harrier may seem out of place at a race track, Tata appears to be testing the high-speed cornering and stability to fine tune the suspension and steering settings. While the track may seem an odd place for an SUV, the Harrier is the first SUV from Tata to be caught on a race track, but hopefully, this will ensure that it doesn’t roll badly in a corner.
However, what appears odd on the test mule of the Harrier are the same 16-inch wheels fitted with 235/70 R16 tyres seen on lower-spec Hexas. However, the final-spec Tata Harrier models are expected to feature larger wheels considering the top-spec Hyundai Creta comes fitted with 17-inch wheels.
The test mule of the Harrier seen at the Kari Motor Speedway was once again highly camouflaged as Tata wants to keep the SUV’s final design under wraps until it arrives in January 2018. However, Tata has stated that the production-spec SUV would look mostly similar to the H5X concept.
The Tata Harrier will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine from Fiat’s multijet, which can also be found under the bonnet of the Jeep Compass SUV. The Harrier’s engine will be paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed automatic transmission from Hyundai. The Tata Harrier is expected to feature all-wheel drive and multiple driving modes.
Tata is also working on a larger version of the Harrier, codenamed H7X, that will feature seven seats. The new Tata Harrier will be available in India, in January 2019, and will take on the Hyundai Creta, Mahindra XUV500, the Renault Captur and the upcoming Nissan Kicks.
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