There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Tata’s upcoming product, the Harrier. It is slated to launch in January next year while bookings for the same commenced in the middle of October 2018. Tata Motors invited a bunch of auto journos to a media drive for the Harrier in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. During the event, the homegrown automaker has revealed almost everything about its new flagship product. Let’s get cracking, shall we?!

We’ll begin with the numbers game. The Tata Harrier measures 4,598mm in length, 1,894mm in width (without mirrors) and 1,706mm in height. Its wheelbase and unladen ground clearance measures at 2,741mm and 205mm, respectively. Since the Harrier will sit above the Hexa in Tata’s passenger vehicle product portfolio, the SUV will have to compete with the Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson. The good news is that the Tata product is noticeably larger in dimensions than both its direct rivals.

The Tata Harrier is underpinned by a new platform – Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture. It is a derivative of Land Rover’s D8 architecture and is a monocoque in nature. The 5-seater SUV will come with a 50-litre fuel tank and a luggage space of 425 litres of stuff. With the rear seats folded, the latter can be increased to 810 litres. In the XE and XM trims, the SUV will come with 16-inch steel rims with 235/70 section tyres. However, in the XT and XZ trims, the size will increase to 17 inches alloys with 235/65 section rubber.

A week before the official bookings commenced for the Harrier, Tata Motors revealed that a 2.0-litre Kryotec turbo-diesel engine would power its new SUV. Well, the confirmed set of specifications are out as well. The BS IV-compliant motor will pump out 140PS/350Nm and will come mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The oomph will be fed to the front wheels only, and no, there is no all-wheel-drive available. Unfortunately, that’s the only engine-transmission combination that will be on offer with the Harrier at the time of launch.

It isn’t difficult to deduce that the Harrier falls way short on the performance factor when compared to the Tucson and the Compass. Both the rivals are available with a 2.0-litre diesel engine, but while the former has 185PS/400Nm on tap, the latter has 173PS/360Nm to play with. One might argue that with less power, the fuel-efficiency figure will be more promising for the Harrier. That could be true, but we must also consider the fact that the Harrier weighs more than the Jeep. And weight, as we are well aware, is a killer of everything.

With the important set of numbers out of the way, let’s jump to the list of trims and features. As mentioned above, the Harrier will be offered in four trim levels – XE, XM, XT and XZ. The standard set of features include projector headlamps, dual-function DRLs with turn indicators, dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, power windows, and electrically adjustable OVRMs.

Obviously, there’s a lot more on offer. You can get additional features like a 9-speaker JBL sound system mated to an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, terrain response modes (normal, rough, wet), six airbags, electronic stability program and hill descent control. If all that is a bit too poor for your liking, there’s also corner stability control, electronic traction control, Xenon HID projector headlamps, front fog lamps with cornering function, perforated leather seat upholstery and door pad inserts, auto headlamps and wipers, cruise control, rear-view camera, automatic climate control and support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Tata Motors will offer the Harrier in five shades of paint – Calisto Copper, Ariel Silver, Themisto Gold, Orcus White and Telesto Grey. As a package, as we are sure you’ll agree, the Harrier is loaded. If Tata can price it competitively enough, it should give the competition something to think about. We expect the Tata Harrier to fall somewhere between the Rs 15-20 Lakh mark. What do you make of the Harrier’s kit?