Tata Harrier has been crowd’s favourite ever since its launch but the SUV has never been crash-tested by the GNCAP. But that might change now.
The facelifted Tata Harrier might finally enable the SUV to get a desirable safety rating at the GNCAP crash test. Harrier is in demand due to its massive road presence, bold appearance and modern features. Also, people have come to associate a certain amount of trust with the brand that makes cars with rugged build irrespective of the price or segment. This is informed by its products like the Tiago, Tigor and Nexon. Harrier/Safari are the only SUVs escaping that 5-star safety mark in Tata’s fleet but we might see that happening soon.
Tata Harrier Safety Rating
It has been previously reported that the facelifted Harrier might get an updated 2.2-litre Dicor diesel engine that was prevalent in the erstwhile Safari. That engine was produced by AVL, Austria who also manufactured the 2.2-litre mHawk engine for Mahindra. However, Tata Motors switched to the Fiat-source 2.0-litre Cryotec engine in the meanwhile. The thing with that engine is that it is originally made for left-hand drive cars. But the cars in India are right-hand drive. Due to the arrangement, the oil filter assembly is positioned quite close to the accelerator, brake and clutch assembly.
In the event of an unfortunate crash, it is possible that some part of this kind of setup might protrude into the cabin causing injuries to the passengers. That is the issue with all right-hand drive cars that sport an engine sourced from left-hand drive cars. It is also the reason why the Jeep Compass and MG Hector have not been sent to the GNCAP for testing.