Tata Harrier
The Harrier had a breather after its trip to Delhi, but we’ve quickly got it back to doing its usual duties
I first took it for a drive on my usual route, but a narrow dirt trail looked inviting in a way it never had before
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE lemonade. The Ed’s Harrier was left on its own in Gurugram and since I was headed home for the holidays, I decided to make the most of it. We were supposed to head to Jaipur for a family vacation and there are few SUVs better at mile-munching than the Harrier. Its now been part of three of
evo India’s really long road trips. The robust ride quality, towering driving position and torquey engine make it effortless at cruising over long distances and I was excited to show off my wheels to the family! But sadly, the farmer protest and the unrest following that across the country meant that the roads to Rajasthan were closed down. And that was that, we called off our road trip.
But the Harrier is such an enabler. It urges you to drive – that is perhaps its biggest asset. So I decided to go for a spot of exploring, right here in my home city of Gurugram. I first took it on my usual route when I went for a drive, but a narrow dirt trail branching away from the tarmac looked inviting in a way it never had before. I said f**k it, took it down that path, and was glad I did. The trail itself wasn’t too hard, just a few sharp level changes, but nothing the Harrier can’t hammer through. I carried on till I reached a small lake. Okay, it was more of a watering hole for the cattle around than anything else, but it was a stone’s throw away from my house and I had never discovered it before. No, I didn’t dare to take the Harrier through it, but I turned back and went on four more such uncharted trails before heading home. It was so cool, and I got some great pictures out of it too!
Throughout the trip, we took the Harrier out at every chance we could. I even got my mom to try it! It reminded her of the Scorpio she used to drive over a decade ago and that’s because the Harrier also feels as robust an SUV that the Scorpio is. It doesn’t feel like a car – it’s not meant to.
We even took the Harrier for a little staycation for a couple of days and it swallowed up all of our luggage with absolute ease. My sister loved driving it and although my dad hates to admit it because of his loyalty toward the Tiguan, he was smiling under that mask as well. It has its niggles but the Harrier more than makes up with the #ThrillOfDriving. Nope, not the same kind you get behind the ’wheel of a supercar, but along the lines of what you would get behind the ’wheel of a tank. Even if the Harrier only has front-wheel-drive, it’s important that it feels like you can take it anywhere. It’s the reason I put its wheels off the tarmac every chance I could. No other SUV in this price bracket makes you feel that way. They’re happy with the black stuff and while some may be better when the going gets sticky, they don’t urge you to go there. That’s exactly what made us make the most of my short trip home. Even if our road trip was just 10km long, or the fact that I could see my apartment from some of the trails, the Harrier helped us make lemonade with the lemons we gave it. Now, it is back to Pune and Aniruddha now gets the keys to put some serious miles on it. ⌧