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The unveil of the Tata Harrier EV at the Auto Expo 2023 was one that was unexpected when you consider that we had been rooting for the Sierra EV ever since it was teased three years ago. Neither did we consider the need of an Harrier EV, more so as buyers are gravitating towards cheaper, mass-market EVs such as the Tiago EV. But now that the prospect of an electric Harrier has been dangled in front of us, we cannot help but be excited! Here’s a breakdown on what we can expect from the Harrier EV, following its unveil at the Auto Expo.
The all-electric Harrier EV is expected to arrive by the end of 2024, after the launch of the Tata Curvv and Tata Sierra EV. In the meantime, you will get updates to the Harrier and Safari SUVs in the form a new infotainment screen and the Red Dark Editions with cosmetic updates on both the outside as well as the inside, but one would still have to wait for an all-electric Harrier till the end of 2024.
What you see here is basically the styling of the next Harrier facelift. The EV variants require lesser amount of cooling, and consequently, lesser air vents, so the front grille of the Harrier EV is blanked out, with styling elements differentiating it from the ICE versions. The front has been spruced up, the Harrier EV gets new alloy wheels and over at the rear, the Harrier EV also gets a full-width LED tail lamp.
The Harrier EV will be based on the OMEGA-ARC platform by Tata Motors. This platform has not been electrified and thus it will employ Tata’s Gen 2 architecture, where an existing platform is modified and significantly re-engineered to integrate an electric powertrain. The biggest change however, from the current ICE Harrier is that the Harrier EV will offer AWD capability and an independent rear suspension at the rear as opposed to the current torsion beam setup. Interestingly, the independent rear setup assembly can be swapped to an ICE powertrain as well, which could very well result in an AWD-equipped version of the Tata Harrier and the Tata Safari.
The Tata Harrier EV will be offered with a single motor FWD powertrain, and in addition to that, there will likely be a variant powered by two electric motors, with one sitting on each axle and providing the Harrier with all-wheel-drive. With the facelifted versions of the Harrier being launched, we can expect the SUV to be offered with the existing diesel engine as well as the new 1.5-litre TGDI turbo-petrol engine which will also be offered on the Sierra. While it has not been officially confirmed, we can also expect the ICE versions of the Harrier, and by extension the Safari, in the near future to be offered with AWD as well.
