The location of the AC vents on the B pillar seems better as the airflow is on the upper part of the body rather than on the foot.
BHPian Goutsdk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I had earlier posted about why I bought the Harrier and later also shared an update on my experience after 1 month.
In this post, I am updating you about my experience after nearly months of ownership. The vehicle has now done over 7500 kms now.
Ingress and Egress for elders
I read a lot about height being a disadvantage for the elders in the family.
Sharing my father’s observations:
- It was fine for him to get in. He felt that it may be difficult for those who are older than him.
- After small highway drives (Lonavala, Kashid beach), he appreciated that it is easier for him to get up from the seat in the Harrier due to the higher sitting position. Knee joints have additional pressure when sitting low (as in sedans) and one tries to get up. So egress was more comfortable. He appreciated the space and ride.
This makes me wonder if this (height for elders) is really an issue. P.N.- I have not installed any steps.
Rough (broken) roads
During this period I got transferred and the last leg of my journey (around 3 kms) consisted of a broken, under-construction road with potholes. Hence, I got to use the rough mode daily. And I must say that I felt more confident with the rough mode on this patch overtaking vehicles, whenever possible.
Comfortable for 5
We also had this opportunity of 5 of us traveling together and the rear seat was comfortable for 3 adults (including my father and a six-footer son). While there is no headrest for the middle, we did find a way with our neck pillows. Also, when the central handrest was not being used by the front passengers, I was able to stretch my legs with ease.
Air conditioning
The Harrier has AC vents in the front (sides and centre) and the B pillars. This position of the AC vents on the B pillar seems better as the flow is on the upper part of the body rather than the foot. Also, it frees up leg space for the 3rd passenger in the back. Further, the middle passenger does not feel the cold Air on the legs. The cabin cools well till date.
Infotainment System
My MY22 model gets wireless AA (no wireless charging though). We tried Apple Car play wirelessly and it worked well. The 18.11 did go blank in the initial stage and then around the 6000km mark. Further, the system did hang on a few occasions.
Update: The version was updated from v18.11 to v 18.46 in the second service. It has not hung in the past 1000 kms. Also, there seems to be an improvement in Android Auto, which used to get confusing at some points in the earlier version. However, the phone sound is high. I have not been able to reduce it in this version.
Air Purification
The vehicle also gets an Air purifier, which is basically a better (Hepa) filter to reduce pm 2.5. In these winter months when AQI is very poor (above 300), the car makes a loud sound and displays poor condition. It tries to reduce the same and is mostly successful.
iRA App
The top model gets IRA connectivity. One can switch on the lights remotely, it also gives a driver score for each trip. It shows a provision for FE, but does not calculate the same. IRA support mentions that the vehicle if Phase I, while FE is displayed in Phase II. But they were not able to tell when Phase II was launched or how to differentiate. Not sure of its utility.
Fuel efficiency
The FE has gone for a toss due to the road conditions. However, I noticed that the MID reading is around 13% off from tank to tank method in the city.
Blind Spots
The A-pillar and the ORVM have a small gap that reduces the blind spot. However, I would prefer them on the door rather than on the window. Apart from reducing the blind spot, it will give better visibility of the vehicles on the side that has lower height (sedans, hatchbacks, autos at the night etc).
Height can also be a disadvantage in tight traffic conditions. One may miss the vehicles with low heights.
The fact that one can use the reverse camera while driving forward, is very useful in heavy traffic conditions.
Keyword: 9 things about Tata Harrier that I noticed in 6 months of ownership