Tata Motors has decided to kickstart the next year with a bang. And that bang will come in the form of its latest SUV, the Harrier. The homegrown automaker has announced that the Harrier will launch in India on January 23, 2019. Official bookings for the SUV commenced on October 15, 2018, with a minimum token amount set at Rs 30,000. Since then, the automaker has released almost all the details about the Harrier.

Underpinned by the OMEGA Arc platform, which is in close relation to Land Rover’s D8 architecture, the Tata Harrier is essentially a 5-seater SUV with a monocoque chassis. It measures 4,598mm in length, 1,894mm in width (without mirrors) and 1,706mm in height. The unladen ground clearance and wheelbase measure at 205mm and 2,741mm respectively. Tata Motors claims that with the rear seats up, the Harrier can gulp 425 litres of stuff in the boot. That figure shoots up to 810 litres with the rear seats folded.

At the time of launch, the Tata Harrier will be available with just one engine-transmission combination. The new, BS IV-compliant, 2.0-litre Kryotec turbo-diesel engine will produce 140PS of power and 350Nm of torque. Transmission duties will be handled by a 6-speed manual unit, which will feed the oomph to the front wheels only. An automatic transmission option will be added to the Harrier’s kit at a later stage. Unfortunately, there is no all-wheel-drive available.

The Harrier will be offered in four trim levels – XE, XM, XT and XZ. The list of features will include 17-inch alloy wheels, a 9-speaker JBL sound system, an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, terrain response modes (normal, rough, wet), six airbags, hill descent control, auto headlamps and wipers, rear-view camera and automatic climate control. Tata Motors has ensured that all trims of the Harrier are generously equipped. The standard set of features includes projector headlamps, dual-function DRLs, dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, power windows and electrically adjustable ORVMs.

As far as pricing is concerned, the Tata Harrier should fall somewhere between the Rs 15-20 lakh bracket. With that kind of price list, the Harrier will compete with the higher trims of the Hyundai Creta, the mid-range iterations of the Jeep Compass, and the Mahindra XUV500.