Tata H5X: Land Rover Based Premium SUV Spied

Tata Motors’ all-new premium H5X SUV (Harrier SUV) has been spied albeit with heavy camouflage. This is the first time a Tata car will share its platform with that of a Jaguar Land Rover group offering. The car has been marked for its official unveiling which will take place at the upcoming Auto Expo 2018 on February 7th.

Platform:

Cutting to the chase, it’s been confirmed that H5X will share its platform with Land Rover’s Discovery SUV. Manufacturing of most of the parts incorporated by this platform has been localized by the Indian automaker, which aids in cost cutting. To keep the cost of production low, some aluminum parts have been substituted with steel surrogates. Downside of this might present itself in the form of increased weight. However, sources from Tata Motors say that the automaker has managed to keep the kerb weight under 1,650 kg.

In addition to the MS platform, Tata Harrier will also share the highly acclaimed suspension setup of Land Rover Discovery, in addition to the configuration of the steering gear and floorplan. The car will run on 19-inch wheels which will come wrapped in MRF rubber.

Tata H5 (Harrier SUV) Specifications:

The premium Tata SUV will not be sharing its engine options with Land Rover Discovery, instead the 2.0 litre Multijet unit incorporated in Jeep Cmpass will make an appearance under the hood of H5X. This decision, like the one for the components of the platform mentioned above, was made as localization of parts is a major priority for Tata. For the H5X, expect to find a 140 bhp unit cracking away under the hood, whereas the bigger H7 is likely to get a 180 bhp mill.

The engines will come mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission unit also found in the Jeep Compass, which will send power to all four wheels with the help of an in-house developed All-wheel drive system.

Aesthetics:

Tata H5X incorporates the company’s Impact 2.0 design language and it is quite easy to spot the famous humanity line, which flows fluidly through the headlights and grille of the SUV. Other prominent design accents include flared wheel arches, raked windscreen, sculpted foglamp encasings and hexagonal mesh grille over the airdam.

Interiors:

Even though much has not been revealed, both H5X and H7 are likely to get Tata’s ConnectNext entertainment system, we also expect to find a Harman based sound system and a 7-inch touchscreen. The H5X will be offered with Tata’s drive selector program. The car will also feature theatre seating layout which it will share with Land Rover Discovery. This means Tata’s Harrier will be available in both five-seater and six-seater layouts. There should be plenty of cabin space as a courtesy of the long 2,741mm wheelbase of Discovery Platform.

Rivals and Expected Launch:

Heavy localization of components has led us to believe that Tata will price H5X to compete with the likes of Renault Captur and Hyundai Creta. The car will probably be launched in late 2018 and we expect it will get plenty of attention upon its unveil at the 2018 Indian Auto Expo.