With diesel’s popularity decreasing a bit with newer engine norms and removal of subsidies, big SUVs that were predominantly diesel oriented are introducing petrol engines as well. Keeping with the trend, Tata Harrier, one of the biggest SUVs in the market, is coming up with a petrol engine.
It is expected to be powered by Tata’s new 1.5-litre, direct-injection turbo-petrol engine. This engine will be a four-cylinder variant of the 1.2 Revotron engine used in the Nexon. It is expected that the new engine will produce around 150bhp of power.
Tata’s smaller SUV Nexon sees 65-70 per cent sales in petrol variants.
Similarly sized MG Hector also sees a more than 50 per cent sale of petrol variants. The Hector also has a mild hybrid variant that makes up around 25 per cent sale of the petrol variants.
The Tata Harrier recently received an automatic variant, and a 7-seater version of the same , named Tata Gravitas that will be launched soon.
The petrol automatic versions of the Harrier and Gravitas which are expected to come subsequently will have paddle shifters.
Tata is reportedly considering a mild hybrid version of the new petrol engine for the large SUVs as well which would be useful considering the upcoming CO2 norms.