The Tata Safari and Harrier that were spied are expected to be powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol motor
Camouflaged examples of the Tata Safari and Harrier SUVs with a petrol engine under the bonnet have been spied as development of the variants continue at a steady pace.
The Indian automaker, which has been going from strength to strength in the passenger vehicle segment, looks ready to address one of the chinks in its armour by launching petrol variants of the Harrier and Safari.
As can be seen from the images, both SUVs from Tata Motors have had no changes made to their styling, which rules out the possibility of these development mules being facelifted versions of the cars in question.
Speculations are rife that Tata has developed a 4-cylinder petrol motor displacing 1.5 litres and strapped a turbocharged to the engine to make it both powerful and efficient.
Expect the new petrol engine to deliver around 150 PS and 250 Nm of torque. In comparison, the sole 2.0-litre diesel engine that currently powers the SUVs puts out 170 PS and 350 Nm of torque.
The Tata Safari petrol should come with both manual and automatic gearbox options, just like the diesel and, of course, these cars will continue to be front-wheel drive models.
The same set of goodies on offer with the diesel trims can be expected in the petrol variants, but, these new grades will chiefly be a bit less expensive than their oil burner counterparts.
At present the Harrier costs between Rs. 14.40 lakhs and Rs. 21.19 lakhs, whereas the Safari is priced between Rs. 14.99 lakhs and Rs. 23.20 lakhs (prices are ex-showroom, Delhi).