Tata Harrier Shows off Excellent Water-wading Capabilities but What’s Wrong?

Based on the Land Rover-derived OMEGA-Arc platform, the Harrier is a popular urban mid-size SUV that’s domestically-developed by Tata Motors. Tata Harrier wasn’t born as a hardcore off-roader as it is available with a front-wheel-drive layout only. However, one saying that will have to think twice after watching the following video, which shows a Harrier with its awe-inspiring water-wading skills.

Tata first launched the all-new Harrier in early 2019, packed with the introduction of a Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre Kryotech turbo-diesel engine option. Unlike other conventional off-road-spec SUV, the Tata Harrier is a front-wheel-driven SUV. But thanks to the smart traction control and multiple drive modes, it can handle some mild off-road conditions such as mud-driving or water-wading.

Uploaded by a Youtuber named Viratian A, the video shows how awesome the Harrier is while it was crossing the river without any difficulties. The car featured in the video here is the pre-facelifted model that offers a ground clearance of 205 mm. The carmaker claims that the Tata Harrier can wade through water with a respectable depth of 450 mm.

It looks like a piece of cake, doesn’t it? We can’t deny that the Harrier is a capable SUV. But wait, don’t be eager so much that you take your car out for an immediate water wading challenge like the one in this video as the driver here has breached many safety technique in handling the situation.

So what’s wrong in this video? Dipping the Harrier into the water at high speeds like the driver here should be totally avoided as wading in deep water a high speed can cause water to hit the air intake or other parts of the car, leading to the hydrostatic lock and serious harm to the vehicle. You won’t want your car’s ECU to blow by water reaching the internal circuit, which will require a major expense to repair.

To do it correctly, the car should be entering the water slowly so that it can create a tiny wave. But before that, you need to get out of the car to gauge the depth of water carefully. Try to avoid entering the water by taking a different route if any even though it may require a longer distance. Once we have entered the pool, try to keep your car at a steady pace. Even Tata Motors had released a video showing its Harrier driving through water at a steadily slow speed.

Though the Tata Harrier is capable of handling the water-wading, you shouldn’t do it so often. In case you want to or have to drive your car through the water more frequently, equip your car with a snorkel then.

In fact, many off-road enthusiasts choose to give their modified cars a snorkel to prevent their vehicles from being hydrostatically locked when passing through such water wading depths.