A carmaker thats constantly been on the back foot with infotainment may now have one of the finest systems yet.We thronged to the upgraded Sierra and Curvv concept vehicles, we hovered around the Harrier EV and Avinya. Heck, we even had a poke around the Tata Punch and Altroz iCNGs. There was a lot more besides that on display at Tata Motors huge Auto Expo 2023 stall, and more still spoken about throughout the brand names hour-long presentation at the end of Day 1. Regardless of all this star power and wow factor, the greatest thing Tata revealed at Auto Expo 2023 wasnt pointed out even once, save for a singular line of text tucked deep inside a press release.Tata Motors touchscreens have actually always lagged behindYes, its an all-new infotainment system, and infotainment is something the brand has actually struggled with in the last years. If memory serves right, Tata initially messed around with touchscreens in the Indigo Manza, which utilized a rather basic aftermarket system. That might have worked for the time, however by the time Tata presented its own indigenous system in the likes of the Hexa and Tigor, rivals had raced ahead. This tiny screen was sluggish, laggy and not really brilliant, and thankfully, featured physical knobs, because these made it easier to operate than utilizing the screen itself. The next variation, branded ConnectNext, debuted on the Tata Zest and Bolt wasnt much better, with an increase in features but not functionality.Hopes were high for the next version of ConnectNext, which debuted on the Nexon in 2017 with a degree of connectivity integrated in. But alas, while an enhancement, it too was far behind its contemporaries. The 6.5-inch screen felt little, reactions again were glacial, and the user interface wasnt user-friendly. Worse still, when the Harrier came along in 2019 with a 10.25-inch screen, it used a barely updated variation of the same software application with substantial blank areas on either side, as the software application wouldnt scale to fit the larger screen, which truly stung in a vehicle so costly. There have been updates considering that, but the enhancements have actually been incremental. Clearly, the slate was being cleaned.New Tata touchscreen is slick and complete of featuresWith no special marketing or fancy brand behind it (the aforementioned news release simply states 10.25-inch new-gen touchscreen infotainment), you might not realise how big an upgrade this is, but one glance is all it takes. It shares the very same super-wide 21:9 aspect ratio as the Safaris screen, and this time the whole screen is used; there is no letterboxing. The UI is tidy, clear and minimalist, with big, quickly understandable text. Its also intuitively set out with a series of faster way widgets provided in big squares (like BMWs brand-new iDrive 8) that show real-time data without needing to go into a sub-menu. These include an AQI readout for the onboard air purifier (it showed 500– serious in Greater Noida, so clearly it works), a comprehensive trip and fuel computer, climate control, radio and smartphone connectivity.The graphics are tidy and minimalist with large, quickly legible text.Then you take your very first swipe at it and youre satisfied with sweet, beautiful fluidity. No, its still not rather up there at the extremely cutting edge of touchscreens that offer smartphone-grade reactions, but its a radical change over the old system, and better than many competitors; attempt I say, even MGs new 14-inch behemoth screen in the Hector. Theres even an onboard assistant that awakens with a voice command– I accidentally triggered it– but well need to see if its functions exceed altering the temperature and opening the sunroof. It still pairs with a 9-speaker JBL stereo in the Harrier and Safari, the provider still seems Harman, and Im curious to understand about the processing power behind it. And this is to state absolutely nothing of the slick brand-new 7-inch semi-digital dials screen– now transferred to the centre rather than offset to the left. This time the tachometer is analogue rather than the speedo, and looks rather small relegated to the left, while the fuel and temperature evaluates are on the. The speedo/MID screen appears pretty informative, however well require more time with it to understand for sure. Just as stealthily, Tata has presented ADAS features to its flagship SUVs, with the likes of Auto Emergency Braking, Front and Rear Collision Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition and Lane Departure Warning. Thats a story for another time.The new 7-inch semi-digital dials screen gets a centrally situated MID instead of a balanced out one.While the heavy-hitting Tata Motors idea cars and trucks are all years away from launch, the new touchscreen will make its launching on the Harrier and Safari Red Dark editions– themselves rolled out with little excitement on the second press day of Auto Expo 2023– and these might launch as soon as next month. Its about time, as this seemingly harmless upgrade could extremely well be the cherry on top for what is otherwise a world-class set of SUVs.Also See: Opinion: Jimny– the return of the (Gypsy) KingOpinion: Why the Jimny and Thar are not rivals

Even worse still, when the Harrier came along in 2019 with a 10.25-inch screen, it used a hardly upgraded version of the exact same software with substantial blank spaces on either side, as the software wouldnt scale to fit the wider screen, which truly stung in an automobile so costly. It shares the exact same super-wide 21:9 aspect ratio as the Safaris screen, and this time the whole screen is used; there is no letterboxing. No, its still not rather up there at the very cutting edge of touchscreens that give smartphone-grade reactions, however its a quantum leap over the old system, and better than many competitors; dare I state, even MGs brand-new 14-inch leviathan screen in the Hector. Thats a story for another time.The brand-new 7-inch semi-digital dials screen gets a centrally situated MID instead of an offset one.While the heavy-hitting Tata Motors principle vehicles are all years away from launch, the brand-new touchscreen will make its launching on the Harrier and Safari Red Dark editions– themselves rolled out with little excitement on the 2nd press day of Auto Expo 2023– and these could release as quickly as next month.