MG Hector: REAL reasons why everyone’s buying this SUV

The MG Hector was launched back in June this year and the SUV has already climbed the to top spot of the sales game in its segment. According to the sales data of July, the Hector was ahead of its main rival, the Tata Harrier, by more than double the units. This comes as a piece of good news for MG especially at a time when the whole industry is witnessing a massive sales slowdown. So what are the reasons behind the success of the MG Hector? Read along to find out.

Most affordable vehicle in its segment

India is a price-sensitive market and MG did no mistakes in pricing the Hector accordingly. Currently, it is the most affordable vehicle in its segment with its base variant priced at Rs. 12.18 lakh. It undercuts both the Mahindra XUV500 and the Tata Harrier in terms of pricing and yet is the most modern SUV of the lot. It is said that if you play the pricing game well in India, half of the work is already done and the same has been proved by MG now.

Biggest SUV in the segment with a most spacious cabin

The MG Hector is also the largest vehicle in its segment which is another feather in its cap. It measures a whopping 4,655mm in length which makes it longer than all the other vehicles in its price range including the Tata Harrier. The MG Hector measures 1,835mm in width and 1,760mm in height and has a ground clearance of 192mm. Further, the Hector also offers the longest wheelbase of 2,750mm, which means it has the largest cabin space. Apart from this, the boot space capacity of Hector is massive at 587 litres which is enough to gobble almost any luggage you throw at it.

Offers a ton of features

Talking about features, the Hector has no dearth of them. MG made sure to pack its debut vehicle in India to its brim with features and the SUV comes with several segment-first features as well. Speaking of which, the Hector offers 8 colour ambient lighting, reclining rear seats, a huge panoramic sunroof, 10.4-inch touch infotainment system, 360-degree camera, LED projector headlamps and fog lamps, and heated ORVMs among others.

Guaranteed 60% buyback scheme

Another major attractive point for the customers buying the Hector is the guaranteed 60% buyback scheme the manufacturer is offering. This assured buyback plan offers a buy back value of 60 per cent of the original ex-showroom price of the SUV after 3 years of ownership. There are a few clauses to this plan and it needs to be bought during the purchase of the car but it is a pretty decent scheme if you plan brief ownership of the vehicle. The cost of this scheme ranges from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 85,000 depending on the variant and powertrain.

Best in class warranty

Apart from offering the buyback scheme, the MG Hector also comes with a 5-year/unlimited km warranty as standard which is the best in its segment. For commercial buyers, there is a mileage restriction of 1,50,000 km. Compared to its rivals, Hector’s standard warranty is undoubtedly the best by quite a margin. The 12V/48V batteries get a 1-year warranty while the 10.4-inch touch infotainment system gets a 3-year warranty.

Both petrol and diesel engines on offer along with a hybrid option

MG offers both petrol and diesel engine options with the SUV. The petrol engine is a 1.5-litre petrol unit that pumps out 143 PS of power and 250 Nm of peak torque. The diesel engine, on the other hand, is a 2.0-litre Multijet unit that produces a maximum power of 170 PS and 350 Nm of peak torque. MG also offers a 48V hybrid system as an optional feature with the top three petrol variants and the Hector is the only vehicle in its segment to come with a hybrid drivetrain.

Automatic gearbox option with petrol engine

One of the major shortcomings of the Tata Harrier is that it does not come with an automatic gearbox even as an option. MG, however, didn’t make the same mistake and offers a 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission as an option on the petrol variants. So while the diesel engine only comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox, there is an automatic box available with the Hector which means that the buyers won’t have to look at other options.

Most fuel-efficient diesel engine

The 2.0-litre diesel engine powering the Hector is found on two other SUV, the Jeep Compass and the Tata Harrier. Despite Harrier offering less power and the Compass being a much smaller vehicle, it is the Hector which offers the maximum fuel efficiency among all of them. The 2.0-litre diesel engine on the Hector has an ARAI certified fuel efficiency score of 17.41 km/l which is also the best in the segment.

The only vehicle to offer internet-connected features in the segment

The MG Hector comes with an integrated M2M module which keeps it connected to the internet constantly. It is the first SUV in this segment to come with such a feature. It makes the Hector quite a smart car and it can give live location updates to the user’s phone. Further, the smartphone app can be used to turn on the AC, control the engine and set-up features like geo-fencing. The Hector can also download the system updates and upgrade the software just like smartphones. Moreover, the vehicle gets AI-based voice recognition that can be used to control several features of the car including the windows, AC, navigation, sunroof and many more.

Cheaper to maintain

We now know that the MG Hector is quite affordable, comes with a buyback scheme and a 5 year/unlimited km warranty. That’s not it though because MG offers 5 free services on the Hector and owners will not be charged for labour costs on the first 5 scheduled services either. Further, the manufacturer offers two maintenance plans. The Classic plan covers routine maintenance while Premium plan covers wear and tear (excluding tyres, batteries and collision repairs) in addition to routine maintenance. MG claims that the Hector has an ownership cost of Rs 0.45 per kilometre for the petrol and Rs 0.49 per kilometre for the diesel models which is again best-in-class.