MG Hector waiting period hits 20 weeks as 12,000 Indians book it

The recently launched MG Hector SUV is seeing big demand. Over 12,000 Indians have already booked the Hector, and the waiting period has shot up to 20 weeks already. What this means is, competitors of the Hector such as the Tata Harrier and the Mahindra XUV500 are available much faster. The Hector was launched last week with prices starting from just Rs. 12.18 lakhs, which means that it heavily undercuts the likes of the Tata Harrier and the Mahindra XUV500. The Hector – a rebadged Chinese SUV called the Baojun 530 – is available with three engines: a 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged petrol, the same engine along with a mild hybrid and a 2 liter Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel. The petrol engine get 6 speed manual and 6 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox options while the petrol mild hybrid and the turbo diesel engines get 6 speed manual gearboxes. The Hector is front wheel driver and MG Motor has no plans to offer an all wheel drive layout with this SUV.

The Hector’s turbo petrol engine makes 140 Bhp of peak power and 250 Nm of peak torque while the diesel makes 170 Bhp-350 Nm. While it’s too early to figure which engine option most buyers would prefer, our money is on the turbo diesel motor as SUVs are synonymous with diesel engines in the Indian market, and this is particularly true among large SUVs such as the Hector.

Talking dimensions, the MG Hector is one of the largest SUVs in its class, particularly in terms of length and wheelbase. The SUV is 4.65 meters long, making it significantly longer than the Tata Harrier and the Mahindra XUV500 while the wheelbase stands at 2.75 meters, which again is best-in-class. So, squeezing in an additional row of seats is straightforward. The 7 seat version of the Hector will make its debut early next year, and will rival the Tata Cassini, which is coming in by the end of this year.

Considering the fact that the MG brand is nearly unknown in India, the automaker is offering a segment leading 5 year/unlimited kilometer warranty on the Hector along with a 5 year road side assistance. The automaker has also stuffed the Hector with features, making it one of the most loaded SUVs in its segment, and also a ‘connected’ SUV with on-board internet connectivity.

A 10.4 inch infotainment unit, which looks like a unit borrowed from Tesla, dominates the center console. and is at the heart of the SUV’s ‘connected-ness’. It’s a unit from GPS maker TomTom. The other key features on the MG Hector including a segment-first Panoramic sunroof, a reclining rear seat, largest boot in class with 587 liters on offer, a powered tail gate, 8 colour ambient lighting and a 360 degree camera that will be quite useful given the SUV’s ample proportions.

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