MG Hector SUV reviewed after 20,000 Kms

MG Motor made their debut in the Indian market over an year ago. They entered the market with a mid-size SUV Hector. When launched, it was the most feature loaded SUV in its segment and was the first SUV in the segment to get connected car features. Response from the customer side was welcoming for Hector as it had long waiting periods. At a point, the demand became so high that MG had to literally stop accepting bookings. We had done a proper review of the SUV back in the day when it was launched. We now got back to the Hector once again to find out how the SUV feels like after it has done around 20,000 kms on the odometer.

We took the MG Hector diesel on a road trip to find out how the SUV actually feels like after 20,000 kms. We drove the SUV from Delhi to Manali and then back to Delhi. There were 5 passengers in the car and the boot was loaded to the brim. We started at night and the headlamps on the SUV had a very good throw and had lit up the roads where there was no light at all. This gave us a fair idea about the road and traffic that was ahead of us.

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As mentioned above, the car was fully loaded with passengers and luggage and it even then it returned a indicated fuel economy of 14 kmpl. The economy later dropped to 12 kmpl as we were continuously driving on hilly roads. This is good considering the fact that the car was fully loaded all the time. None of the passengers felt any discomfort during the drive and even the passenger sitting in the middle at the rear found enough space there. This is actually a good thing for Hector.

We had encountered couple of roads that were still under construction. Hector’s suspension was tuned in such a way that it did neither felt too soft nor too hard. It absorbed all the bumps and the occupants do not feel it. Once we reached Manali we even had plans to cross newly built Atal tunnel on the MG Hector but, due to heavy snowfall, the route was temporarily closed. The fit and finish on MG Hector is good. Even after completing 20,000 kms, none of the panels both on the outside and inside were vibrating or out of place.

The NVH levels were also good on this diesel SUV. The engine felt pretty refined throughout the trip and the low end torque helped us drive the Hector over small patches of snow as well. The engine is punchy and at the same time fuel efficient as well. MG Hector diesel is available with a manual gearbox only. It is powered by a Fiat sourced 2.0 litre, turbocharged engine that generates 170 Ps and 350 Nm of peak torque. It is also available with a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine which comes with a manual and DCT gearbox. A petrol hybrid version is also available with a manual gearbox.

Overall, we were pretty impressed with the way Hector had performed throughout the trip, it never felt underpowered and also returned decent amount of fuel efficiency. MG is also working on a facelifted version of Hector and is expected to launch it in the next couple of days. MG is also planning to introduce to a 4WD version on their 7-seater Hector Plus model.

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