[NAVREVV]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

Does anyone know who manufacturers the petrol engine in the MG Hector? I might be travelling soon to try out the DCT, hope its good. I am not expecting it to be Skoda like, but should be good enough.

Any ideas on the t-bhp review/preview. We will get one soon I hope, probably by end of September.

Well, If you have driven Skoda DSG then you are in for some disappointment as DCT doesn't deliver the same punch as DSG. Am sure DSG owners wouldn't like this seriously lethargic gearbox.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by nsbhagwat

How different is it from the Baojun? It is the donor vehicle for Hector AFAIK, I may be wrong.
Regards
Nikhil

It is a sticker job, also known as the Chevrolet Captiva among many other names this vehicle has.

As per Wikipedia, this company has 500 employees, so the cars have to be made by someone else , in this case SAIC china, who also makes Chevrolet and all sorts of branded vehicles, remember the dreadful line up of cars Chevrolet had just before they bowed out.

[ashlil]

Originally Posted by deepjaju

Same was the case with the Jeep. The Compass came with a bang, people loved it and sales skyrocketed, waiting times increased and slowly but steadily dropped month on month. Jeep just put all its eggs in the Compass basket. Should have ridden the momentum wave and launched various other products to secure itself in the market.
But MG seem to have a proper roadmap in place and are here for the long-haul. It seems they will definitely make an impact on the sector.

Jeep was way overpriced (for its size) from day one. It is a testimony to its brand pull that it sold in 2000s for as long as it did. Once the initial enthusiasm died, however, people realized they are paying more for nothing and the inevitable happened. It has been the case always. The only exceptions are Creta and Innova and the exceptions are only holding because there are no real alternatives for them.

[DrCar]

Many of us are of the opinion that being a Chinese manufacturer, MG wouldn't fare well in the long term in terms of reliability.
But we should also understand one thing, that Tata motors inspite of being ranked low in reliability quotient is still given multiple chances by the buyers.
I would like to ask, wasn't Tata motors aware of multiple launches that would take place post launch of Harrier? As a company who is into car business in a fiercely competitive market, it would surely be aware of potential competition. Tata still went ahead and launched a half baked product in the SUV segments which I feel is not tolerable. Even Mahindra does the same, but when they come out with a great product like XUV300, they will simply overprice it.
MG should be given a chance I feel, and if they fail in long term reliability aspect, the market itself will show the doors to them.
If Kia Seltos is a similarly polished product like Creta, then paying a slight premium for it shouldn't matter much to the buyer.
Creta is overpriced but no buyer is complaining after owning it. It gives you the feeling of 'money well spent' instead of 'value for money' feel.

My only concern is the potential touchscreen related issues in Hector. What all problems we will have to face if it goes kaput?

OT - Most of us use phones manufactured by Chinese companies and 90% of phones that we own are as reliable as others.

[daretodream]

I kind of find berating the Chinese products funny and kind of self fulfilling.
Chinese have mastered the proficiency on precision manufacturing as well as heavy manufacturing.
I've visited across multiple cities across China and my observation is that China has invested heavily in building the infrastructure as well as proficiency skills over last few decades. We Indians are atleast 3 decades behind Chinese on these manufacturing.

I have experience from Metal, Mining, Apparel, Power industry wherein equipments as well technology are increasingly used from Chinese companies. My friend in medical devices B2B company also echoes the same.
In certain categories like Toys, Accessories, Hardlines- there are multiple grades of quality for the same product depending on the price you want to pay while sourcing your products.

My sense is that MG is here for the long term and will use all its Chinese know how to make a high quality product at a value for money price. Even if that comes at cash burn per product, they would work on their price by building efficiencies in their supply chain.

I am not in the market to buy a vehicle now but I will be very closely watching this space.
Great time for customer nevertheless!

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by ashlil

Jeep was way overpriced (for its size) from day one. It is a testimony to its brand pull that it sold in 2000s for as long as it did. Once the initial enthusiasm died, however, people realized they are paying more for nothing and the inevitable happened. It has been the case always. The only exceptions are Creta and Innova and the exceptions are only holding because there are no real alternatives for them.

IIRC, the sentiment at the time of Jeep Compass launch was that the pricing was great. There are two reasons why now it's considered as an expensive option.
1. At that time, the reference price was creta which we all know is priced higher than one would expect in that segment. Now, with the introduction of Harrier and now Hector, suddenly we have two cars in the same class but bigger and lesser priced. So, suddenly Jeep has to compete with these new guys rather than Creta.
2. Over times, the price of Compass have gone up somewhat and new variants obviously tend to push the prices upward.

Regardless of the success of Harrier and Hector, the market needed this shock and for that we should appreciate their effort

[akhil_rpmlover]

Went to the MG Trivandrum showroom with my cousin and had a small test drive as well. The showroom was packed, there was a lot of enthusiasm among the customers and the sales staff. Interesting to see this for the brand, considering its a Tier-II city. SA told us they have received so far 85 bookings from Trivandrum alone and few converts from Harrier bookings. There was no DCT variant for display nor test drive.

As far as looks are concerned, it's not personally to my taste. I still find the Seltos/ Creta more proportionate than the Hector. Harrier is in another league as far as looks and road presence is concerned. Initially drove the Hybrid variant and one thing we felt, immediately entering the cabin is the good cabin insulation. The drivability was good, as many have pointed out, it was not bad nor it was extremely good. It was okay. Felt adequate low-end torque while going from a standstill. Drove the diesel later and found it a lot peppier than the petrol counterpart. Steering is on the lighter side. Visibility is really good, but the rear visibility through the IRVM is really bad.

I don't understand why they don't have the auto dimming IRVM, although they have heated ORVMs. The huge touchscreen looks okayish, but I kind of personally like having a few buttons on the dashboard, but this is where the future is headed like in Tesla. Further, the UI could have been more fluidic. Like many have said, I expected it to be a whole lot smoother than it is. The sunroof is a fancy feature, which I personally don't want as a must-have feature.

- Auto-dimming IRVM should have been there.
- Alloys could have been better.
- The armrest is not adjustable
- The leather on the steering and in the soft touch dashboard felt softer than the Jeep Compass IIRC.
- Space in the rear seat is fantastic. The floor felt flat. Really good space at the rear. The reclining seats are something which might appeal to a few chauffeur driven customers.
- The anticlockwise tacho is not my thing and requires some getting used to while driving.
- Personally, I feel the 'internet inside' badge looks el cheapo. So is the rear splitter in the bumper.
- I don't know if it's nitpicking, but I felt the pulling handbrake lever mechanism bit flimsy, as in, it kept going up a lot.
- I think Diesel is the variant to go if you are buying the manual. If its petrol, I guess AT would be a better option.

I have to say that MG has done a fantastic job overall with the pricing. Like many have said, our market badly deserves such pricing, which will eventually force others to price more sensibly. I am wondering how Kia is going to price the Seltos. It's only the turbo petrol which matches the output figures of Hector and Harrier. I do agree that the majority of our customers are not focussed on the performance side but still, I do see that many newbie customers brag about the power figures while purchasing. Tough times ahead for Harrier and the competition.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by daretodream

I kind of find berating the Chinese products funny and kind of self fulfilling.
Chinese have mastered the proficiency on precision manufacturing as well as heavy manufacturing.

Well, this is a perception that has been developed by using cheap Chinese toys or any other simple products (ex: torch or a mosquito bat) which appear very well finished but the life is very short (they are designed to function for some time and mostly as a 'throw-away'). But people also forget that most of the products we use today (or the components at least) are made in China. My friend who is an electronics engineer tells me that Chinese are capable of giving you exactly what you pay for ; either a phone is which is as good as an iPhone or a cheap Rs 5000 phone which works exactly for 1 year depending on what you pay
I had a look at the Hector, and like everyone has expressed so far, it is a mix of above average in many areas and average in some. It is not brilliant (I am talking about the perceived build quality), nor is it bad in any.

[vigneshkumar31]

https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-n...ears-23940.htm

Talk about aggressive marketing. MG is offering a 60percent buyback after 3 years.

Though it comes laden with conditions there's no denying that it's still a bold and disruptive move.

[AGwagon]

On Road Pricing Delhi

[coolkurt]

In the market for replacing the ageing Punto. Looking at something between 10-15 lakhs. Which looks like it's going to be more in the 15-20 lakh bracket as far as on road pricing is concerned.

Went to the Safdarjung Enclave showroom in Delhi. It was pretty crowded , a lot of buzz around the car. Was interesting to see the focus on MG history with a muted nod to the Chinese ownership.

The first impressions, the car looks the part. It qualifies for the bang for the buck SUV bracket, and it could potentially eat into the numbers of the Creta, which was way too overpriced imho. All depends on how well MG handles the deliveries and post sale service. I test drove the harrier right before the Hector and for starters, they'll really have to rework their pricing. No sunroof, 30 BHP difference and more expensive than the hector? It just might not pull the numbers.

The front is pretty well designed. The grill is a nice touch. The DRL look better than on the Harrier. The rear is a bit more polarizing, but I liked it.

Test drove the diesel variant and I was pretty happy with the cabin insulation. Especially when compared to the harrier where the diesel clatter was more evident. The engine is tuned for linear delivery so there's not sudden rush when you push the throttle but it's pretty driveable in the city. It looks like it'll be a decent performer and could bring in decent fuel economy as well.

The infotainment system is the big OOH factor and it does work. The touchscreen is pretty responsive so no complaints there. The other features are more blingy and will eventually wear out. The sunroof is a nice touch and makes the cabin feel roomier and bigger, which it already is as compared to the competition.

Only the top end model has the red colour and the 3d camera ( quality is okayish, nothing great but does the job ). And only the automatic has the start AC remotely feature, which is fair.

The projector headlamps and Led Lights all over are a nice touch and gives the premium feel.

The top model is around 20.5 lakhs on road in Delhi. So that's the major choice to make here, whether MG is good enough to plonk 20L.

Will I trust another new brand, which has almost negligible presence here, after I already made a mistake once, with Fiat Punto in 2009?

I'm still not fully convinced. Will research a bit more. Only other option for me is the top end Honda City Diesel. But that'll be playing it safe. So I'll wait for a bit. See how things play out.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

I'm still not fully convinced. Will research a bit more. Only other option for me is the top end Honda City Diesel. But that'll be playing it safe. So I'll wait for a bit. See how things play out.

, but why is the only other option a Diesel city?

Plenty of other better cars for that money.

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

, but why is the only other option a Diesel city?

Plenty of other better cars for that money.

It's either a Honda or Toyota. Don't really have a good experience with Hyundai. The Creta and sister SUV aren't really bang for the buck. There really isn't anything else for me except the city. The Civic is way too overpriced.

[NAVREVV]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

Only other option for me is the top end Honda City Diesel. But that'll be playing it safe. So I'll wait for a bit. See how things play out.

Is Seltos not on your list? I also test drove the Hector DCT in Noida and felt that low end torque is dismal and overall DCT felt under powered with no Sports mode on offer. Also, its size for a 5 seater SUV is too huge impacting the FE nos and daily commute on such a bulky car could be a challenge.

[AnandB]

I test drove Sharp DCT Petrol. Its adequate and decent and compared to my Octavia 1.8 tsi dsg, the dct is not that bad.

I am looking to replace my Dec 2010 Santa Fe 4WD and the prices of the current crop of full size Suvs reach 40 lac, santa fe was 26 when i bought it. I was in 2 minds about the Endeavour 3.2 seeing as it offered the most bang for the buck. Had no interest in Hector but the pricing made me check it out 2 days back and i am throughly impressed. Its a good overall package, every feature you can think of more than my Octavia or Santa fe and its pretty decent to drive too,interiors are good too. Except for full-size, off-road capability (both of which I don't really need) i can get 2 Hector's for the price (only comparing top model automatics).

I am pretty sure there is a sport mode as when my father took over to test drive he accidentally put on S, its right of D on the gear lever which the sale executive pointed out. Didn't get to try it though.