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-   -   MG India's first SUV named Hector. Edit: Launched @ 12.18L (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/205468-mg-indias-first-suv-named-hector-edit-launched-12-18l-74.html)

MG has kept service interval for Hector at 10k/1yr for P and 15k/1yr for diesel. Why the difference of 5k for P when most cars have 15k as standard now?

I went to the showroom on Saturday evening. There was considerable rush. They had only diesels for display.

My observations:

-- Good cabin insulation.
-- Getting in and out is very comfortable. (I am 6 feet & 2 inch tall)
-- Poor thigh support.
-- Big infotaintment screen may be a distraction for drivers.

I think what they mean is, 60% is guaranteed but probably it can fetch more if the vehicle is in good condition. Specifying a range (ex: 60-65%) would have been more appropriate, since a 3 year old, well maintained car can get more than 60% (ex showroom??).

I was patiently waiting for the initial excitement at pricing to mellow down before commenting on it. As many expected, they have hit it out of the park with the pricing. Extremely aggressive in every manner. By 2020, they are going to be have 250 showrooms/touch points. FYR, Compass, being in India for 2 years roughly now has close to 60 showroom is what once GTO had commented few weeks back in another thread. Shows the commitment from MG. With Hector, MG is just showing a glimpse of what is in store of us in Future. I would even go ahead and say that Hector is just a "love at first sight" kind of car. They are going to offer us much better cars, especially in Hybrid and eventually in Electric. That is their big ticket to capture Indian Market.

:OT
I was trying to imagine a conversation between two normal Customers, not auto enthusiasts or BHPians. It would be something like this. (No Offense at anyone, just for fun)

GUY1: Buddy did you check out MG Hector Pricing?
GUY2: Oh yes!, What a Fantastic Debut. They just Arrived in Style.
GUY1: I Completely Agree. So, What do you think of the car?
GUY2: I think it's worth the money. Looks like a Solid Car.
GUY1: Agree. So Are you planning to buy one, you were looking for a SUV right?
GUY2: Well. I am still not convinced. Something is a miss.
GUY1: What do you mean?
GUY2: Something from the inside tells me not to put money in them.
GUY1: Dude be reasonable. You can't just tell some gyan without facts.
GUY2: OK. Hear me out, I can give you at least 10 reasons for not buying MG.
GUY1: Wow. Please go ahead. Very eager to hear.
GUY2: Well for starters, MG is a Chinese company.
GUY1: Seriously? That is your first concern?
GUY2: Not a concern as such, but Chinese goods are not that reliable na.
GUY1: Dude, we Indians are breathing, drinking, eating Chinese every second of life. Almost every item right from a small safety pin to parts of submarine are made in China. Plus they have made huge investments in India for manufacturing Hector right?
GUY2: So what? They still use Chinese parts right?
GUY1: OK, so that is your second concern. But Localization is almost 80% right? Also the expensive phone you are holding in your hand right now is also made in China with Chinese parts.
GUY2: You have a point there but see MG is quite new in India. How can we have a piece of mind.
GUY1: Valid concern, which is your Third one. But Isn't that why they are giving 5 year/Unlimited warranty?
GUY2: Yes, but still what if I am not happy with it eventually?
GUY1: That can happen with any car but I see your point [Concern Four]and they have a solution for that as well. They are introducing a Buy Back Guarantee where you can give it back to them and get approx. 50% right? Is there any company that sells a 20L Car and is ready to take it back for Half the price after 3 years?
GUY2: If you put it that way, yes. But what if Car has some serious mechanical Issues and breaks down after couple of years in some remote location where MG is not present?
GUY1: OK Concern Number Five. To mitigate this concern, MG has come up with 5 year RSA along with 5 year Warranty which pretty much solves the remote location problem. Also, They are planning to have at least 200-250 showrooms/service center's by 2020.
GUY2: How about Initial niggles? How can I trust it will not have them?
GUY1: A very valid concern number Six. Tell me are there any car today without few niggles? It comes to all about how MG handles them. We can only be hopeful that being a new entrant , they will try to work it out in the best possible manner so that it can have a positive effect on customer. Come on give me your next concern.
GUY2: Actually Not a concern, but I would like to wait for a couple of years and see how MG has done and then take the plunge.
GUY1: But you were looking for a car urgently right?
GUY2: Well yeah..but eh..well..you see I don't want to be a guinea pig. Let some people try it out and give feedback. Then I will think about it.
GUY1: Woah.. let me get this straight. You want others to try it and become sort of Guinea pigs?
GUY2: Well. The whole world is like that my friend. I cannot splurge 20L on a car without any guarantee. Let others spend and I will judge based on that, maybe a couple of years later.
GUY1: But you see, these are introductory prices. They will surely go up in 2 years time. At that point It might not be the most value for money car whereas it is now. That is the advantage you get now.
GUY2: Well, there is much lesser risk my way if you ask me.
GUY1: Well that depends on person to person. Come on give me your next concern.
GUY2: Dude, I gave you so many. How much more you need?
GUY1: You said 10, I got only 6.
GUY2: Well, I think I have covered all basic concerns. Nothing more to add.
GUY1: Let me ask you this. How did you feel when you test drove Hector?
GUY2: I did not yet get time to do that buddy.
GUY1: What? :Shockked: We discussed all these without you even doing a test drive?
GUY2: Well.
GUY1: So what will you do for your immediate requirement?
GUY2: Well, I am going to Hyundai Showroom today to book Creta, it's the fifth one in our family. Solid, reliable and Safe.
GUY1: Wow congrats buddy. When did you test drive that? How was it?
GUY2: One doesn't need to TD Creta my friend. All my Uncles and Aunts are all very happy with it. It just cannot go wrong.
GUY1: WELL!!

The Hector is sold as Chevrolet Captiva in South American Markets thanks to SAIC-GM partnership. I am sure if GM would hypothetically launch the Captiva in India right now the car will fail to sell while the Hector has already attracted a substantial crowd following. Just goes to show the importance of clever product development, ground work and aggressive sales/support in setting up a brand in India. It again accentuates the fact that India is a tough market for car manufacturers - one needs both money and diligence to succeed.

For most cars in normal maintained conditions it is true that you would be able to get more than 60% of the Ex-showroom price as resale value at the end of 3 years. Are there any limitations to these, can they refuse in case it is a very high-mileage car, or say the car was accidental or a lemon which had to go through a lot of repairs.

Just as a reference very similarly, I had picked my XUV at the time of the launch which was a great VFM at the time, which was 13.4L OTR at the time and managed to sell the same after 7 years of ownership and 1lakh KM on ODO, for 6L (~45%). It was maintained but obviously showed its age of a similar aged car in the capital. The reason I quote this example is that IMO I believe, with BS6, new connected cars & features, and other changes in taxes, I believe that the Hector's OTR price like to like 3 years from now should be at least 15-20% higher of the acquisition price. So a 60% of ex-showroom in general conditions is going to be significantly lower than market prices at the time.

So all this means the 60% buy-back guarantee, should only be treated as an underwriting guarantee which any totally new/unproven product /entrant in a new market should give to convey that confidence and peace of mind to its new customers and nothing more. So therefore it is quite important to understand the T&C and fineprint on this buy-back offer.

I visited MG West Mumbai showroom yesterday, and the line for TD was more than 2 hours., so decided to just go back today.. Initial impressions- The car seems to be well built and well priced.. One miss as per me is the Auto Dimming IVRM (I really wish they had this) - wonder why they skip out such a basic thing.. I drove the Venue DCT and Jeep Compass AT., and am eager to see how this car's auto transmission is, and if I can finally lock in HECTOR as my next car

No offer is without terms and conditions :) They would have their risks covered.

My assumption is that the sales will settle down to around 300- 400 units a month.

People have bought Mi and other Chinese smart phones abundantly, but 15L is not a small money to let it go as easily as that - when a car is bought the least number of times compared to other goods, in an average customer's life.

Indians have not completely taken into confidence even our Tata in that price range. Maruti fears to enter into that segment. Will they consider a relatively unknown MG in that price bracket?

"Cheap" things like the "INTERNET INSIDE" badge, and the 2 red "stripes" at the rear! Just like a Chinese toy car?

I caught it too! Just wish they had more attention-to-detail. Clearly a case where you have your pockets so full of money that a little bit of carelessness seeps in.

See the spelling of "maintenance" in this :Frustrati. Couldn't someone have proofread it before spending a crore?


"Vary than" is rubbish English. It should have been "vary from". And if I may nitpick, "British MG Motors" should use "colour" instead of "color" (which Americans use). India also usually uses the Queen's English:

Couple of things I just remembered from my TD.

- The rearward visibility via the IRVM is extremely poor. This is a LOOONG car and the small rear glass panel is tiny in comparison. The lack of auto dimming IRVM was another bummer.

- The IRVM has a USB port in its bottom, for powering dashcams, which is very cool, but in such a case I dont understand why they couldnt give an auto dimming IRVM.

- Also the ORVM has a very weird shape, making the visibility very limited. It looks good from outside. but doesnt enhance the field of vision much at all with its angular shape.

GTO, These are Indian's behind the scenes writing content for them or seems to be cut, copy, paste stuff. I am sure they must have hired a quality vendor for their advertisements. This advertisement has gone haywire for sure!

I was watching one of the reviews of MG Hector, and the reviewer says this "hello behenji" and guess what, MG responds.

Check MG Hector Drive Impressions by Gagan Choudhary at 8:35 of the video.

NB. Not related to the reviewer in any way. Sharing here since I found it amusing.

Thats Great ! People can call her behenji instead :) In fact sales people should teach that to customers. The black colour and paint looks really good.

As I said previously, MG should really work hard to make sure MG can be said to be British product. Hopefully their own literature is proof read multiple times.

The pricing seems to be very competitive at first also heavy claims are made from MG on the TCO side.But yes I for one would really be cautious before jumping the gun here.
Just yesterday saw the Hector in flesh for the first time at Delhi airport T3 and this is what I felt.
In person the car looks really sharp and striking.The chrome may not be to everyone's taste. Especially the "Internet Inside" logo is something I have my doubts about.But more importantly the finish and feel of the interior plastics was not that premium. Gaps were a bit uneven for a car at this price level. Someone coming from a Hyundai or a smaller VW would feel disappointed with that.Even the Tatas of today do a pretty good job in that. You would feel the interior quality more at par with Maruti in terms or fit , feel and finish. But maybe that would work for MG as a majority of people in India seem to be more that ok with it.
But a in car at this price point, not so sure.