How I ended up buying the 2023 MG Hector Plus CVT: Purchase experience

I suddenly realised how much more spacious and tall this car is compared to the XUV700.

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Hello! Since there has been no chatter on this thread for a while, I thought I'd use this opportunity to announce the delivery of my car. So after almost 2 years of trying out various vehicles in the C & D segments, I finally decided upon and took delivery of my MG Hector Plus Petrol CVT Savvy Pro! The narrowing down to this car took quite a lot of back and forth, ifs and buts, but finally, here we are! Many thanks to the opinions of the esteemed members of this forum for helping me make a decision. Quite frankly, I don't think I would have made this choice if it was not for you all!

Before I share more about the vehicle, a quick brief of my selection process without getting into too many details. I drove a Hyundai Xcent Petrol Manual for over 8 years before making a switch. The compact sedan did its job pretty fine, and was reliable as heck! Not only that, space on offer was adequate and we took it to some challenging terrain, and it didn't disappoint. However, the heavy clutch, and driving a manual in city traffic were not cutting it anymore. So my search began almost 2 years ago because I knew it wouldn't be easy getting to a decision that easily since Xcent already had several boxes ticked.

I had a few basic criteria that dictated what my next car should look like:

• No diesel, due to low usage and a bleak future
• High riding position- crossover UVs
• Preferably a 7-seater since our beautiful Golden Retriever needs a full seat.
• Good driveability, with a bias towards great performance
• Supple suspension biased more towards comfort than handling

With the above in mind, I started working with various options, the list of which, and the rationale for not going for them, is as below:

• Hyundai Tucson (new-gen): I'd been tracking this even before its India launch and I hoped that the pricing premium would not be more than 2-3 lakhs than the outgoing model. Alas, that was not to be and Hyundai India decided to play spoilsport. I just couldn't convince myself to get the new-gen model with the kit on offer, especially since it shares some of its equipment, including the 2.0L petrol engine, with the Alcazar.
• VW Tiguan: GREAT engine and handling, premium interiors, but 5 seats at that price with some missing kit eventually made me turn this down. I loved its understated and timeless design though. Would love to have it in my garage someday in a newer-gen spec.
• Jeep Meridian: Supreme build, fit and finish. Let down by a very sedate engine and gearbox. I'd always read about it, but driving this one sure did feel like driving a tank. The audio on this was immaculate, but the space felt a little compromised.
• Skoda Kodiaq: Gem of an engine, premium interiors, fit and finish. Loved the way it looked, timeless and elegant. The Canton sound system was concert-like! However, found the overall package to be pricey for what it offered. Plus, I was on the edge with DCT reliability woes in Indian driving conditions.
• Hyundai Alcazar: Great VFM, capable new petrol turbo engine+gearbox. However, space was cramped and some interior bits were not-so-premium. Anyone wanting a value 7-seater UV should go for this. One other significant reason for not going for this was just the lack of paint quality and availability of colour options. It just reduced the desirability of the car considerably for me.
• Mahindra XUV700: Everyone's favourite! I did 3 test drives of this machine before I finally decided against getting it. It was a tough call especially because the engine was very capable, and it rode and handled well. But, please don't bash me for this, I just couldn't get past the below-par interiors. For a car north of 30 lakhs, the quality of interiors didn't feel in place. Too many shiny plastics and the white interiors which I know won't age well were big letdowns. The lack of kits like auto IRVM, ventilated seats and power tailgate didn't help either. I know people are still thronging to showrooms to get this fun-riding machine, but the value quotient has dropped significantly since the price has gone up by 5-6 lakhs since launch. Ultimately, my one true consideration didn't make it after so much deliberation.

The one vehicle I never considered in all this was the MG Hector. To be honest, and this holds still, I never really liked the way it looked. The oversized grill and the poorly done rear are not to my taste, and the relatively narrow width makes the vehicle look weird from the rear. One day, after a coffee date with my wife, she insisted that we please check the Hector out because a colleague had it and she loved the interiors. I said, "Sure, but only for your sake." I had no interest whatsoever and was not even going to TD it. We reach the showroom, and then I step inside, and whoa, the brown interiors on the facelift Hector Plus do look great! I could compare the quality to that of the luxury Germans! And then I suddenly realised how much more spacious and tall this car is compared to the XUV700. I then thought no harm in taking a test drive now that I'd come so far. Took it for a quick spin, and here's what stood out for me.

• Great space and tall riding position meant great visibility outside and confidence-inspiring drive.
• Very effective engine and gearbox combo, resulting in amazing driveability. Very little to no turbo lag felt at lower RPMs, and the CVT gearbox had very little to no hint of excessive revving (lovingly referred to as the 'rubber-band effect' by all of us).
• NVH means what? Take a spin on this one. Amazing sound cancellation, and what refinement!
• Supple ride, very likeable at city speeds. But I knew what it meant at highway speeds.
• The amazing sounding Infinity system. The balance on this is just perfect. Sure, it misses a central speaker, but the system is tuned remarkably well. Love at first listen!

So as you can see, I was converted. But was I convinced? Not yet. I lived with the idea of owning the vehicle for a few more months, saw it on the road, imagined it sitting in my garage, enquired in this thread about all the little details, and then took yet another test ride. This time to test the ride, handling and performance at higher speeds. As suspected, the ride does get floaty at speed, but the handling at corners/body-roll wasn't a deal breaker. The CVT, which is very drivable at city speeds becomes less exciting at highway speeds. That said acceleration isn't dull either and it continues to gain momentum continuously. Exciting? Thrilling? No. Capable of pulling a full 7 pax on the ghats and hilly terrain? Don't break a sweat. Tried out the touchscreen panel, and observed that it had improved considerably since my last TD, where I found it sluggish. Besides all this, the kit on offer was phenomenal, and there was not one thing I missed! I observed over time with other cars in my neighbourhood that MG's paint quality held up quite well and many of the shades on offer were to my liking. If I had to go past all the chrome, I had to choose Aurora Silver.

A decision was finally made! The MG Hector Plus was going to replace our beloved Xcent, and a booking for the Sharp Pro variant was made! Was it the most competent car in all aspects? No. Was it competent in many that mattered, and was value for money? A big fat YES! At its price, there is little to fault this car and it checks so many of the boxes I had. Performance and fuel efficiency are lacking, and the looks are still something I need to get used to. But, boy does it deliver on so many other fronts. Bonus points for that brown upholstery, I just LOVE it!

Within a few weeks, the dealer called up offering me the Savvy Pro variant with the same colour (silver) and spec I needed since it was lying for a few months in their yard. Did a very detailed PDI, investigated everything and okayed the car although it was sitting there for 3 months. Thereafter, bargained and got a sweet 70k off besides an insurance discount. In addition, struck off all unnecessary items and got the car price down to a good number. Within another week, took delivery of the vehicle and drove it for quite some time. Happy to report, that the decision made holds good, and all my young relatives who pushed me to no end to buy the XUV700 drove it and asked me how I found this gem of a package. Also, one of them is now considering a Gloster over the Fortuner after a visit to the showroom.

Here's a picture from delivery day to sign this one off. I am still figuring out stuff and am yet to drive on longer distances, but I'm hoping my journey with SilverFury is memorable and long, with newer destinations to undertake!

P.S.: The auto-indicators suck big time.

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