My MG Hector Plus: 2 months & 1700 km ownership experience

Before finalising the Hector Plus, I test drove several cars such as the S-Cross, Nexon, Creta, Alcazar, Marazzo, and more.

BHPian TSEA recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It's amazing to see how our expectations from vehicles have changed over a period of time. Vehicles are becoming bigger, safer and getting packed with more and more Tech. Just having the luxury of travelling in a car (instead of other transport mediums), seems to be not enough!

When I bought my first car, I wanted something that can take me from point A to point B. I wanted something that was reliable and was very frugal.

Fast forward 16 years, my needs and wants have changed.

Today I want a vehicle:

• Which is silent and refined.
• Has a great build quality.
• Has all the necessary and recommended safety features.
• Gives me a commanding view of the road.
• Can ferry our family comfortably over long distances.
• Has soft suspension (absolute requirement, thanks to unplanned speed breakers in Bangalore and poor road conditions).

Essentially, I am in a market wherein driving or being driven is no longer a luxury. We want a car that gives an experience (if I dare to say!).

My current Swift (2018 AMT Vxi) was failing in some and barely managing in some of the above parameters. Hence the search started to buy an additional vehicle.

In this thread, I will try to pen down the vehicle(s) that I managed to test drive, the change of requirements, the final decision, the purchase experience and also the first service experience. Hopefully, this thread will give some useful information to folks who are looking at cars in a similar segment. As I write this post, the vehicle has been with me for around 2 months and I have clocked around 1700Kms.

The vehicles that I test drove:

S-Cross Petrol Automatic and Manual

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Refined Engine.
• Better build than by swift, rather much much better build than my swift.
• Classy all-black interiors.
• Comfort of an Automatic.
• Great pricing of the Manual variant.
• Very easy to drive around turns, negligible body roll.
• More than expected space (specially at rear) as compared to the other sub 4-meter CSUVs in the same price segment.
• Readily available in certain variants/colours.
• One of the few from Suzuki stable that had discounts running.

I absolutely loved this vehicle. I would have bought this vehicle, only if my requirements had not changed. More on that later.

Nexon Diesel AMT

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Five-star safety ratings
• Ease of driving with the AMT gearbox

Creta Petrol Manual

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Excellent Under-thigh support for the front seats (probably the best in all vehicles that I test drove)

Kushaq Petrol Manual (1.0L)

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Nice reassuring sound from the way the doors closed
• Very responsive 1.0 motor
• Clean design

Magnite Petrol Turbo CVT

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Most loaded car for that price
• Very easy to drive with CVT and Turbo Petrol engine combination

In the above list, I loved S-Cross the most and wanted to go ahead with the automatic. But, things changed, requirements changed and the entire perspective changed, with just one test drive.

During my search, I had registered for a test drive of the Marazzo and had forgotten about it. So one fine day, I got a call from the dealer and the test drive was arranged. This test drive completely changed the way I looked at vehicles, or rather, changed the way I look "OUT" from a vehicle.

Marazzo Diesel Manual

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Very high seating in the front seat. Gives an absolute commanding view of the road ahead. I felt it and my wife felt it as well. This point alone changed my expectations from vehicle. Now I wanted a vehicle with higher seating and one that provides a good commanding view of the road ahead.
• Three rows of seating.
• Captain seats for middle row.
• Spacious last row seats.

The Marazzo top end was much higher in cost than what we had planned for. But then there were discounts and things looked positive. Since we loved the 3-row seating option that Marazzo offered, we started evaluating other vehicles that offered 3 rows of seating.

XL6 Petrol Automatic and Manual

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Very convenient to drive, looked very familiar (maybe due to the steering being identical to the one in my swift) and easy to use.
• Captain seats for middle row.
• Decent space in last row seats (considering the length of the vehicle).
• Nice peppy engine.

Alcazar Diesel Manual/Automatic

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Panoramic Sunroof in all variants. Very much liked by everyone in my family.
• Loaded with technology.
• One of the most refined diesel engines amongst all the cars that I test drove. It became apparent to me why Creta and Alcazar are the leaders in their segment.
• Option of Captain seats.
• Starry Night colour shade.

Hector/Hector Plus Petrol Manual

The things that I loved about this vehicle were:

• Gave the most commanding view from the driver's seat, amongst all the cars that I test drove.
• Very refined petrol motor.
• Heavy doors.
• Loaded with tech.
• Awesome captain seats for second row.
• And yes, the Panoramic Sunroof.

So it looked like a battle between Alcazar and Hector Plus. We started reading reviews, watching youtube videos of reviewers and owners, and whatnot. The more we read and saw, the more we got confused. In the end, we chose what we liked the most amongst the two, based on our first test drive experience. Hector Plus it was.

The booking process

We had decided on the car but were far from booking the car. Question was which variant to choose from? The lower variants offered a lot of value for money, but the higher was loaded with features.

One fine Sunday, we decided to visit the showroom to check out different colours and at least get the colour decision firmed up. The dealer took us to the stockyard and showed us Hector Plus in different colours. We liked all of them (White being majestic, Black having the best road presence, Silver for ease of maintenance etc.), but what we loved the most was the Burgundy Red colour.

We casually checked on the availability of Hector Plus in that colour and were surprised to hear that the vehicle was readily available for immediate delivery (top end). This variant was way out of our budget. Absolutely no discounts. But the positive side was the car was readily available. With the longer waiting period of lower variants, we decided to take what was in hand. To accommodate the extra cost of the higher variant, we decided to sell the Swift.

Card was swiped and an MG Hector Plus Sharp Turbo Petrol Hybrid Manual was booked.

The next few days were spent paying the balance, taking insurance and finalising accessories. I went with the Insurance that was offered as I was not getting a significantly lower quote outside (with the same benefits).

A visual inspection was done of the vehicle before registration.

On the 8th day from the day of booking, the vehicle was delivered to me.

How much did it cost

• Ex-Showroom 1854800
• TCS (1% on ExShowroom Price) 18548
• Registration Charges 351002
• Insurance Secure Elite 61828
• Fast-Tag 600
• MG Shield Protect Plans - Classic 12000
• Accessories (Door protector, Bumper corner protector, Rubber cabin & boot mat, ORVM garnish and Mud flap): 11,606

Total Outflow 23,10,384

Summary of Likes

• Commanding view of the road. The moment we sit in front seats, we just love the view and presence. We sit higher up and can easily see the bonnet.

• Very Silent Cabin. Probably one of the most silent SUV cabins in its class, largely due to the refined petrol engine and very good damping all around. Wind and tyre noise is also very well controlled.
• The extra boost that the Hybrid gives. The car weighs over two tons. With that size/weight, the 1.5 Litre engine needs an extra hand, specially when the turbo has not kicked in (at lower rpms). The Hybrid also helps a lot in improving the city mileage. I consistently get around 11 kmpl within the city.
• Smoked Sepia Brown Leather (Man-made) interiors. I really like this colour and material. It is easy to maintain and is very nice to touch/feel. The same material extends through the dashboard and the door pad.

• Panoramic Sun Roof. I like it, Wife and Kids love it. I wish it started a little more from the front so that it could have let a more natural light on the front rows.

• The Infotainment Screen. It is good, very readable even in harsh sunlight, and the portrait layout is very very useful (it's easy to scroll up/down rather than scrolling right/left).

There is a lot that can be configured using this unit, more on that later

• Captain Seats in Middle row. This was one of the most debatable topics for us. Captain Seats kind of give each person his/her space, but the bench seat layout can ferry more people. In the end, the answer to this dilemma came from the third row.
• Third rows in all the vehicles of this class, are more suitable for kids, they are cramped, the under-thigh support is not adequate for adults. The floor is high, so you sit with your knees up. And your head touches the roof/rear glass. Also, it feels claustrophobic.

• Captain seats in the middle row help to reduce some of the above negatives of the third row, by allowing more light into the third row from the front. The gap between the captain seats, enable a view of the incoming traffic and most importantly, allows the third-row passenger(s) to stretch one of their legs in the gap between the second-row captain seats.

• Spacious front and middle row seats. The front seats are wide, provide good under-thigh support and are ventilated. The driver seat is power-adjustable. All four captain seats have firm cushioning, which is helpful in long drives.

• Safety Features. While the NCAP ratings are not yet out, the car does feel very secure. The front doors feel pretty heavy to close. The bonnet is very heavy to lift. None of the metal parts flex. Overall, the car paints a perception of being very safe. Here is a list of key safety features:

• Six Airbags
• ESP
• Traction Control System
• ABS+EBD+Brake Assist
• 360 Surround Camera, Front and Rear parking sensors
• Rear Defogger + Heated OVRM
• 3 Point Seat belt for all passengers (very important)
• Roll Formed Tubular Steel Door Beams (very useful in side impacts)
• Thick Door Panels + Hot Stamped B Pillar + Usage of High Strength Steel Body

• The Suspension setup. This is where the car trumps for me. The suspension is so very comfortable at lower speeds. It helps to glide over the potholes and smaller speed breakers which are plenty in Bangalore.
  At higher speeds, the body roll is controlled (for the vehicle this size). The ground clearance is adequate. There is no jarring or squeaking noise while moving over bad roads. All this adds to the driving experience. Yes, the suspension setup does bring in a vertical movement at higher speeds. But that is largely limited to roads with a lot of undulation.
• Most of you would have already observed the difference in treatment between the first and second row of seats. You would have observed that the second row usually has lesser under-thigh support, slightly higher floor, the difference in the door armrest materials etc. So whenever you do buy a bigger vehicle, please do sit in the second row and ask to be driven around on good and bad roads. Your observations will help you and your family in deciding between two different vehicles or even variants of the same vehicle!

Continue reading TSEA's ownership experience for BHPian comments, insights and more information.