Brunch Mumbai – June 29, 2019

First On TheRoad

Theliterallybrand-newMGHectorisnotasrugg edas

manyof itsSUVrivals,butscoreswithitsmanyfeatur es

Aclever

pre-launch

campaignfor

thecarhas

piquedthe

interestof

prospective

buyers

(withreal-timetrafficupdates) and the Gaanaapp, whichstreams

music through the impressive-sounding Infinity soundsystem.

THE INTERNETCAR

But it’s the suite of ‘connected’ featuresthatisthe novelty

factor inwhat MGhas dubbed as the ‘Internet Car.’The

Hector’sinfotainmentsystem comes with an embedded SIM

card,whichallowsyour car to ‘talk’ withyour smartphone.

Sitting inyour office,you can lockand unlockthe car, start the

engine andeven turnon the air-con.Thebest bit is howyou can

keeptabs onyour car,through the FindMyCar function (useful

if you’veforgottenwhereyou’veparkedyour car) and the

‘geofencing’setting,whichalertsyouifsomeone has sneaked

your car outofthe boundary (up toa100km radius)youcan set.

TheHector’s best party trickisthevoice command

system thatcan be activatedbyapleasant ‘Hello MG’

greeting.Yo ucanfollowuponthatwithacommand like

‘Please open the sunroof’, and the car coollydoes itforyou.

Wherethe Hectorreally aces itis in termsofsheer all-round

space,especially in therear seats,whichare plushand comfortable.

Butis it equallyasgoodtodrive?

Yo uget both diesel and petrol options andit’sthe dieselthat

impressed me more. The2-litre 170hp diesel isrefined and makes

foragreathighwaycruiser with strong performanceand good

fuel economy. The143hp 1.5-litrepetrol-hybridengine is smooth

andrefinedtoo, butcould do withabit moregusto.Theoverall

handling too isn’t aswell-composed as rivals and onabumpy

road theHector tends to bounce allover the place.

It maynot have theruggedfeelorengineering depth

of its rivals,but wherethe Hector scoresis with itsbold

looks, topnotchcomfortand mile long features list.And

finally, it’stheveryattractive price thatcouldyougive

theextranudgetosignthatcheque.

Hormazd Sorabjee is oneof themost senior and much loved auto journalists in India,

and is editor ofAutocar India

SundayDriveappearseveryfortnight

sunday drive hormazhormazd sorhormazd sordsorabjeeabjeeabjee

indulge

15

JUNE 30, 2019

JOYRIDE

Thecar’s functi ons

and appsrangefrom

a360-degree camera

to on-boardnavigation

and theGaanaapp

T

here’salot riding on the MG Hector,whichisthefirst

product from MG MotorIndia andtheone thatwill define

what the brand standsfor. It’s beenacopybook launchso

far. Acleverpre-launchcampaign haspiqued the interest

of prospectivebuyerswhohaveflockedtoshowrooms.More

importantly, the companyhas wonoversomestrongdealers and

that’sacrucialadvantage to have in acar market that’s tanked.

This all-newbrand,whichgoesbyitsfull name Morris

Garages, is blatantlyflaunting its Britishheritage andeven signed

on theBritishHollywood starBenedictCumberbatchasits brand

ambassador.The truthisthatthe Hector,whichisbased on the

Baojun530 from Chinese parent SAIC’svast portfolio,isabout as a

British as Confucius. And that’s no badthing.

With thelargeBaojun 530asthe startingpoint, the Hector

has an immediate sizeadvantageover itsrivals and this is pretty

importantinthe ‘mineisbiggerthanyours’ one-upmanship playing

out in theSUV segment. Besides,MGhas throwneverythingit

possiblycan into the Hector to makeitasupmarketandappealingas

possible, withadazzling listofequipmentwhichincludes manyfirst

in-classfeatures.

So has MG,with Confucius-likewisdom,doneeverything right?

As thesaying goes(not Confucius’s),theproof of the pudding is in

the eating.

IT’S GOTTHE LOOKS

TheHector is certainlyahead-turner and drewcrowds everytime

westoppedforaphoto op.You just can’t miss thehumongousgrille

even onacar so big.Theblade-liketurnindicators and thetechy

headlampcluster look quite futuristicandofcourse,everything is

wrapped withaliberal dose ofchrome.

However,whatrobs the Hector ofabit of itsSUV-nessare

thetiny215/60 tyres and 17-inchwheels, completelydwarfedby

theHector’shugesize. That apartthe Hector comes across as an

upmarket-looking SUV,whichcertainlystandsout from the crowd.

TheHector’s spacious cabin is centred aroundtheTV-sized 10.4-

inchtouchscreen, thebiggest youcangetinthe Indianmarket. It

houseseverything from infotainmentto navigation, andeven theair-

con controls.The sheer sizeofthe screen makes it easytooperate,

butthe touchresponse hasabit of delayand could befaster.

Yo uwon’t complainabout thenumber of functions andapps

though,whichrangefroma360-degree camera, on-boardnavigation

EYEON THEFUTURE

Theblade-liketurnindicators

and the techyheadlamp

cluster lookfuturistic

web

ON THE

SUNDAYDRIVEby

Hormazd Sorabjee

can also beread on

hindustantimes.com/

brunch.Fo llow Hormazd

onTwitter at twitter.com/

hormazdsorabjee

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