Is the MG Hector Plus (Petrol Auto) a good city & highway car for a family of two and four dogs? So, here's the lowdown.
We (my better half and I) have always had two hatchbacks. Her much-beloved 2004 Alto (which is currently going through a complete overhaul which I'll probably cover in a separate thread) and my Celerio which introduced me to the miracle of automatics. I pre-empted this work from home trend by many years. The Celerio has therefore seen very little tarmac per se - less than 30k in 6 years. Half of that was by the better half (TBH) for commuting when she had to get through bad traffic. Between the two of us, we probably don't do more than 12,000 kms a year. We've had other cars in the family - Honda City, Corolla, etc. She actually really loves to drive so this is her quest for a new car which satisfies some of our current requirements.
Now, the considerations. Space: Our family has grown. By a lot. We now have 4 fur babies - two Beagles, a Retriever and a Great Dane.
Even ordinarily, they would be tough to fit in a single car. But it is compounded by a couple of things. Our Dane is a horrible traveller - insanely nervous. She loves climbing into a car but then freaks out when it begins to move. The mental image of a Dane trying to clamber over the seats and into the driver's lap might be hilarious, but its downright dangerous when on a highway. So, in short, she needs a whole space to herself. An entire row probably. Our Retriever has a bunch of conditions and therefore isn't great at keeping his own balance. He will probably best be on the floor of a backseat so theres no danger of him falling off. Which leaves two beagles - the older an absolutely wonderful traveller who usually rides shotgun all curled up, and the younger who swings between quietly sulking, peering out of the windows interestedly and trying to climb all over everyone and everything.
So, we are looking at a vehicle with 3 rows. Or two rows with a very large boot. Drivability: This is going to be TBH's commuter. She is upgrading - this is going to be her daily driver and our highway getaway car too. So, it needs to be convenient to drive particularly in Bangalore traffic. While she has always driven stick shifts, she now really has seen the benefit of automatics. To be used for long distance road trips but not for offroading unless its meant to get us to some particular resort or getaway. Definitely no weekend trail/jeeping experiments. And highway driving needs to be comfy and sprightly, not necessarily super spirited in terms of handling. Petrol vs diesel and the mileage question: Not particularly important. Don't want something horrific but can easily live with 8-10 kmpl, since its going to be claimable under a lease plan and we don't do more than 12k in a year anyway. Aesthetics: It needs to be something she likes the look of. Understated. Low on chrome. Nicely styled. Not too overly brute macho (I'm looking at you Mahindra).
Bottomline - no vans! They are neither great for commuting nor are they particularly her style, to put it mildly. Budget: Somewhat flexible but we were looking at anything from 18-30L. We could've even gone higher if we found something perfect but this was the large ballpark. Vehicles considered in the elimination process and reasons for it.
Skoda Karoq: Stunning! Absolutely stunning!! Particularly in black. We spotted it in the metal in a car park and couldn't stop ogling. Were hoping that the absence of the 3rd row could be offset by the slightly largish boot (the Brit ad for which shows a beagle so it seemed to portend good things). Alas, out of stock and no chance at all.
Kia Seltos: Were looking at it but ruled it out entirely after the braking horror stories. That's one thing I refuse to compromise on.
Innova: No vans. And definitely not something great for her daily drive. Not to mention questionable aesthetics for a self-driven car.
Volkswagen Tiguan All Space: Beautiful looking car. Little overwhelming to sit in. Very tiny third row. And the price on road would've come to 42L - more than we planned, without necessarily ticking all the boxes. And 5-6 kmpl for a car that costs that much without being perfectly certain that this was it ruled it out.
Mahindra XUV500: Not fond of the aesthetics myself. Somewhat agricultural 'mahindra-ness' and definitely something she didn't like at all. Plus on the cusp of the release of a new model.
Fortuner/Endeavour/Gloster: Briefly considered but frankly it was too much (features vs requirements and size). Pricewise we could probably have gone there considering they are pretty much in the ballpark of the Karoq which we had budgeted for so that wasn't really a consideration. But the latest generation of these cars is just too monstrous in size for comfy daily driving in traffic IMO. And none of their offloading capabilities and suchlike were even relevant to us. So out.
Tata Harrier: I had considered it but frankly never got around to trying it out. We've had two Indica's in the past. Highly dependable sure but even with everything Tata's managed to do in the recent past I'm not sure I yet want to own one at 20L, particularly given the ASS complaints. Why the MG Hector Plus
We called for a test drive. Got the Hector and then drove to the showroom where we saw the Plus. Really like the way it looks. All the razzle dazzle has been toned down. Far more understated than the regular Hector. The ash grey is really stunning. Honestly, I haven't seen such a good looking car in a while. The pics don't do it justice. And the tan seats offsetting the grey really work well.
For such a large vehicle it was spectacularly easy to drive! Honestly we didn't expect that. You can adjust the front seat nice and tall. Tilt and rake adjustable steering make it work perfectly. Another thing I didn't expect was being able to actually see the left side of the bonnet - a result of design language that has long since been abandoned in general (or so I thought). Within one drive (we drove about 10 kms to the showroom, took another variant out for another 5-7 kms and then drove another 10 kms back home) to the showroom, we felt absolutely at home. It was incredibly easy. The notorious rubber band effect that Ive read so much about didn't seem particularly evident. Sport mode resulted in a nice surge and even without it, it was sprightly enough. Really didn't feel like we were driving a large MUV. The captain seats and the third row allow us enough configurations with our crazy pack. Good safety stuff, hill descent and hold modes, etc all completed our requirements. And whatever anybody else says, that sensor which opens the boot at the swing of a leg is just darn cool! Kinda useful for the likes of me who likes to load up the mountain bike before heading to the trails. Mileage seems to be about 8-10 kmpl which is fine by us.
So, what do you guys think? Any serious other contenders I might've missed looking at? Any reservations about the Hector Plus Auto?
On a separate note, this is going to be on a lease plan. Should I go with the standard insurance offered by the dealer (some 70k per year) or are there better providers out there? I'm looking for zero depreciation. I've heard of digit but don't really know anything about it. In the past I've had ICICI Lombard which has been super easy to claim so I just stuck with it but I'm happy to know more about recent trends.
Cheers,
RT
Last edited by RT13 : 22nd December 2020 at 18:00.
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