MG Motor is celebrating a new production milestone – Their Hector SUV has crossed 1 lakh production milestone in India
Once the king of D1 SUV segment, MG Hector now trails behind newer and more popular entrants like Scorpio N, XUV700, Harrier + Safari. Recently launched Toyota Innova Hycross is likely to eat further into MG Hector sales. That said, MG has not given up and is getting ready to get back in the game with an updated Hector SUV.
MG Hector production started back on 19th Dec 2018 in India. Four years later, on 19th Dec 2022, MG Motor India rolled out the 100,000th unit of Hector. Production of the new MG Hector has already started at the company plant in Halol, near Vadodara, Gujarat.
2023 MG Hector Facelift
Interestingly, it was the 100,000th unit of Hector that was rolled out of the company plant in the form of facelifted Hector. MG has tried to cover the new front of Hector facelift with flowers, but fans will be able to notice the Radar module in the lower grille, as well as other changes.
Rumour mill surrounding MG Hector suggests that the British brand will keep the existing Hector and sell it alongside the facelifted model. This is a similar strategy used by Mahindra to sell Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic, Honda to sell 4th generation and 5th generation of City. In recent news, Toyota is said to be considering a similar strategy and launching Hycross alongside Crysta.
If that is the case, new MG Hector prices will be significantly higher than the outgoing model. There is another speculation in place that suggests that MG Hector Plus will be replaced by new Hector with a 7-seater layout and regular 5-seater Hector will be carried over as is.
This makes a lot of sense for MG to offer an even more tech-savvy product and retain the outgoing model as is at a lower price point in contrast to the new model. Key updates for the 2023 MG Hector facelift will be a prominent diamond mesh grille, sleeker top-mounted LED DRLs and headlamps and a reprofiled front bumper.
Hector already has a dominating street presence and with this update, it will be further enhanced. Rear section now gets slightly redesigned taillights, a sharper rear bumper and looks slightly different from the outgoing model.
Specs & Features
On the inside, new MG Hector will get a 14” HD Portrait Infotainment System. This is supported with Next-Gen i-SMART technology and is the largest in class. Along with that, a fully digital 7” configurable cluster is part of the package too. Speaking of packages, the upcoming model will get ADAS suite incorporated in a top-spec Savvy variant.
Upcoming model will be offered with 2 engine options, a 1.5L naturally aspirated 4-cylinder petrol motor dishes out 140 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque and comes mated to a 6-speed MT and a CVT. MG offers a mild hybrid option with the same motor in top-spec variants which further gets brake regeneration and a start/stop feature.
For diesel heads, there is a 2L turbo diesel unit, sourced from Stellantis. It makes 168 bhp and 350 Nm of max torque and comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. MG has recently confirmed that an automatic variant with a diesel engine is not on the cards. New MG Hector has been teased officially and launch might be around the corner.
