MG India has roped in British actor Benedict Cumberbatch as brand ambassador prior to the official launch of its first car in India – MG Hector. New MG Hector for India will be launched in May 2019.
It will be about the same size as the Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV500, but will come with more features than any other car on offer in the segment currently. As per a Team BHP member RavenAvi, price range of MG Hector is going to be in the Tata Harrier / Mahindra XUV500 range.
MG Hector for India, is based on the Baojun 530 on sale in China. It will receive a large honeycomb chrome front grille, distinctively demonstrating its MG logo, LED DRLs, LED headlamps, LED fog lamps, 18 inch machine cut dual tone alloy wheels, sporty bumper, faux skid plate, roof rails and wrap around tail lamps.
Interiors of the MG Hector have been leaked via spy shots. It gets several first in class features. Including largest in class touchscreen infotainment system along with a hi-res digital instrument cluster as MID for tyre pressure monitoring, distance to empty readout, speed, mileage, temp, etc.
It will also receive leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof and several safety features among which will be a 360 degree camera, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and 6 airbags along with ABS, EBD and electronic stability program.
MG Hector will get is power via a 1.5 liter turbocharged petrol engine offering 143 hp power and 250 Nm torque. It will also be powered by a Fiat sourced 2.0 liter turbocharged diesel engine offering 173 hp power and 350 Nm torque. The petrol engine will get mated to a 6 speed manual and dual clutch automatic while the diesel engine will be exclusively mated to a 6 speed manual transmission.
As the first connected vehicle to be launched in India, the MG Hector will get embedded SIM card linked to MG servers, offering features and assistance systems such as vehicle health updates, turn by turn navigation, etc.
MG Motors expects to have 45 dealerships / service centers set up prior to the launch of the Hector in May 2019. The Hector is slated to be priced between Rs.13-17 lakhs, ex-sh; which will allow it to compete with the Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV500