MG Motor India is gearing up to reveal the official name of their first SUV. As per a teaser post on social media, MG will be revealing the name within 24 hours. By tomorrow this time, we will know the name of MG’s first SUV for India.
Last month a report claimed that the name of MG SUV could be Gloster, inspired by the motorsport history of MG Motor UK. MG Motor India (MGMI) did not confirm nor deny if Gloster was actually going to be the name of their SUV. They did say that the name will be revealed soon.
Confirmed to be a C segment SUV, the first MG car is currently being extensively tested across India. Multiple variants have been spotted in Ahmedabad, Manali, Leh, Bangalore, etc. The five seater SUV will be longer than the 7 seater Honda CR-V, just like the Tata Harrier.
It will be produced at the company plant in Halol, near Vadodara in Gujarat. MGMI acquired the plant in Sep 2017, and the first car will roll out before June 2019. It is a huge achievement for a car maker to setup a plant and roll out first car in less than 2 years. This is the same plant which was once owned by GM India. Interestingly, MG is a subsidiary of SAIC aka Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation – a Chinese govt owned car brand. MG cars are manufactured in China as a collaboration between SAIC and GM.
MG SUV will most likely be a rival to the likes of Jeep Compass and the Tata Harrier. It will feature some best in class safety and technology. For example, the touchscreen infotainment system on board, will be the biggest ever seen in the segment. Spy video reveals it is a Tesla-like vertical unit.
Powering the MG SUV will be a Fiat sourced 2.0 liter diesel multijet engine. This is the same engine which powers Jeep Compass and Tata Harrier. It delivers 170 PS and 350 Nm. Petrol engine too will be on offer, most likely the same 1.4 liter unit from Compass delivering 160 PS and 250 Nm. Manual as well as automatic options will be offered. Price range is expected to be Rs 15 – 20 lakhs.
