· Booking amount set at Rs 50,000
· Hector Plus will be offered in Super, Smart and Sharp trims
· No petrol-manual version on offer with the Hector Plus
MG Motor India has opened bookings for the Hector Plus ahead of the SUV’s launch later this month. Revealed at the 2020 Auto Expo, the Plus is essentially a Hector with three rows of seating and a tweaked exterior design. Bookings for the SUV can be made via MG’s website, with the amount set at Rs 50,000.
Three powertrain options
The Hector Plus will be available with the same engines and gearboxes as offered on the 5-seat Hector. However, there will be no non-hybrid petrol-manual version available with the Hector Plus, at least initially.
Buyers will have the option of choosing between a 170hp/350Nm, 2.0-litre diesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual, a 143hp/250Nm, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol motor with a 6-speed dual-clutch auto or a 143hp/250Nm, 1.5-litre petrol with a 48V mild-hybrid system coupled with a 6-speed manual.
Three variants on offer
The Hector Plus will be offered with a six seat (2+2+2) configuration and will be available in three trim levels – Super, Smart and Sharp. The base Super trim will be on offer with the diesel engine only while the mid-spec Smart trim can be had with either the diesel or the petrol-auto. The top-spec Sharp trim meanwhile, will be available with all three powertrain options. All in all, there will be six versions on offer – three diesels, two petrol-autos and one petrol-hybrid.
At launch, the Hector Plus will be offered with 6 seats only, with individual captain’s chairs in the middle row. Further down the line, MG will also introduce a 7-seat version with a middle row bench.
What features will the Hector Plus get?
In terms of features, the Hector Plus Sharp gets LED headlamps with LED DRLs, LED taillamps, LED foglamps front and rear, 16-inch dual tone alloys, leatherette upholstery, 6-way power adjustable driver’s seat, 8-colour ambient lighting, a 7-inch MID, powered boot opening, heated ORVMs, a 10.4-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, Infinity audio system and a panoramic sunroof. The Hector Plus also comes with MG’s i-Smart connected car technology which includes over 55 features such as geofencing, find my car, remote vehicle control and voice assistant.
Safety-wise, top-spec Sharp variants come with six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, ESC, traction control, tyre pressure monitoring system, hill-hold assist, a 360-degree parking camera and front and rear parking sensors.
MG has also equipped the Hector Plus with new Smoked Sepia brown leather upholstery, which is different from the normal Hector’s all-black scheme. The Hector Plus will be offered in six colour options - Starry sky blue, Glaze red, Burgundy red, Starry black, Candy white and Aurora silver.
What are the Hector Plus’ rivals?
The MG Hector Plus rivals the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and the upcoming Tata Gravitas. MG also aims to take on the Toyota Innova Crysta with a lower starting price and a longer standard warranty being important differentiators. The three-row Hector will also face competition from the 7-seat version of the new Hyundai Creta that is set to enter the market in second-half of 2021.
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
