Chinese-owned British brand Morris Garage (MG) recently launched their first vehicle – the Hector SUV – in the Indian market. The SUV has gone on to become such a hit that the brand closed the bookings for the SUV for 2019 as it was sold out for the year. MG Hector locks horns with Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass, and Mahindra XUV500 in the Indian market. The surprise price tag at which the brand launched the car in the market made it even more of an irresistible deal for the public. The brand has already stated that it plans on launching a 7-seater version of their Hector SUV in the Indian market and ahead of that it has displayed the same version at the Indonesia Motor Show.
MG Hector is sold by the name of Wuling Almaz in the Indonesian market. The company Wuling will celebrate its two years in the Indonesian market by launching the 7-seater version of Hector in the market there. The dimensions of the MG Hector stand at 4,655 mm long and 2,750 mm tall, this makes it good if not ideal for a 7-seater car. When launched in India, the addition of extra row of seats in the Hector will place it in direct competition with Mahindra XUV500. Talking of the model displayed in Indonesia, the last row of seat gets a fan speed controller, a USB charging socket, and two cup-holders. However, by the looks of it, the space is not enough for adults going on long journeys. The Wuling Almaz 7-seater gets the 60:40 split in the third-row seat, which sure is a great way of storing the extra luggage and utilising the space properly. All the other features of the car including the 10.4-inch infotainment system remains the same.
There will be no other changes in the SUV apart from the addition of a third row of seats, and all the mechanical parts are also expected to remain the same. Tata is also planning on launching a 7 seater version of Harrier in the market and the new SUV may be called as Cassini in India. However, Cassini comes with a change in dimensions as well as engine options. Nevertheless, the upcoming Cassini will rival the upcoming 7-seater version of the MG Hector in the market.
Talking of current MG Hector in the Indian market, the SUV comes equipped with two engine options. The first is a 1.5L turbocharged petrol and the other a 2L Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel, the latter being the same one found on Compass and Harrier. The outputs for petrol engine are 143 Bhp-250 Nm whereas the diesel engine produces 170 Bhp of power and 350 Nm. MG also offers a 48V hybrid system as an optional feature with the petrol variants. Also, the petrol variants also get 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission as an option.