Got to have a good long time with the car in the showroom in Chennai with fellow member @kinky. We drove in with his Harrier and maybe that's the reason no one attended us even after requesting.
#Morrisgarages #Hector
Pros:
1. Front design looks good and premium although too much chrome.
2. Size is big. It's a long car.
3. Metal quality is awesome. So heavy doors and needs significant effort to open and close. Paint quality is impressive as most of the colours are metallic. Yet to see how well this scores in crash test. (even #scorpio was heavy, but scored 0)
4. Lots of features claimed on paper. Gives a lot to show off. Sunroof, 360 camera and auto tailgate are premium features.
5. engine bay is neatly packed with plastic. All engines are badged MG Turbo irrespective of petrol and diesel.
6. Voice commands work good and audio quality is strong, although not better than Harrier 's 9 speaker unit.
Cons:
1. Side profile is really disproportionate. Looks more like mpv with long body and small wheels. Wheel design also doesn't suit the car. Rear design looks plain Chinese. The red reflector between the tail lamps and the massive silver bumper bash plate looks plain aftermarket and cheap. The rear itself looks like a cheap attempt to copy Audi Q7.
2. Interior overall design isn't anything new or inspiring. Apart from the massive touchscreen, there isn't much to like about the design inside.
3. Quality of interior panels and seats are very average. The dash material is similar to Maruti #Ciaz and the leather is not as good as Harrier or Compass. Everywhere you can feel hard plastics only and it doesn't feel premium at all.
4. Seat comfort on any seat is very average. Powered seats are helpful but thigh support is seriously short in any seat. Front seats are manageable, but rear seats are utterly pathetic and more like XUV5OO seats. The recline function is weird and doesn't help at all. After traveling in Harrier, this feels like a serious step down. Harrier feels like sofa.
5. Given all those features on paper, it feels like vfm. But long term quality is a huge doubt. The sunroof had weird noise while opening and closing and the sun blinds, wind deflector in the roof are like mosquito nets. Looks and feels cheap and I don't think it will last more than a week in our varying temperature and climate conditions.
6. 360 degree camera quality is very laggy and no better than Harrier. I thought Harrier camera was poor quality and this is also the same. No idea how long will it last.
7. while the voice commands worked fine, the touchscreen itself is laggy and takes 1 second to respond and its literally confusing to use it every time for ac controls every time. Not everyone is comfortable with voice commands and MG needs to know that. It's sometimes really frustrating to use the touchscreen and to scroll through the menu.
6. The tailgate opening motor feels like a budget one. It takes full 2 seconds for the tailgate to respond after you press the open button. I have operated Alturas, #Endeavour and they are almost immediate in response. This feels like a cost cut motor.
7. This is the biggest concern. The doors and metals are so heavy and bulky. I seriously doubt whether the thin, standard hydraulic struts for the boot would last for atleast a year. If you see, such heavy cars like the #Alturas uses a much bigger strut to hold the boot.
8. Clutch is HEAVY. It felt so damn heavy even for a car with the engine off. Wonder how would it feel when running and expecially in Chennai traffic. All the best for your left leg. Harrier felt like smooth butter in comparison.
Overall ambience and feel of the Hector leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you go to the showroom in a #Harrier. Although I didn't drive the Hector, The Harrier feels and looks more premium and proper right away. All depends on pricing and according to the consultant, the diesel Sharp would cost 24L on road. So that doesn't look like a good value for this car, Given its Chinese origin and iffy quality in certain obvious places.
Let's wait for the pricing.
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