I was already negotiating with two Tata dealers when one of my friends suggested having a look at the MG. I didn’t know my family will fall in love with it.
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We’ve not had any car purchases in the last many years. We’d acquired a few pre-worshipped cars in the 2012-15 period starting with the BMW 530d E60, a Mercedes Benz E280, a Toyota Fortuner and finally an Audi Q7. We still have those cars with us.
Toyota, goes without saying, has been very reliable and easy to maintain. I’ve not had to do anything more than routine servicing in all these years. With the German trio though, it has not been smooth sailing. They are an absolute joy to drive but do come with their fair share of problems, especially as years go by. They are complex cars to maintain and components (electronics ones mostly) start failing one after the other. At one point, my Audi’s dashboard, with its array of warning lights, looked more colorful than the Christmas tree we’d readied that year. I’ll pen the ownership experience for those cars in a separate post probably.
The decision to buy a new car was not pre-planned. In fact, it was one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions made during a highway drive with my father. What started the discussion was a Dark Edition Tata Harrier that zoomed past us on the highway that caught our attention. It got the discussion going on how brands like Tata, Hyundai, MG, Kia and so on were offering good products at competitive prices and how easy these cars are to maintain (compared to luxury brands). Long story short, by the time our discussion ended we were contemplating getting a Tata Harrier.
In the next couple of days, the local Tata showroom was approached and they sent the test drive vehicle to our house. We liked the Harrier very much for its size and presence. Availability of a Diesel Automatic was an added advantage. The XZA+ variant appealed to me the most. The only concerning aspect was the after-sales service and the never-ending list of niggles that were being reported since launch. With every new variant released by TATA, I’d hope these issues would be resolved for good. But then I would read owners report one issue or the other with their brand-new cars. So that was in the back of my head.
I still decided to go ahead with the Harrier and started negotiations with two dealers in my city. That was when one of my friends, during a casual conversation, suggested I take a look at the Hector and its new Plus variant. He connected me to a friend of his who’d purchased a Hector 1 year back. The gentleman had very good things to say about the car.
I was not very keen on MG in the beginning but started reading up on it. Finally decided to call the local MG Dealer to see if they could arrange a test drive for Hector Plus (as I had already seen the Hector before). The MG dealer was very prompt in bringing the test drive vehicle home.
What is the harm in seeing the vehicle once before rejecting it, I thought. Little did I know that my family was going to fall in love with the car when they would see it. It would be an understatement to say the Hector Plus managed to sway our decision in its favour with ease, despite the lack of a diesel automatic variant. One thing everybody agreed to is that it looked and felt more expensive and premium than it actually costs. It also felt really easy to drive in the city. The ride was really comfortable. The list of equipment on this one puts cars 2-3 times its price to shame.
I was trying hard to find negatives with the car (as I liked Harrier more). For every issue, I stated about the Hector Plus my family members were justifying why it was a minor one or not applicable to us. The MG sales advisor’s job became a whole lot easier with my own people advocating for MG.
- Who needs tech in a car!
- A car is supposed to be fun to drive, not a tablet on wheels!
- Don’t be blinded by bling on offer!
Well, all that is easier said and nice to read in the comments section of youtube videos. The tech, the features and the gimmicks have a considerable contribution when it comes to making a final decision, especially when you are buying a family car and your family members are not ‘enthusiasts’. It was a dilemma choosing between the Hector and Harrier.
The amount of love and positive feedback I have seen for Tata products, especially for the Harrier, on social media is just staggering. I love the Harrier too. But when the time finally came to make a decision, the Hector appealed to us slightly more (and apparently many others going by the monthly sales figures at that point).
So the decision was made and we finally booked the Hector Plus Sharp Diesel MT. I managed to get a good deal on the car as it was the year end and also because the revised model was launching in a few weeks and MG was trying to clear their inventory fast. The car was delivered within around 2 weeks of booking. The dealership and delivery experience was generally satisfactory.
I’ve driven the car for about 11000 km in the last 1.5 years. Below are my observations based on my usage so far:
Really happy with the purchase. If only, MG could care to offer an automatic variant on the diesel it would have been an awesome package.
Have read reports about Wuling Almaz being launched in the Indonesian market with a Hybrid Powertrain. That could be a game-changer for MG if they bring it to India. Hope it happens soon.
Wishing all Bhpians a happy new year!
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