2019 MG Hector review, road test

Car manufacturers love flaunting booking numbers to show how popular their new launches are. However, the true measure of success of any product is how well it can sustain sales after the initial euphoria has died down. Hence, the 10,000 bookings the MG Hector bagged in less than a month since the order books opened was initially met with scepticism by established rivals, but the growing month-on-month sales of this all-new SUV – and that too from an unknown brand – has turned that cynicism into worry and even fear. In fact, once the price was revealed, things only got better for the SAIC-owned British marque because the aggressive introductory prices boosted demand, to a point that it had to stop taking more orders just to clear the backlog.

When we first experienced the Hector on the hills of Coimbatore, we knew it had the makings of a winner. No doubt, the distinctive design, exhaustive features list and a hugely spacious cabin are all strong factors in the success of any SUV, but that brief drive was just a sampler and didn’t include the petrol-automatic variant. This variant is the pick of the lot, accounting for over 50 percent sales, and has a waiting period that can stretch to seven months. Hence, in this very exacting road test, we’ve tested all three powertrain variants to, once and for all, answer the torrent of questions flooding our inbox and to tell you just how good the Hector really is.