MG Hector To Be The First Connected SUV in India; Unveil Likely in May

• MG Hector to be a connected SUV with an eSIM.
• Will get smartphone-like features, OTA updates.
• To be powered by 2.0L diesel and 1.5L turbo petrol engines.
• Launch likely in June this year.

MG’s maiden SUV in the country, the Hector, is ready to make its debut and will be the first 'connected' mid-size SUV in India. The carmaker says that the Hector will be the most technologically advanced SUV in its segment and will even get its own operating system.

MG says it has equipped the Hector with an embedded SIM card to connect with its India-based servers. The connectivity will enable the SUV to get a whole array of smartphone-like features which includes biometrics, navigation with traffic info, car health status, AI assistance and a lot more. MG also promises to introduce over-the-air updates to analyse and personalise the driver experience in the connected SUV. Think of it as the OTA updates on your smartphones. Tesla already uses OTA updates to introduce new features in its models globally. The Hector will be the first car in India to introduce OTA. 

The latest entrant in the mid-size SUV segment, which is flooded by the likes of Jeep Compass, Tata Harrier and XUV500, will be unveiled in May, with a full fledged launch in June this year. 

Under the hood, the Hector will be powered by the 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine seen in the Compass and the Harrier. It will also be offered with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The 2.0-litre diesel in the Jeep makes 173PS/350Nm and in the Tata it’s tuned to produce 140PS/350Nm. Meanwhile the petrol motor reportedly develops 143PS of maximum power and 250Nm of peak torque. While both engines will come mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, there will also be a 6-speed DCT available with the petrol variant.

With prices expected to be between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom), the Hector is set to disrupt the segment and could give us a glimpse of the future with connected mobility.

Also Read: Honda Cars To Get BSVI-Compliant Engines Soon