The Hector has been a good product for MG in India since it came out in 2019. Customers are happy, and sales are looking good. Who doesn’t like a big, comfortable SUV with lots of features and a reasonable price? Yes, there were some problems in the beginning, but once they were fixed, things have gone well for the Chinese brand ever since.
They have also kept the car up-to-date by giving it new looks every so often. And since we last drove the Hector, a lot has changed (in 2019). A few problems have been fixed, and the car has been updated with all the newest technology and gadgets to keep the people it is meant for happy.
In terms of engines, the mild hybrid version of the 1.5L gasoline engine was scrapped, and in 2021, MG replaced the DCT gearbox with a CVT. So, the 2023 Hector has a 2.0L diesel engine with a 6-speed manual transmission and a 1.5L turbo-petrol engine with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable transmission (CVT). It’s too bad that there is no diesel automatic option. MG says that most of their sales have been of the gasoline versions, so that’s where they put their attention. We recently got a quick look at the updated 2023 Hector, and we finally had a day with the car. We have a lot to cover, so let’s get started.
MG has always put a lot of thought into its features, and the 2023 model is no different. You now have ADAS level 2 with eleven features. MG and Bosch have worked together to make this system for Hector. In the front, there is one radar sensor.
ADAS features include adaptive cruise control (ACC), bend cruise assistance (which slows the car down when ACC is on and the driver is making a turn), lane departure warning, lane keep assist, traffic jam assist, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, hydraulic brake assist, pedestrian emergency braking, and intelligent headlamp control.
Astor also gives you a Bluetooth-enabled digital key that you can share with other people. With this feature, your two phones can act as digital keys, so you don’t need a real key to drive the car. You can just use your phone to open the car’s door and get in. In the same way, the car unlocks when you get close to it and locks when you leave it.
Review of the outside of the 2023 MG Hector facelift
Hector has a face that says a lot. The front is bold and doesn’t try to be modern or cutting-edge. The facelift has a new grille and bumper, but the car still looks like the original Hector on the road:
There aren’t many changes to the back. If you haven’t paid close attention to what’s going on with the Hector, you won’t notice any difference between the old and the new:
Sharp body lines give the design a unique look. Now, 18-inch wheels look much better in scale with the metal on top. The thin tyres, on the other hand, were not so great. Wheel arches that are squared off look out of place:
This Havana Grey colour looks good on the Hector. The shade card has been changed for the 2023 model. Dune Brown has taken the place of Burgundy Red (reference image). For an extra Rs. 20,000, you can also choose a two-tone black roof with the Candy White colour:
From the front, the Hector looks like a tough SUV, but from the back three-quarters, it looks like a van.
The top LED DRLs also work as turn signals. You can get automatic turn signals on the 2023 Hector. This means that when the wheels turn past a certain angle, the turn signals turn on by themselves. MG says that sometimes people forget to turn on their turn signals, so this feature will help in those cases. When I was driving in Mumbai, where there is a lot of traffic, this feature was annoying because the indicators would turn on when I didn’t want them to. The combination of the projector headlamp and LED foglamps stays the same, but the housing now has a piano-black edge.
The diamond mesh grille, which is based on the “Argyle” pattern, looks good in person and gets a lot of attention on the road. The edge is a mix of chrome and piano black, and it looks good without being too much. The radar sensor is in the middle of the air dam, which is at the bottom.
000The old car’s 18-inch alloy wheels are still on the new one. The design is simple, which means that most people will like it. The sidewall of the tyre looks pretty thin for how big the wheel and car are.
MG had two different versions of the strip between the taillights. At the start, the strip was red and had no lights (reference image). During the 2021 facelift, it was replaced with a black applique and a chrome insert at the bottom. The red strip is back on the 2023 Hector, but this time it lights up. I thought the black applique was the most attractive of the three. The bottom has big letters that say “H E C T O R,” and the right side of the tailgate has an ADAS badge.
Having two fake exhausts looks stupid. Also, the chrome edge of the fake skid plate looks like it doesn’t belong. They could have kept the design a little bit simpler, but they have added too many things.
2023 MG Hector Facelift Walk Around:
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