MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500 - Spec Comparison

After months of spottings and teasing, the MG Hector has been officially unveiled to the Indian car enthusiasts. The first offering by MG Motor will hit the company's showrooms in June 2019 and is set to enter the highly competitive market during the same month. While the MG Hector has been the talk of the town in recent days, people wonder how it will go up against the Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV500 and Jeep Compass in the fierce competition. With an aim to get a piece of the pie in the world's fourth-largest auto major market, MG has introduced the Hector in all its glory to the show-goers during the course of its official showcase. As of now, details of the aesthetics, technologies, features and some mechanical bits of the Hector are already available. To understand it more, say, where the Hector can stand amongst the rivals, we draw a comparison of these vehicles, from the numbers perspective.

MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500- Dimensions Comparison

While watching the MG Hector in the full flesh at the event held yesterday, we all know that the mid-size SUV from MG totally towers over its rivals in terms of the sheer sizes. Of all four above mentioned competitors, the new Hector is the biggest one of the lot. Looking at the overall length of these vehicles, the Hector is the longest one at 4,655 mm that is 260 mm longer than the Jeep Compass. The latter measures the length of 4,395 mm while the overall length of the Harrier and XUV500 stand at 4,655mm and 4,585 mm, respectively.

However, with a width of 1,835 mm, the MG Hector is not the widest car in the space. The Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV500 are the widest models in our competition with the width of 1,894 mm and 1,890 mm, respectively. The Jeep Compass is the narrowest at 1,818 mm. Concerning the wheelbase, the MG Hector continues to beat others to get the longest wheelbase of 2,750 mm, followed by the Harrier with that of 2,741 mm. Apart from the Mahindra XUV500, all SUVs can accommodate 5 passengers to the max while the XUV500 comes up with an additional third row of seats that increase the seating capacity to 7 passengers.

MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500 - Design Comparison

The MG Hector triumphs over the Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV500 and Jeep Compass in this part of the competition. its external appearance looks more premium and luxurious, which is thanks to the imposing stance that no other model can mimic. Of course, beauty is subjective to each person’s preference and tastes and some could have thought that the Hector is heavily influenced by the donor model- the Baojun 530 in many ways. But in our subjective opinion, the MG Hector looks much prettier with a multiple neat design touches such as the large mesh grille, blacked-out pillars, high-set bonnet with prominent creases, low-set two-tier lights along with a big air dam at the centre of the front-end.

The Tata Harrier attracts buyers who love a slightly futuristic design. Based on its company’s new IMPACT 2.0 Design language, the Harrier is indeed the most modern-looking Tata model ever. The front grille of the SUV is mounted high while the sleeker LED lighting strips are placed on the base of the bonnet, which makes them look like a set of sharp eyebrows. If you notice the MG Hector’s 17-inch alloy wheels shoeing with 215/60-section tyres, you'll find out they appear quite small for an SUV of this size. Whereas, the Harrier, being a smaller vehicle, looks great with the 17-inch five-spoke alloys shod with 235/65-section tyres. Some other exterior highlights of the Harrier that attract us most include the high-mounted imposing grille, Xenon HID projector headlamps, dual-function LED daytime running lights with turn signals, and 3D LED tail lamps.

If you are interested in the cheetah-inspired design of Mahindra XUV500, feel free to take it to the first spot in this part of the competition. The bold front grille with chrome inserts along with powerful projector headlamps and high-set bonnet mimics the strong and slender shoulders of the cheetah. It is true to say the Mahindra XUV500 is quite unique when compared to other models in the comparison. However, as it's the oldest of the lot, it lacks the fresh appeal of its rivals. 

Finally, the Jeep Compass also holds a bucketful of distinctive design attributes. The iconic SUV from the American auto brand gives a trail of amazement wherever it appears with an elegant yet robust-looking silhouette, seven-slotted grille with sporty piano black finishers and chrome surrounds, flared wheel arches, sloping roofline, sharp wraparound headlamps, large trapezoidal fog lamps and much more.

MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500 - Features Comparison

Obviously, MG Hector is the most feature-rich car in the segment. Marketed as the state-of-the-art “Internet Car”, the new Hector packs a range of segment-first advanced features that escalate the convenient and comfort of the SUV to the fullest. It offers the biggest touchscreen information system in its class with a 10.4-inch HD portrait layout screen that works seamlessly with TomTom app for navigation, Artificial Intelligence, Voice Recognition and another long list of functionalities.

Following the Hector is the Tata Harrier, which comes with an 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen and the Jeep Compass with an 8.4-inch touchscreen and finally the Mahindra XUV500 with a 7-inch unit. Note that the first three cars are compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay while the XUV500 misses out on these features. MG introduces the new Hector with a first-in-the-segment eSIM connectivity which enables the model to connect to the Internet on the drive. Remember that none of the cars including the Harrier, Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV500 have the embedded SIM functionality as the Hector.

Besides, as stated above, operating the AC, sunroof or lock/unlock the SUV is now effortless and hassle-free by MG’s voice commands. MG equips the Hector with a wide range of interior fitments such as driver armrest, rear AC vents, 8-colour ambient lighting system, Infinity sound system, power adjustable driver’s seats (6-way) and front passenger’s seat (4-way), etc. that are some of the pinnacles that help the MG SUV trump all three other rivals in the features battle.

Here are some other features that all four models offer:

MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500 - Engine Comparison

It is a bit interesting that the Tata Harrier, MG Hector and Jeep Compass are powered by the same diesel engine-transmission combo- 2.0-litre diesel engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. The diesel motor here is developed at a facility plant near Pune owned by FCA India- the parent company of Jeep India. It is supplied to MG and Tata plants which are based out of Halol and Pune, respectively. The MG Hector and Jeep Compass come to share a similar state of tune: 171 PS of power and 350 Nm of torque while the Harrier uses a detuned version which is capable of churning out 140 PS of max power and 350 Nm of peak torque. Meanwhile, the Mahindra XUV500 deploys a 2.2-litre diesel motor which pumps out 155 bhp of power and 360 Nm of torque.

Though the Hector is yet to enter the Indian market, the carmaker claimed that it would return up to 17 km/l of diesel mileage, which is as same as that of the Harrier and Compass. The Mahindra XUV500 delivers the lowest mileage figure of 13.8 km/l. The Tata Harrier and MG Hector come in FWD system while the others are available with an AWD system.

For the petrol configuration, the Hector will offer 1.5-litre petrol engine good for 143 PS of power and 370 Nm of torque along with a segment-first 48-volt mild-hybrid system. The fuel efficiency and C02 emissions are said to drop by 12 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively when compared to the non-hybrid version. In the Compass, the 1.4-litre petrol burner is rated at 160 PS of power and 243 Nm units. The XUV500 also gets a 2.2-litre gasoline mill making 140 PS/ 320 Nm of torque. The Tata Harrier does not get any petrol engine option under its hood. In essence, the MG Hector is the one and the only SUV to come with a dual-clutch automatic transmission in the group. Its petrol version is expected to return a mileage of around 14 km/l.

MG Hector Vs Tata Harrier Vs Jeep Compass Vs Mahindra XUV500- Price Comparison

The MG Hector is set to go on sale in India from June 2019 so the price of the SUV remains to be seen at the moment. However, we estimate the price range of the SUV to sit at around Rs 15-20 Lakh (Ex-showroom, India). If so, the Tata Harrier will be the most affordable SUV of the lot with its base variant priced at Rs 12.7 Lakh and its top-spec grade available at Rs 16.26 Lakh. Recently, Mahindra launched a new base-level W3 variant of the XUV500 at a price point of Rs 12.37 Lakh that make it even cheaper than the base trim of the Harrier. The range-toping XUV500 model, which employs an AWD system, is positioned at Rs 19.78 Lakh. The Jeep Compass is now available in a price bracket of Rs 16-23 Lakh.

Also Read - Mahindra XUV500 W3 vs Tata Harrier XE: Which Base Variant Is Better?

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Also Read - Tata Harrier Vs Mahindra XUV500 – Detailed Comparison