MG Hector vs KIA Seltos

Kia is new to India, and so is MG. The Seltos is Kia’s first offering for India, so is the Hector for MG. They both pack connected car features and are loaded to the roof with technology. They are also priced closely together. But they both go about doing their jobs as an ‘SUV’ in different ways. 

In our first video comparison of these two, we asked you to decide the powertrain you’d want to see compared. Hence, on popular demand, both cars in the picture are running their turbo-petrol engines along with a DCT transmission. The selection makes sense too, as these SUVs will predominantly be used for city driving. And because we have already compared the features, space, comfort and their value for money aspect in our last comparison, this one will focus primarily on how different the two are to drive in the urban setting.

Cars Tested

Kia Seltos 

• Variant: GTX+ DCT
• Price: Rs 16.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)

MG Hector

• Variant: Sharp AT
• Price: Rs 17.18 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
• 
  The Seltos feels effortless to drive in the city. The engine feels refined and you don't have to go hard on the throttle pedal to get a move on. Initial inputs get you going smoothly and this makes the Seltos an easy drive in bumper to bumper traffic. Even when pushed for quick overtakes, the engine has plenty of power and wont feel breathless, allowing for lesser gear shifts. You will not only be impressed by this engine’s ability to negotiate changes in pace inside the city, but its fuel efficiency as well. In our tests, the Seltos returned a healthy 11.42kmpl, which is almost 3kmpl more than what the Hector returned in a similar environment.
  The Hector’s engine, too, offers good bottom-end torque, but due to its bigger size, it is less apparent. However, where it differs from the Seltos is when darting forward to make a quick gap or overtake. In such a situation, you will find that the weight of the Hector makes it feel a bit sluggish compared to the Seltos and you will end up planning more for such manoeuvres in the Hector than you would in the Seltos. 
• Out on the highway, the Seltos’ engine will easily cruise at triple digit speeds and still have plenty left in reserve. This means you can overtake  a car, or even a line of cars, quite easily with a simple dab on the throttle. The Hector’s engine allows it to cruise at triple digit speeds without any fuss but push for the redline and you it run out of breath. Again, overtaking in the Hector will have to be planned, although it will make your life easier if are carrying enough momentum.

You will feel cocooned inside the cabin of the Seltos out on the highway. There are no vibrations that can be felt when pushing this engine and engine noise only starts to creep into the cabin when the needle of the tacho crosses the halfway mark. Engine noise in the Hector is again well controlled at lower RPMs and you will only start to hear it once you push the needle north of 3000rpm. Overall, the Seltos’ cabin feels better insulated in terms of engine noise, but the gap between the two isn’t all that big.

There are more difference between Seltos and Hector

But those will be discuss by us in next blog...

Our team has selected Seltos between both of the best cars because Seltos will be considered best.