We do a quick spec comparison of the Gravitas with the Hector Plus before these cars are officially launched here.
When Tata and MG took their products, the Harrier and the Hector to the battlefield, that was the sales chart, it was the Hector that came out victorious. But Tata is not backing up. They retaliated with the 2020 Harrier with a slew of updates that has addressed almost all customer and critic complaints and have added more power for good measure. But today is not about these cars. Today we are here to see how the upcoming 6/7-seater versions of these cars stack up against each other.
Exterior –
Tata Gravitas
Take a quick glance at the Tata Gravitas, and you might mistake it for a Land Rover! The car certainly resembles the SUV it’s based on. The front has not changed much, except for a new grille, and some chrome elements. Come to the side, and the design is certainly not perfect. The extended rear does not look as well polished as the rear of the Harrier. This is mainly because of the fact that the extra window panel attached to the car does not flow with the window line of the car, and that bulge in the roof for more headroom.
There are actual changes to the dimensions of the car. Unlike the Hector Plus, the car has been made longer to accommodate the rear seats. The wheels fit quite nicely, and the roof rails that appear to melt down to the rear of the car give it character. The rear has also seen some changes. Mainly, it’s boxier. The tail lights see a change too, swapping straight lines with curves. The car’s design is simpler as compared to the Hector Plus, and would certainly appease certain buyers.
Overall the design gives a feeling that the Harrier has become more confident of it’s Land Rover identity, and is embracing it now.
MG Hector Plus
The MG Hector plus remains largely unchanged. The Hector plus is not a plus-size version of the Hector, it just gets more seats. To distinguish it from the regular Hector, MG has reworked the bumpers and cleaned things up a bit. The stop sign looking reflector panel has been removed at the rear and looks much cleaner now. The wheels stay the same, so does the side profile. MG has reworked the lights though. The front light assembly is now fully integrated, and the DRL assembly has more intricacies in it. At the rear, the tail lights get transparent touches, making it look a lot like the Toyota Fortuner’s tail lights.
The bottom line is that the MG is more sophisticated and for some, perhaps a little busy, and the Gravitas is more simple. It’s highly suggested that you have a look at both cars in person before concluding, as pictures don’t tell the full story of the car’s looks, especially in terms of proportions.
Interior –
Tata Gravitas
The JLR influence is very much visible in the Gravitas’ cabin. Leather wrapping on the handles and touch points along with the subtle touches of silver here and there that uplift the feel of the interior. The infotainment system’s widescreen aspect is appreciated, and so is the digital gauge cluster that is intuitive to operate.
The dashboard is unchanged, so much so that the picture used above is from the Harrier. The leather has been swapped from brown to dark turquoise, at least in all the models shown to us till now. These models also lacked a sunroof, which Tata have said they will add in the production model. Legroom and knee room are good but the floor is not as flat as the Hector’s and that eats into the middle passenger’s legroom.
The third row is as expected in both cars, kids will be happy, but not adults except for short distances. Rear occupants will also be happy with the fact that they get dedicated AC vents and USB ports. Tata will offer the Gravitas with 6 or 7 seat options. When folded up, the seats leave no space for luggage, but it is expected with all cars with third-row seats in this segment.
The only shortcoming of the interior of the Gravitas is the steering wheel. The centre material could have been better. But apart from that everything feels very premium and well finished. Tata had really pushed themselves with build quality with the Harrier, and it’s safe to say that we can expect the same with the Gravitas.
MG Hector Plus
The dashboard of the MG Hector Plus is unchanged, which means that it is dominated by the infotainment system. The orientation is vertical, reminiscent of the Volvo cars of the recent days, but the obvious shortcoming of having this system is the lack of buttons. While some may prefer the clean look it offers, using it while driving may not be easy. The upholstery exhibited in the 2020 Auto Expo was Tan, which is new for the Hector Plus.
The panoramic sunroof really provides an airy feel inside the interior and has also caused quite the headache for Tata. The gauge cluster display is integrated better in this vehicle when compared to the Harrier. Assuming the materials of the interior used are the same, which is quite safe to assume, the quality is pretty good, but the Harrier/Gravitas is a bit better in this regard.
One element I am not sure of is the placement of the traction control button. A car of this size attracts a lot of family buyers. Keeping the traction-off button on the passenger side could lead to an accidental deactivation of traction control, which is not desired at all for a car of this size. Videos of the car on the show floor show that this has not been changed.
Conclusion
Overall, the MG on the inside is loaded with gizmos and Harrier on the inside is simply laid out. While the feature set of the Gravitas is not as far back, small convenience features like a powered tail gate are not present. But it’s too early to make conclusions, as we haven’t seen the final version which will be launched and it could have some feature changes.
Engines –
Tata Gravitas
The Gravitas will come with the Fiat-sourced KRYOTEC engine outputting 170 PS and 350 Nm of torque. There are a few drive modes that change the engine mapping and traction settings to make the car more suited to the demands of the driver. The power upgrade is something everyone will appreciate and Tata has added an automatic transmission sourced from Hyundai that they introduced with the 2020 Harrier.
On the manual side, the gearbox is a 6-speed unit and is quite smooth to operate. The car gets an electronic parking brake. The Gravitas being bigger, the power tune might affect the frugality of the vehicle. Nothing much can be said about the driving experience by looking at photos and a spec sheet. So be sure to stay tuned when we get to drive the cars to get our comprehensive overview of the driving experience and any changes.
MG Hector Plus
The Hector Plus holds an advantage here as there are more options to choose from. There is a petrol, a petrol hybrid, and a diesel option. The diesel motor is shared with the Harrier and Gravitas and it produces 170 PS and 350 Nm of torque at exactly the same RPM at which the Tata cars produce their figures (3750 RPM). The petrol hybrid, with a 48 Volt mild hybrid system produces 141 HP and 250 Nm of torque. This car has a claimed mileage of 17.41 km/l, which is also pretty good for this size of a vehicle. The petrol hybrid gives a respectable mileage of 15.81 km/l. The powertrain options are not changing for the Hector Plus.
The diesel is more powerful than the Harrier and is a bit more frugal according to ARAI. Both powertrains have an adequate amount of power for the city and highway conditions and would not disappoint the person behind the wheel. The Hector Plus could be a bit more frugal, as it might be delivering the exact mileage as the Hector does, as not much has changed. The Gravitas gets a diesel automatic option which the standard Hector misses out on, so it remains to be seen whether the Hector Plus gets it or not. Again, expect a detailed report on this once we get to drive them.
Pricing –
Tata has put in more work into making the Harrier a 7-seater. Hence a different name altogether. This will mean higher pricing. The 2020 Harrier has already breached the Rs. 20-lakh mark in ex-showroom pricing itself. With all the extra work that has gone, the car could be quite a bit more expensive than the Hector Plus. Speaking of which, the Hector Plus does not change much from what the Hector brought to the table. This could mean that you will be paying less of a premium than what you would do if you were buying a Gravitas.
Again, these are all speculations, and we can speculate all day. At the end of the pricing is imperative. So we will have to wait and see how Tata and MG will go about pricing their models.
Where Does One Excel The Other?
The Tata Gravitas holds an upper ground in terms of its brand. The Tata also powered by a more tried and tested Fiat-sourced engine that is also used by the Jeep Compass. The interior and the exterior are simpler and the sales and service network of Tata is also much better as of this year. The Harrier is also built very well, it’s a robust car. So you can expect the Gravitas to follow suit. Where the MG truly is ahead is in the features. The car has features like smart-car capabilities, 360-degree camera, power-operated tailgate, etc. over and above what the Gravitas offers. Plus the MG gives you more engine options.
Something that is quite odd with the Tata Gravitas is that the car looked very production-ready on the show floor. But Tata is saying they will add features like a sunroof when the car comes into production. The Gravitas showcased at the Auto Expo wasn’t the final version of the car and the SUV is expected to get more features. Unlike the Harrier, the Gravitas will get a standard sunroof because of the roof bulge that’ll make fitting a panoramic sunroof next to impossible. Whatever it is, the Gravitas looks like a better competitor to the Hector Plus even on paper now.