After its success with the MG Hector SUV since 2019, the carmaker has introduced the new MG Hector Tomahawk EV in the Indian market. After catering to various segments with its ZS EV, Comet, Windsor, M9 and Cyberster, it has expanded its offering.
The MG Hector Tomahawk EV, an SUV with 5 or 7 seats configurations, competes mainly with the Mahindra XEV 9S and Kia Carens Clavis EV, both of which are really good in their own class.
The car is manufactured at MG’s production facility in Halol, Gujarat.
The 7-seater Hector Tomahawk starts at Rs 19.50 lakh and the 5-seater which comes with the top-end Essence variant is tagged at Rs 23 lakh.
The Hector Tomahawk is also available with a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) option. It’s priced between Rs. 13.99 lakh & Rs. 17.49 lakh (ex-showroom), with a battery rental of Rs. 4.90 per km.
The Hector Tomahawk is also sold with a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) option. It is priced between Rs 13.99 lakh and Rs 17.49 lakh, with a battery rental of Rs 4.90 per km.
Being built on MG’s new ADAPT platform, we took this large and spacious 5-seater all-electric SUV for a spin on the city roads and open highway to test what it promises.
The Exterior
The new EV has got a clean, attractive design and instantly gets a road presence. It comes with LED projector headlamps, LED DRLs and an illuminated MG logo at the front. At the rear, it has red brake calipers, wraparound LED tail-lamps, and black cladding on the sides and around the wheel arches. It also gets roof rails and a panoramic sunroof.
Overall, the electric vehicle feels pretty solid. The doors, bonnet and tailgate have a fair deal of heft, and there is not much flex in the body panels. All variants of the Hector Tomahawk EV come with 18-inch precision-cut rotor alloy wheels shod with 225/55 section tyres. The SUV sits on 18-inch alloy wheels, and they also get red brake calipers, which add a pinch of sportiness to the overall attractive but simple design.
The battery pack comes with a lifetime warranty for the HV battery for the first owner. In case of change of ownership or commercial registration, the battery warranty is valid for 8 years/1,60,000 km, whichever comes first.
The Interiors
Once you enter inside, you notice that the MG has designed the interior space well and with practicality in mind. The cabin feels more premium and features soft-touch materials on the dash and doors. The dashboard layout is conventional, consisting of an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster and a large 15.6-inch touchscreen head-unit in the middle. MG has used man-made leather on the dashboard, a 2-spoke, flat-bottom steering wheel, center armrest and door pads. The cabin also features brushed aluminium and glossy black inserts in places.
The seats are comfortable. The driver’s seat gets 6-way electric adjustment with ample travel. The steering is adjustable for height and reach and the driver’s seat also gets memory and auto retract functions for easy entry and exit. The seats have almond brown man-made leather upholstery, while the roofliner is white. The center console has a floating design.
The SUV gets auto headlamps with adaptive high beam, auto wipers, electronic parking brake with auto hold, keyless entry and go, 6-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory function, 4-way electrically adjustable front passenger seat, ventilated front seats, and reclining rear seats. It has also got AI powered voice assistant, gesture control and karaoke, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 10-speaker Infinity audio system with a woofer, panoramic sunroof, auto-dimming IRVM, 256-colour ambient and roof lighting, wireless charger with cooling, automatic climate control system with PM2.5 air filter, 360-degree camera with transparent chassis and wheel view, connected car features, and mood modes. The car also gets drive modes and adjustable regeneration. Its boot space at 610 liters is more than adequate for most families.
The top Essence variant of the Hector Tomahawk EV is equipped with a Level 2 ADAS suite, offering adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and auto emergency braking. While there is not an official crash-test rating yet, the robust standard safety kit, including six airbags, ESP, all-wheel disc brakes and Isofix mounts, provides some confidence.
The Drive Experience
The Hector Tomahawk is equipped with a 69.2kWh LFP battery pack powering a single motor on the front axle, producing 204hp and 310Nm, good for a claimed 0-100kph time of 8.2 seconds. It is mounted at the front and drives the front wheels. You press the brake and press the start/stop button, and you bring the electric motor to life. Without any throttle input, the car can crawl at 7 km/h. As you accelerate, the car moves forward in a relaxed fashion. There are no jerks from gear shifts and no sound from the engine, proving a refined experience. Driving the car in city traffic is a breeze. There is enough power on tap to keep up with the traffic and also close the gap to a vehicle in front quickly.
On the highway, the SUV is quick to accelerate to get you ahead of most other cars around you without much difficulty. We also experience that the SUV can easily cruise at triple-digit speeds on the highway, and when you need to overtake a slower vehicle quickly, hit the accelerator pedal and you can fly past it easily. But keep in mind that the harder you drive, the faster the range drops.
The Hector Tomahawk offers four drive modes: Standard, Eco, Sport and Custom. These modes alter the throttle and brake response, and steering weight. The Standard mode is the default mode, which is between the middle of Eco and Sport modes. It works well in town and on the highway and offers a good balance between range and performance.
While in Eco mode, the throttle response is lazier but provides the smoothest ride in the city traffic, in Sport mode, the throttle response is sharpened. On undivided highways, this is the mode to use to pull off quick overtakes. The steering firms up, and the brake pedal response becomes sharper too but it should be avoided in the city traffic.
Like most EVs, the Hector Tomahawk is super quiet since it comes with a sound-absorbing front windshield and windows. The carmaker claims that the Hector Tomahawk has a range of 517 km (MIDC). The Tomahawk’s 69.2 kWh LFP battery can be charged by plugging in a portable charger that comes with the car into a 15 A socket. For home charging, MG will install a 7.4 kW AC charger for you. Using this, you can charge your car from 10-100 per cent in a claimed 12.5 hours. Using a 90 kW DC fast charger, the company claims that you can charge your car from 30-80 per cent in 35 minutes.
Should I Buy One?
With special features like its big space, comfort, effortless drive and premium cabin experience, the new Hector Tomahawk EV is here to give its rivals a run for their money except its range. For those wanting a big, comfortable EV SUV, this is the car which deserves your attention and only time will tell its impact in the market.