Introduction

Two mid-size SUVs powered by the same Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre engine, but in a different state of tune. Well, you must have already guessed that we are talking about the MG Hector and the Tata Harrier. And if that's so, it’s highly likely that you must be very well acquainted with these SUVs as well by now.

For the uninitiated, yes both these SUVs are different products from different manufacturers, but are powered by a 1,956cc Multijet diesel engine built by Fiat. This motor comes mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. And back when we tested these, the one in the Harrier was tuned to churn out 140bhp unlike the more powerful Hector’s 170bhp. However, the torque output was the same at 350Nm. Here's how they performed against the clock in our V-Box tests.

Acceleration

0-60kmph

0-100kmph

The 0-60kmph sprint we carry out is indicative of the city runs, while the 0-100kmph is for highway speeds. The Harrier XZ manual variant got to 60kmph from standstill in 5.76 seconds, while the Hector's Sharp 2.0 version took 4.98 seconds. On the other hand, the Hector again outshined the Harrier by clocking a 0-100kmph sprint time of 11.36 seconds as against the Harrier's 12.46 seconds.

Roll on times

20-80kmph in third gear

40-100kmph in fourth gear

Since both the SUVs have the same torque output, we were expecting it would get interesting when it comes to driveability. And, we were not disappointed as the Harrier put up a close fight. It took 10.89 seconds to complete the 20-80kmph roll on in third gear and 12.55 seconds for the 40-100kmph run in fourth gear. Meanwhile, the Hector was marginally faster as it completed the same in-gear acceleration tests in 10.27 seconds and 11.05 seconds respectively.

Conclusion

Now with the new emission norms, Tata has updated the Harrier and the latest iteration is tuned to produce similar output of that of the Hector. So it will be interesting to see how these SUVs fare now. We are waiting to test these soon and will bring in the new results as and when we complete all the test runs with the newest versions. Till then, here is the detailed comparison of the SUVs which still remain more or less the same albeit for some new updates.