[Behemoth]

Here are my set of pics from the unveil event today. The car looks quite nice in design and subtle & has understated looks. The interiors though are flashy, but well built. The surprise is that I actually liked the red interiors (usually I am not a fan of bold colours on interiors). This car will carve a nice niche for itself in the market and the build quality, materials and finishes are well executed. The front has a nice shark type look which looks quite neat.

This is how the Kushaq should have been, but never could be. Looks like MG have another success on their hands with the Astor. In terms of putting my money, it still stays with the Hector plus as we need a diesel and also the spacious boot (for our dog).















On the boot space, I did not get a chance to measure it as the showroom was very crowded, but the actual measurement should be in the range of 330-340L as MG have also given a raised boot floor above the spare wheel which has eaten away the boot space (though not as bad as Creta, where usable boot space is just 270L).

[sv97]

To me the headlights look like a combination of the pre-facelift Verna especially the design and detailing and the led strip design as well as the blacking out treatment is similar to that used by Mercedes in the A Class.

Two very different segments and manufacturers for inspiration. Though one things remains the same for Chinese Manufacturers the approach of copying rather than innovating irrespective of the brand or its heritage which they claim as "Brit Dynamics".

[Artyom]

Any idea if the AI assistant bot module can be removed or is detachable from the dashborad?
It creeps me out to have a ball with 2 eyes watching over me while i am driving.Plus its size seems fairly large .

[StrikerK]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Folding the seat down gives you much more cargo capacity. Floor is far from flat though:

Youtuber Gagan Chaudhary in his walk around video mentioned that the seats will fold flat if the headrests are adjusted propely, though he himself haven't shown the same. Can you please confirm if this was checked and cannot be fold flat?

[shibulijack]

Thanks for the review. Looks like an amazing package for urban families like mine. Can someone confirm if the 1.4 turbo is an inline 3 or 4 cylinder engine?

[Col Mehta]

The 1.3L turbo petrol engine does seem to be a 4 cylinder unit! Other than TeamBhp official preview, the Autocar India also confirms this.

[shastryBLR]

Looking at the photos, the interiors look comparable to entry level Germans ( the big 3 ). For a city first consumer- One who's driving is 60-70% within city . The 1.4 turbo petrol is maybe overkill.

How do the MG cars handle compared to VW? I've never had a chance of exceeding 50 kmph within Bengaluru limits.

Additionally I've no clue about service cost & build quality. Has MG built their cars right for Indian conditions?

[eyesice]

Thank you for the excellent review

Whatever happened to old school fun to drive cars with none of the electronic gadgetry! All these connected car tech seems to be a huge compromise on privacy constantly monitoring our conversations, location and what not!

It's high time the government comes up with privacy laws like GDPR in our country!

[dhruv.bansal]

Went to South Delhi dealership to witness the Astor in person.

Initial Impressions :

1. The front grill grabs attention. The pattern is the right dose of bling which MG is famous for! The paint quality looks superb and the little jewel touches in the headlight and the tail-light looks very attractive. Should be a chandelier on road at night!

2. The Wine Color upholstery stands out and looks very very premium in reality. I was a bit uncertain while looking at the color at the online launch event, but I am happy to say that I am okay moving to this from a completely black or a complete beige which a lot of cars see today.

3. The Infotainment is crispier than my Hector. Had a very good clarity and better touch response overall. It is a bit tilted towards the driver which works well but looks a bit out of place when you look it from the rear bench. Maybe it will grow on you once you constantly see it.

4. The steering wheel is good to hold. The upper part of the dashboard is also soft-touch, unlike Creta or seltos. Frankly, looks far more premium than the top 2 Koreans. Everything that you touch is of good quality!

5. The Panoramic Sunroof has a bigger opening than the Hector at least. Not witnesses Creta but I think what Astor has done is that they moved the entire front half of the glass to perfectly sit over the rear side glass, which liberates a good 4-5" of more opening space.

6. Rear bench is strictly for 2 passengers to travel in comfort. The middle passenger faces intrusion from the bolstering of the other 2 seats as well as the rear armrest. Also, tunnel intrusion is also prominent.

7. The boot looks good & accommodative. May be looks deeper than the Creta, but can't say on the overall volume thought. But a vacation trip for the weekend for 4 occupants, - no big deal!

8. May not have the kind of road presence of the Korean siblings, as it seems to be a bit short on height. But it should be a welcome change to see a different car on the roads.

Overall, packed with features, & will make sense to an average Indian buyer with 15 big ones to spend.

[BharathXUV700]

Looks like a well thought out, for the most part, product launch from MG. Car looks good from the outside and the interiors also looks sporty and vibrant. Like how the dash is angled towards the driver's side. Plastic quality does not look too low rent (at lest from pictures). However, what's with this trend with Mahindra and now MG omitting ventilated seats and Auto IRVMs. Both these features are actually being considered as essential by an increasing portion of the population.

[manpreetsj]

Appreciate the detailed review by Aditya! Thanks

Visited Gurgaon flagship store of MG to checkout Astor. I couldn't click any pictures as I was so much engrossed in checking out this car! Also the showroom was jam packed, hence me and my wife decided to visit some other day to avoid crowd.

After getting disappointed by Kushaq, my wife was damn impressed by the build quality, height and looks of Astor! 👍

Somehow I feel MG is way too good at understanding its customers. The car in black looked very impressive. Fit and finish was also good. Though I wanted to see all black interiors. Maybe will get to see on next visit.

As per salesperson, prices will be revealed in first week of October and deliveries should start soon after that.

Now waiting for XUV700 to be made available in showroom for TD. Waiting for the day we end up booking either of these cars..! But..but only 3rd option now in mind after visiting MG showroom is Hector!

[Hayek]

Really nice looking interiors in this car - the ZS EV used parts from the Shanghai VW bin, and MG seems to have done a better job on the interiors than VW itself has with the Kushaq and Taigun. However, I am still very concerned about how this will be to drive - the Hector 1.4 DCT was terrible, and this is down on torque plus comes with a TC automatic, which may be offset by its being a smaller vehicle. From what I recall of sitting in the ZS EV, I doubt this will be anywhere near as spacious as the Seltos or even the Kushaq. But yes, MG will likely have killer pricing and that may swing it for this car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

The car in black looked very impressive

Took the words right out of my mouth! I was just thinking how awesome a black Astor with these red interiors would look . Great to read on BHPians also checking out & complementing the Astor's quality. Who would've thought that the Chinese would give better quality than VW / Skoda, out-equip the Koreans & offer technology that even a 5-Series doesn't have today?

I didn't give a second look to Astor news articles until this thread. Now, I'm looking forward to driving it. As long as its a comfortable cruiser like the Hector, the market will be happy. Not everyone wants a corner carver like us enthusiasts.

[Artyom]

Originally Posted by Artyom

Any idea if the AI assistant bot module can be removed or is detachable from the dashborad?
It creeps me out to have a ball with 2 eyes watching over me while i am driving.P
lus its size seems fairly large .

To answer my own question the bot cannot be removed or relocated.My dad was at the unveiling in Punjab and he confirmed the same with the SA.The bot doesnt seem to be too huge to be termed as a obstruction though.My dad is 5 8 and while he was on the driver seat he didnt feel it as an inconvenience.

[Newtown]

MG staying true to the pulse of what customers in the subcontinent are looking for. Pack it to the gills with tech, safety and acceptable fit and finish. Discussions on MGs as I have seen are mostly devoid of performance and handling and more tailored to creature comforts and safety. Although there is no blingy chrome, they have more than made up with the 3D grill and the interior colours.

This will be a high volume seller for MG and will certainly eat into the share of the Creta & Seltos, even more-so if they announce a good GNCAP score. The price as well should more or less be in the same ballpark. Also with the possibility of MG taking over the Ford manufacturing plants, they could well deliver quicker than the absurd 6 month wait for a Creta or Seltos.

It would be very interesting to see drive reviews for this car. When do those happen?