[manpreetsj]

https://www.carwale.com/news/mg-hike...d-gloster/amp/

Those confused between Hector and Astor, MG just made it easier for you to decide by increasing prices of Hector by 50K! I was expecting this increase to happen for 2022 model that they may launch in January.

[das_ren_auto]

I am a big admirer of MG for the value they provide for money. But why they have not mentioned the ground clearance and fuel consumption of the car till now even after creating this much fuzz with booking. Is there any specific reason they are not disclosing it well in advance along with other specifications?

In case they have already declared it then my statement stands withdrawn.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by das_ren_auto

I am a big admirer of MG for the value they provide for money. But why they have not mentioned the ground clearance and fuel consumption of the car till now even after creating this much fuzz with booking. Is there any specific reason they are not disclosing it well in advance along with other specifications?

In case they have already declared it then my statement stands withdrawn.

Both have been revealed, they are posted in this same thread, you can check couple of pages back.

[manpreetsj]

Early birds who have booked Astor and got a confirmation, do check whether your booking no.'s last 5 digits are <=5000 (Mine is in mid 4K). If yes, then you will most likely get Astor in next 60 days.

MG has stopped taking fresh bookings and will open it again on 1st Nov, as per one article online. I just checked the link as well, it keeps loading/ ain't working.

Those with confirmation are now better placed to take time and finalise decision, if not yet. Looking at Hector prices getting jacked up, I don't think MG will maintain Astor's introductory prices even for next batch. One should be prepared for 10-25K price jack up!

[JoBlo]

Booking IDs are allotted in batches to dealerships. My RM said that his dealership was allowed to book from 2201. The booking ID starts with "SE021". So their IDs look something like SE02102201 etc.

[bosem123]

I don't understand. What sense does it make to launch an SUV with such low ground clearance in India? Even hatchbacks and sedans have more GC these days

[ridehard]

Originally Posted by bosem123

I don't understand. What sense does it make to launch an SUV with such low ground clearance in India? Even hatchbacks and sedans have more GC these days

Every car manufacturer calls almost everything an SUV these days.
Astor is actually a crossover like WR-V or the S-cross, looks the part too. So the expected ~180mm GC(unladen) should mostly be in-line with the crossover standards.

[TechSavvy]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Test drive: MG Astor Turbo Petrol AT

Something which was very annoying

There is no crawl function and A pedal is very sensitive. It was ok to manage in stop go traffic, I got used to it. But it got very tricky while I was trying to park the car after TD. There was a huge obstacle in front and I could see it using camera. The car won't crawl and it was very irritating to modulate the super sensitive A pedal along with applying brakes.

I don’t think I can drive an automatic without crawl function. While parking my car I only slot car in D or R and press brakes can’t think of pressing acceleration my cars going to fly off into the car ahead of me.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by TechSavvy

I don’t think I can drive an automatic without crawl function. While parking my car I only slot car in D or R and press brakes can’t think of pressing acceleration my cars going to fly off into the car ahead of me.

SA did tell me there is no crawl function. But I think it's because of auto hill hold as pointed out by fellow BHPians which was ON during my TD.

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by ridehard

Every car manufacturer calls almost everything an SUV these days.
Astor is actually a crossover like WR-V or the S-cross, looks the part too. So the expected ~180mm GC(unladen) should mostly be in-line with the crossover standards.

The unladen GC is 185, as confirmed by SA. It is close to GC of 190 offered by Korean siblings and closer to 188 of VAG siblings. I am not sure what difference 3-5mm will make.

On comparison with S-Cross, the dimensions of Astor are more than S-Cross on all sides, especially height. Astor is taller by ~55mm. On comparing with korean siblings, Astor is 20mm larger on all sides. The only reason Astor looks like a crossover is its slanting hood. Mostly CSUVs come with boxy higher & straight hoods, which makes it look like a larger car. Slanting hood gives Astor a sporty crossover look, to the liking of few. It doesn't change the fact that dimensions wise it is one of largest in this segment (except for wheelbase).

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by Gotcha

MG is quite inconsistent. Some Astors have the "Morris Garages" badge in the front and some don't. Also, still no news about availability of 1.5 MT base model for test drives.

Pretty sure that is an add on accessory. As you can see the car shown is adorned with hideous looking Accessories all over.

You can see them on the front and rear bumpers, on the fenders, fuel lid and under the headlight. It actually takes away from what in my opinion is a fine looking car.

[nasir88]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster

It actually takes away from what in my opinion is a fine looking car.

Yes, I saw a similar car in person. Absolutely hideous chrome embellishments all around. Why manufacturers make such accessories to deface their own cars is beyond me.

[Sayan]

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the creep function.

I did take a test drive and can confirm that there is a creep function. The only time that doesn't work is if the Auto Hold was active. In my test drive car it was turned on so car didn't creep. I turned it off and it worked just like any other automatic.

[sbm]

I took a test drive of MG Astor 1.5 CVT today. As there is no MG showroom in my city, they brought the car over from Dhanbad. Thanks to the SA for being patient during my long test drive.

Looks and stance
The first thing I noticed when I saw the car from its side was it's front and rear overhangs. Due to it's shorter wheelbase and a little bit higher length as compared to the Creta, the Astor looks a little overhung on both sides. The bonet is definitely placed lower than other CSUVs and the windows end in a triangular shape towards the rear leaving a large metal area below which looks a bit odd. That being said, the car is definitely a looker. The front design is really fresh and the rear design is also more traditional rather than being a love/hate thing like the Creta.

Interior
This is one place where this car beats it's competitors by leaps and bounds. The interior material quality is something you won't find in any other car in this segment. The soft touch material everywhere, the design, the color, fit and finish, everything feels like being from a segment above.

The interior space feels smaller as compared to the Creta, the seats are nice with good support but the footwell could have been made a little bigger. This was a CVT variant so I didn't feel the space to be less in the footwell but it might be a negative factor in the manual version. Rear seats are very supportive but good for only 2 adults and a child, three adults would be a tight fit. Leg room is more than sufficient if not too much.
The Boot looks smaller in width and larger in height as compared to the Creta. I feel that practically both would be able to fit similar amount of luggage.

Engine performance- 1.5CVT
First of all, let's address the elephant in the room. The rubberband effect is pronounced. Any demand of quick acceleration from the car would cause the engine to rev up for a good 2-3 seconds. Intital pickup is a little sluggish and then despite of the rubberband effect, the car takes off well. But keep in mind that if you get even a little heavy on the gas, you'll hear it. The actual acceleration is good, refinement levels are really good and you hear the engine only when it's revving during acceleration. I couldn't get it to higher speeds but upto 60-70kmph, the NVH was very well contained. To summarise, this engine gearbox combination is not for the enthusiast. If you primarily want a relaxed drive and use a light foot, this car will give you what you want.

Suspension and Handling
It absorbs potholes well, glides over speed breakers without much vertical movement and dampens the resulting movements very well. I did not test it during hard cornering but while negotiating gentle curves, there was minimal bodyroll.Overall, a comfortable and balanced feel.

Conclusion
If you are looking for an alternative to Creta/Seltos, you should keep in mind that it's stance and appearance might not fullfill you aspiration for a SUVish car. The interiors are definitely better and ride comfort is equivalent to current gen Creta. I have not driven the Creta IVT, so can't compare the two but this engine-gearbox combo definitely has more than enough juice for a relaxed driving and provides a good experience. Thanks for reading. Pls excuse the condition of the car in the pics and errors in my composition

[JoBlo]

Originally Posted by nasir88

Yes, I saw a similar car in person. Absolutely hideous chrome embellishments all around. Why manufacturers make such accessories to deface their own cars is beyond me.

https://youtu.be/y5BjJtx1qfI