[Sammy1234]

Has anyone got confirmation on the delivery schedule?

[mave547]

Test drove the MG Astor 1.3 Sharp (o) variant in Mumbai during the week and it felt refreshing and revived my hope in the availability of good vehicles in the Indian Auto Market. (after dulll models by MSIL,MnM,TAMO - except the Thar which is a beauty but with low drive kms diesel is not the fuel of choice for me)

Dealership Experience - There was a lot of buzz, customers and Team MG alike being 21st Oct when actually people had to pony up booking amounts. It reminded me of Board Exam results day and everyone waiting for where do they stand. The sales team and support staff had that same kind of anxiety.

Had been to the same dealership (WEH Jogeshwari) when Hector was launched, must appreciate that this dealership has upped their game. The staff is more responsive, confident and willing to go the extra mile as opposed to when they were unsure of what they were doing 2 years back.

The test drive offered was a short one intially after a 10 minute wait, but when I requested the for a slightly longer one in traffic and over flyovers the representative willingly agreed for the same.

The BAD -

1.) The AC is just about average to below average and Mumbai is facing October heatwave but nowhere close to the hotter states , so that was an immediate red flag. All prospective buyers PLEASE make sure about this since this is very subjective. The panomramic sun roof definitely will definitely mess up the cooling even more. Why it bothered me? The fact that I drove to the dealership in a 2012 Altis A/T via the same route and that cooled my Altis in 10 minutes while the Astor was struggling inspite of being a new car.

2.) The top ends have electrically adjustable drivers seat. The sound it makes is extremely annoying and feels like the loading / unloading sounds of mini industrial goods lift.

3.) For people not comfortable with the sangria red ONLY other option for the variant without ADAS are black seats. The beautiful ivory / black combination is available ONLY in the CVT.

The GREAT -

1.) The engine is a beauty, very active and begging to be pushed. Especially for city driving when overtaking or speeding in Mumbai has become a requirement in certain cases to avoid the crazies.
Having said that only thing one has to learn to live with is the fact that for some reason at the start 10-20 kmph range it wants to be pushed further unlike a NA engine with AT which will
just roll as per your need and speed.

2.) While the German Twins look like a PURE CROSS, this does feel much larger although dimensions are almost identical.

3.) Everything inside has a super premium feel to it.

4.) Have never driven or had a car with driver assists but the blind spot indicators and other features seem nifty in city driving and can be a big plus for disciplined drivers.

My only questions or doubts are to some of the senior members of the forum -

q1) The safety rating is not released yet but is being compared with the MG ZS-EV , but the MG Astor has a distinct hump in the middle unlike the ZS which is a
flatbed. How big a factor is this? Since the Germans have always sold the HUGE middle hump as a safety feature which doesnt let the car crush easily.

q2) Most of the posts mentioned the ASTOR as city drive. Is the 3 pot engine a big compormise if the driving is a mixed bag (70% city and 30% highway). If that
be the case then would just pour my money into one of the german twins.

[ridehard]

Test drove the 1.5 CVT to get a feel of the engine (although I'm looking to get the MT version).
The engine was super refined, drives well at low speeds, except for the typical CVT behaviour, the engine picks up speed quite nicely in the mid range (not aggressive like the 1.0Tsi), it felt similar to driving the City's iVtech, at least in the low and mid range, more refined than the Honda's motor.
It didn't seem to have a lot of oomph left beyond the mid range (unlike the iVtech, which screams).

Overall, it felt more than adequate. Did miss the Diesel's torque, I'm used too. But then the NVH, refinement, smooth ride quality, premium interiors more than made up for it.

Hoping to get to drive the 1.5 MT soon, to finalize my decision. For now, Astor is definitely on top of my list, knocking off entry/mid lvl variants of Seltos, Kushaq, Sonet, Taigun based on various parameters.

[JoBlo]

While I await delivery, I am researching (and need your inputs on) :

1. Paint protection film or Ceramic for the whole car
2. PPF for bumpers only and ceramic for rest of the car (who's a good detailer in Bangalore)
3. Upgrading to wider premium tyres (better comfort, noise, etc.)
4. Best car cover (waterproof and durable)

Thanks.

[Col Mehta]

Like everyone, we booked the Astor on October 21. My son handed over his ID details and a bank cheque to the SA, hoping to get the car from the first lot. We received booking reference via email on the same day (DS031042**). Meanwhile, radio silence from the SA. We decided to call him and check for updates and this is when we got the shocker of a news - our car has been allotted in the second lot which means (A) we won't get the car this year (B) no clarity on delivery time next year - the SA says February/March but do we want to believe anything he says from here? No. (C) there is no price protection even when we booked the car on October 21.

Now a few things -

We are upset with the SA. He knew it from day 1 but never bothered to inform us. Had we not called him today, I don't think we would have come to know this until November/December. Escalated it but the no solution offered from MG and we aren't interested in taking it any further. We definitely have more important things to do.

How did it happen? The booking was done for the first lot. How did IT happen?

The booking confirmation doesn't specify anything about the slot. Maybe it's done intentionally? I recommend everyone to check the status of their booking slot, first thing tomorrow morning.

We have cancelled the booking. Good that the cheque hadn't been presented so we don't have to go through that hassle. Phew. I'm glad our Creta IVT booking is still open. The Sonet booking was cancelled recently as my son was getting nervous with all the DPF related issues with BS6 diesel engines.

The Astor is a good car and to give up on it on a bad experience might not sound very sensible but one of the primary reasons why we considered Astor (other than those beautiful and well put interiors, decent turbo engine and overall package) was the easy/early delivery. That's gone now. No one knows when the second lot would get delivered. While not taking away anything from the Astor, we really don't want to wait for this car indefinitely. We might get the Creta delivered before that. My son, however, doesn't seem to be affected by all this. I'm a little worried. Or maybe he is just happy that his first preference is back in the game - that weird boxy Creta .

[Gotcha]

First video of Astor Style base variant - wheel caps and tail lamps are quite dull! Can they be changed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPKppvyu9TI

[Arun1]

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

Like everyone, we booked the Astor on October 21. My son handed over his ID details and a bank cheque to the SA, hoping to get the car from the first lot. We received booking reference via email on the same day (DS031042**). Meanwhile, radio silence from the SA. We decided to call him and check for updates and this is when we got the shocker of a news - our car has been allotted in the second lot which means (A) we won't get the car this year (B) no clarity on delivery time next year - the SA says February/March but do we want to believe anything he says from here? No. (C) there is no price protection even when we booked the car on October 21.

Now a few things -

We are upset with the SA. He knew it from day 1 but never bothered to inform us. Had we not called him today, I don't think we would have come to know this until November/December. Escalated it but the no solution offered from MG and we aren't interested in taking it any further. We definitely have more important things to do.

How did it happen? The booking was done for the first lot. How did IT happen?

The booking confirmation doesn't specify anything about the slot. Maybe it's done intentionally? I recommend everyone to check the status of their booking slot, first thing tomorrow morning.

We have cancelled the booking. Good that the cheque hadn't been presented so we don't have to go through that hassle. Phew. I'm glad our Creta IVT booking is still open. The Sonet booking was cancelled recently as my son was getting nervous with all the DPF related issues with BS6 diesel engines.

The Astor is a good car and to give up on it on a bad experience might not sound very sensible but one of the primary reasons why we considered Astor (other than those beautiful and well put interiors, decent turbo engine and overall package) was the easy/early delivery. That's gone now. No one knows when the second lot would get delivered. While not taking away anything from the Astor, we really don't want to wait for this car indefinitely. We might get the Creta delivered before that. My son, however, doesn't seem to be affected by all this. I'm a little worried. Or maybe he is just happy that his first preference is back in the game - that weird boxy Creta .

Sorry to hear that. I was skeptical myself about my booking going through, I wouldn't be surprised if they are treating higher variants preferentially. I'll have a word with my sales guy tomorrow but I'm not sure how I can ascertain that he's not lying.

[immortalmechano]

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

Like everyone, we booked the Astor on October 21. My son handed over his ID details and a bank cheque to the SA, hoping to get the car from the first lot. We received booking reference via email on the same day (DS031042**). Meanwhile, radio silence from the SA. We decided to call him and check for updates and this is when we got the shocker of a news - our car has been allotted in the second lot which means (A) we won't get the car this year (B) no clarity on delivery time next year - the SA says February/March but do we want to believe anything he says from here? No. (C) there is no price protection even when we booked the car on October 21..

Aye! That's sad to hear. Just confirmed my booking today. I've been told Jan/Feb and Maybe something earlier based on variant and colour allotments. Nothing promised though. I'm okay with Jan/Early Feb but I will check on the price protection. That is important I would say.

[Col Mehta]

Originally Posted by Arun1

Sorry to hear that. I was skeptical myself about my booking going through, I wouldn't be surprised if they are treating higher variants preferentially. I'll have a word with my sales guy tomorrow but I'm not sure how I can ascertain that he's not lying.

Thank you for comments, dear.

We had booked the turbo Savvy variant. So not sure basis what they deprioritized/downplayed our booking.

Please have your SA give you the booking status in writing. That's one thing I feel we should have done on the day of booking.

Good luck!

[Sidban85]

Is there a way to check booking status and things like lot from the MG app? I could not locate it. I will mail the dealer anyway tomorrow.

[Sidban85]

Update:

I had mailed MG Pulsehub with my reference number and asked if my booking is for 2021 or later.

They redirected me back to dealer. That is one sad lazy reply.

So, I will check with my dealer. If I don't get an answer or formal communication by 1st November, I will need to reconsider my options.

[neeraj0272]

Although we liked MG Astor and even Hyundai Creta but I didn't like the idea that for a 20L rupees product we have to chase these car companies and that MG has the guts to conduct a lottery and that car buyers are willing to participate in this game of roulette!
So we bought a ready to deliver Honda city and that too at a discount.
Sorry to say that I do not sympathise with those who book cars with long delivery times and then cry about their delivery getting postponed.
Also the way MG kept delaying the announcement of prices and hence actual booking was in itself a sign of things to come.
However I will say that second lot of MG Astor will be more readily available as till then initial euphoria would have died down.

[nasir88]

Another drive review posted for the Astor 1.5 CVT. The comments about the performance are not very encouraging in this video, and a lot of engine noise can be heard in the cabin.

https://youtu.be/YqK2ST0qA9Y

[Col Mehta]

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

Although we liked MG Astor and even Hyundai Creta but I didn't like the idea that for a 20L rupees product we have to chase these car companies and that MG has the guts to conduct a lottery and that car buyers are willing to participate in this game of roulette!
So we bought a ready to deliver Honda city and that too at a discount.
Sorry to say that I do not sympathise with those who book cars with long delivery times and then cry about their delivery getting postponed.
Also the way MG kept delaying the announcement of prices and hence actual booking was in itself a sign of things to come.
However I will say that second lot of MG Astor will be more readily available as till then initial euphoria would have died down.

You are absolutely right, dear. I think we all are naive to have booked Astors/Cretas et al when a world class product with amazing build quality and features, with so much fun to drive CVT, setting sales charts on fire, is readily available that too on discounts, good lord! I really do not know how I missed it. My bad.

Thank you for imparting your wisdom to us. We all are ever so grateful .

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Update:

I had mailed MG Pulsehub with my reference number and asked if my booking is for 2021 or later.

They redirected me back to dealer. That is one sad lazy reply.

So, I will check with my dealer. If I don't get an answer or formal communication by 1st November, I will need to reconsider my options.

We just received a call from MG customer service. They are ready to work with the dealer and get us a car from the first lot. But since we have realised that there are better products available on discount, we are re-evaluating things. Please call their customer support team and have the dealer/SA give you the status of your booking slot in writing.

Good luck.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Gotcha

First video of Astor Style base variant - wheel caps and tail lamps are quite dull! Can they be changed?

Sure they can but this also seems like nitpicking. This base variant is among the nicest out there.