11,000 km in 15 months with my Astor 1.5 NA MT: 5 pros & 5 cons

I have the Astor 1.5 N.A in manual top model. Driven around 11k in 15 months.

BHPian souvikjana83 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Unfortunately mainstream media and auto journalists have not extensively tested the 1.5 NA manual powertrain it’s all either about the turbo or the 1.5 NA with the CVT. I hope there are some owners of the 1.5 manual with insights here.

I have the Astor 1.5 N.A in manual top model. Driven around 11k in 15 months. Let me go through the pros and cons of this in detail:

Cons:

1. The engine of the car takes time to get used to. It takes its time to build revs which means 0-40 is not as quick as you will get in Creta/Seltos. It will feel more underpowered if the AC is running at 17 deg. To get the best drive, it is better to switch off the AC for sometime while starting from 0 (even at signal) or keep the temp around 22-24 deg.

2. Recently getting a squeak sound from the sunroof on uneven roads at slow speed. Need to check that at service station.

3. I feel that the seat padding could have been better for under thigh support. Creta and Seltos has very good seats in that matter.

4. The elephant in the room which is the mileage of Astor which every one talks about. On bumper to bumper traffic with AC on at around 24 deg, I get around 8 kmpl. But in normal traffic it improves to 11-12 kmpl. On highways, it gives around 15-16 kmpl. It has only 5 gears so I feel a 6th gear would have been great on highways to keep the revs under 2.5.

5. Very poor resale value.

Pros:

1. Astor manual top model in Hyderabad cost ₹18.5L on road whereas Creata manual top model cost around ₹21.5L on road. On top of it I got a discount of ₹1.35L from the dealer making it a sweet deal. I think no discounts is offered on Creta or Seltos. That's saving of ₹4.35L upfront.

2. My overall average comes around 12 kmpl with 50% city and 50% highway driving. If I assume Creta / Seltos gives around 15 kmpl in mixed driving, this means it cost ₹9 per km to drive the Astor and ₹7 per km to drive the Creta / Seltos. Which means at this ₹2 per km difference, the Creta owner will have to drive more than 2L kms to break even my upfront cost savings. And if one takes a loan on car then more kms.

3. One might have to wait for few months to get Creta or Seltos after booking but you can get Astor in just few days after booking.

4. The base model of Astor comes with all 4 disc brakes, wiper and defogger on rear and even 60:40 split in the back seat making it an extremely VFM car under ₹10 lakhs ex-showroom. It is even more VFM than the mid variant of Brezza at the same price point.

5. The build quality of Astor is amazing as compared to Creta or Seltos. Astor gets 5 star safety while Creta and Seltos has 3 star safety.

I feel the Astor is a great car especially the base model if one looks at all the features it gets at that price. Definitely take the test drive and that too a thorough one to make your decision.

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