MG unveiled the Astor, two weeks ago and we have already driven it. You can read our review by clicking here. The manufacturer has revealed the features, engines and variants of the new mid-size SUV. Now, they will be announcing the prices of the Astor on October 11th.
Engine and gearbox
MG will offer the Astor with two petrol engine options, there will be no diesel on offer. There is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine and a turbocharged 1.3-litre turbocharged engine. The naturally aspirated engine produces 110 PS of max power and 144 Nm of peak torque. It will be offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a CVT automatic transmission. The turbocharged engine puts out 140 PS of max power and 220 Nm of peak torque. It is offered only with a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
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Variants
MG will be offering the Astor in eight variants. There are Style, Super, Smart Std, Smart, Sharp Std, Sharp, Savvy and Savvy Red. The Style variant will not be offered with the turbocharged engine or an automatic gearbox. The top-end Savvy and Savvy Red will only be offered with automatic gearboxes of both engines.
MG is trying to attract more customers by offering a more powerful engine with more and affordable variants. When compared its rivals also have a more powerful turbo engine but that is reserved only for the top-end variants. Having said that, MG is not offering a diesel engine with the Astor. There is still a demand for diesel-powered SUVs. People who often have do highway runs prefer diesel engines over petrol engines because of their fuel economy.
Rivals and Prices
Astor will be competing against Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta. However, because of the pricing, it will also go against the higher variants of Nissan Kicks, Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, Renault Duster and with lower variants of Mahindra XUV700 and Tata Harrier.
The prices of the Astor are expected to start from somewhere around Rs. 10 lakhs ex-showroom and go up to Rs. 18 lakhs ex-showroom.
Segment first ADAS features
The secret behind the success of the Hector was its looks and the features on offer. The Astor does look attractive and it comes with a lot of segment-first features also. It is expected to be the most affordable vehicle to come with an Advanced Driver Assistance System. There will be 14 Autonomous Level 2 features on offer. When compared to the flagship vehicle of MG, the Gloster SUV comes with Autonomous Level 1 features.
The Astor will come with Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention, Blind Spot Detection. Moreover, there is Speed Warning, Intelligent Speed Limit and Manual Speed Limit, Front Collision Warning, Intelligent Headlamp Control, Automatic Emergency Braking and Pedestrian and Two-wheeler Detection. You can click here to read in detail what every function does.
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