MG Astor compact SUV launched: Cheaper than Hyundai Creta & Kia Seltos

MG has launched the all-new Astor in the Indian market to take on the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and the likes. The all-new MG Astor is priced aggressively at Rs 9.78 for the base variant, which makes it cheaper than the Hyundai Creta by around Rs 40,000. The Hyundai Creta base variant gets a price tag of Rs 10.16 lakh and the price of Kia Seltos starts at Rs 9.95 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. MG will start the deliveries for the Astor soon. However, there is no specific date for the delivery. MG says that around 5,000 units of the Astor will be delivered before the end of the calendar year 2021.

The all-new MG Astor is available in 8 trim levels. There are two engine options available with the car and both are only petrol options. There is a 1.5-litre petrol engine option and a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine option. The 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine gets both manual and automatic transmission. The high-performance 1.3-litre turbocharged engine is only available with an automatic transmission.

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Here are detailed variant details of the MG Astor:

The 1.5-litre petrol engine generates a maximum power of 110 PS. It is available with both a 5-speed manual and an 8-stepped CVT automatic transmission. The more powerful 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine generates a maximum power of 140 PS. It is only available with a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

Here is a review of the Astor Turbo-petrol with torque convertor:

Segment-first features

MG has always been generous with the feature list. The Astor also gets a similar strategy. It gets a long list of first-time features including the Level -2 ADAS or the advanced driver assistance system. While even Gloster gets the ADAS, the Astor gets a more advanced version of it, which can do a lot more.

The MG Astor’s ADAS allows functions like Automatic Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection, Reversing assist, Lane Keep Assist among others.

MG has also added a physical Artificial Intelligence assistant that sits on the dashboard and even moves its head. The assistant is liked to the Internet-based services like Wikipedia, Gaana and more. It can even understand Hinglish commands and has tricks in its sleeve like it opens the sunroof when you say “Khul ja sim sim”.

Other features available with the top-spec variant of the Astor include all-LED headlamps and DRLs, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, leatherette upholstery, electric parking brake, tyre pressure monitoring system, 360-degree camera, heated ORVMs, steering weight adjustment through various modes, panoramic sunroof, and a massive 10.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Astor also comes with safety features like six airbags, ABS, EBD, brake assist, ESP, traction control system, hill start assist, hill descent control, rear disc brakes and more. MG will offer the MG Shield with a 3-year unlimited warranty, 3-year roadside assistance and 3 years of labour-free service charges. There is an option to increase the shield to five years at a nominal payment too.

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