So this is the new MG Astor and it is a rival to India's largest selling SUV,
the Hyundai Creta and if you're considering this, it's probably not because of how nice it looks,
which we will get to in a bit, or how it drives, which we will also get to in a bit, or how that
interior is, but, because of the kinds of features it offers. So let's get straight to the point.
What are the features the Astor offers because there's a long ass list to get through.
Let me talk about interior quality very, very briefly, the interior quality, the sheer
absolute touch and feel quality on the Astor feels absolutely top-notch, the way the seats are,
the way dashboard is, everything that you can touch and feel all around is very,
very good quality, it feels much more expensive than what it is going to be priced at, now,
at time of us recording this, we don't really know what the price is going to be, but I'm guessing
maybe Rs. 20 lakh for the top-of-the-line version, this feels like a Rs. 50+ lakh car on the inside.
The downside though, is that it does feel a little bit cramped. Maybe that's because of the slightly
bulkier dashboard or just the overall design, but it feels slightly smaller than its rivals on the inside.
Getting to the features though, massive touchscreen, much more responsive, in general,
a big digital instrument cluster, you get a long, long, long list of connected car features,
including a digital key on your cell phone, so you don't actually have to carry your key all around
every day all the time, you can actually just activate it from your phone and drive the car off
and then of course you get this little AI powered robot, which answers your questions when you say
hello, Astor. Hi, how can I help? What year did MG start in? MG was founded in 1924,
nine decades and counting. What else can I help you with? So you can ask it, well,
simple questions and it'll answer you, depending of course on your internet connection, which isn't
very, very great here. The one thing that people did mention when we put out the video was, if this
is here, where do we put our little idol? That's a conundrum only the Indian market will ever have.
And that brings us to one of the biggest reasons to go and buy this,
safety, and not just due to the fact that it has six airbags, or that internationally the MG ZS
has a five-star NCAP rating, it is because of all the added ADAS features it gets. And yes,
although that badge at the back is a little bit of an overkill, the features are great. Adaptive
cruise control, forward collision warning and emergency braking, including pedestrian detection
and braking, lane-keep and departure assist and departure prevention and a lot lot lot lot more.
And this is only going to help you stay safer
in your car and help avoid an accident, so it is a very welcome addition.
Didn't I tell you that list was long and that alone should get people to buy this car,
but if that doesn't work for you, the way it looks just might. Now in this red, which is a little bit
of a Mazda inspired colour in my opinion, I think it looks the best. But, overall, just
look at the kind of details MG has put in, the effort, that's a 10 on 10 for effort right there,
the crystalline, sort of, detail bits in the headlights, even the grille which is like these
little studded pieces and this star formation. I think it looks really nice. You know what
this is going to do? That big first problem for manufacturers, getting people into a showroom
physically, just by making an SUV look nice. This solves that in spades. I quite like the way this
looks, isn't it? It's more crossover than SUVs, more modern, it's more urban, not a bad thing.
Right, so now that we're done talking about what's inside and outside, let's get to how it drives
because at the end of the day, people are going to want to know how the Astor does on the road. Now,
a caveat, this is a very first drive, a very basic, quick drive, it's not going to be something
very long, very detailed, that's definitely not going to be on public roads. So we'll bring you
a more detailed drive review of this very soon, as soon as we get our hands on the car in Pune.
The first thing that really pops-up is the NVH levels. The difference between
the window being up and the window being down,
the noise level, the way the car cocoons you, is massive.
The NVH levels are really genuinely very great, apart from the fact that if you do
mash the throttle in, the engine does sound a little bit scruffy and noisy.
You get two petrol engine options, you don't get a diesel in the Astor
at all, you get a 1.5, naturally-aspirated engine and this more powerful,
1.4 turbo, it is a smooth engine and you know what is really even better,
it's a smooth gearbox, it's a really, really smooth gearbox, to the point where I actually
scratched my head and said, have they put a CVT into this? Because it is really that smooth.
Now obviously, we can't tell you exactly how it would feel on rough roads but what I can tell you,
from the basic suspension setup that I can feel, it's just sort of a really great balance between
really being comfortable and very soft and being sort of on the stiffer side and giving
a great feedback, so you know what it is, it's somewhere in the middle of say,
in the middle of the Germans and the Koreans that's where this thing sits really nicely.
Now remember how I said this drive was not on public roads, well, we were actually driving it
at the Buddh International Circuit on the service roads or the periphery roads, as BIC calls it and
since we were at the circuit, we had to try out how the car actually felt driven hard on track.
Now because we were out shooting, our scheduled track time was actually done with and we missed
that slot. That said, we thought, maybe we'd try and sneakily go do a lap anyways.
Well, we made it through the first layer of security.
This is such an iconic tunnel and imagine the number of cars that have gone through and the
people that have gone through these walls. Still gives me the feeling every time I come to the BIC.
Okay, let's see now if we can actually make it through, unassumingly like you're supposed to
be here. We've got access! We've literally sneaked in to India's best racing circuit.
Pitlane's open, so I'm going to go, make a run for it like the border of Mexico.
We've got green light at the pitlane as well, let's go!
Okay, you know what, first things first, it does have a decent, fair bit of composure
and I'm going to momentarily take my eyes,
now you know what, I'm going to make this corner which is always a little tricky.
Momentarily take my eyes off and put the EPS into dynamic mode, let's see how much
of a difference that makes because in the normal urban mode, it's really light and nice, sort of,
potter around the city, but now that we're on a track or rather we've snuck onto a track.
I think dynamic mode is perfect.
It's got some poke as well 160, 165, 167, not bad.
Okay, brakes, brakes, brakes.
Decent bite on the brakes as well and these are all four discs, so it should be nice on the brakes
as well. Now of course, this isn't a performance car, but you know what, in terms of just general
composure, it's not too bad. Now these kinds of SUVs in this segment is nothing really than,
sort of, is a sporty, sporty alternative, maybe sort of the VW Group ones, but generally,
throwing it around a track like this, now, there is body roll, now into this chicane
and I wish the gearbox was just a little bit faster or I wish we had access to maybe, paddle shifters.
You know what, it's not too bad, genuinely, it's not too bad.
Just that little bit more horsepower maybe, also a little bit more power in general,
or you know what I think, I think it just needs a quicker gearbox, or maybe paddle shifters
and that power deficit, the feel of that power deficit would be made up.
Right, my favourite set of corners, braking hard into the chicane letting it go, hit the apex on
the left and hit the sausage curb on the right, I love that corner, and I absolutely love it.
It dances around really nicely as well, sort of, fluidic in the way drives.
Not too bad, MG, not too bad.
Okay, okay yes now I know, an MG Astor is not something that people
are going to drive really hard on the street as if they are on a racetrack, but the fact
that it still was a fair bit of fun does tell us a lot about that suspension setup.
This really is a great all-round SUV in my opinion, it looks good, it has a very, very, very well
made interior and really does have the potential to take on the Hyundai Creta at its own game.
I do really think MG has a winner on their hands,
especially if they price it between say, the Rs. 12 to 20 lakh bracket.
You know, quietly sneak back into the pitlane and maybe sneak back out that main gate.