MG Astor

Sporty? Or Comfy?

The compact SUV segment is booming, and almost every mass-market manufacturer wants to grab a slice of that pie. MG Motor introduced itself to India by launching the Hector, a compact SUV that was a success as soon as it hit our shores. But MG Motor wasn’t satisfied with just that, and released yet another compact SUV in India — the MG Astor. The Astor is essentially an ICE version of the ZS EV we’ve grown familiar with. It is a quarter size smaller than the Hector, and looks more like a crossover than an SUV. Let’s take a look at what makes this offering unique.

MG Astor Pros and Cons 

MG Astor Exterior Design 

The Astor shares most of its components with the ZS EV, and apart from the grille, it looks nearly identical. The overall silhouette is of a crossover rather than an SUV, but it rides higher than a crossover to be called one. In fact, it is taller, wider, and longer than both the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta, which doesn’t come across well in pictures. Up front, the element that distinguishes it from the ZS EV is the grille. While the EV gets a closed off grille with a charging port, the Astor gets a ‘Celestial’ hexagonal grille, which has plenty of chrome elements, and they converge at the centre where the MG logo sits. The front bumper is also slightly tweaked, and gets reshaped fog light housings and LED DRL-equipped headlights. On the side, the main difference is the new 17-inch alloy wheels and red brake callipers. The rear also remains largely the same, save a few badges and a redesigned bumper which sports faux exhaust tips and a stylized diffuser.

MG Astor Interiors 

The interiors of the MG Astor have been worked on thoroughly, and almost every component oozes quality. You can choose between one of three interior colour schemes — dual-tone Sangria Red, dual-tone Iconic Ivory, and Tuxedo black — and they all have an appeal of their own. The overall design looks sporty, with elements like circular AC vents on the extremities, a flat bottom steering wheel, and brushed aluminium accents. The overall quality is top notch, and the interiors are a nice place to be in, despite not sporting a radical design. The most interesting element on the interior though, is the small bot-like AI assistant that is placed atop the dashboard. More on that in our Technology and Infotainment section down below.

MG Astor Comfort 

The front row of the MG Astor gets comfortable seats with plenty of bolstering. The cushioning has just the right amount of firmness and passengers of all sizes will be comfortable. However, the front seats lack seat ventilation, which is a feature that most cars in the segment now have. Rear seats are also a comfortable place to be in, and offer plenty of knee room, head room, and under-thigh support. The panoramic sunroof also adds to the airiness of the cabin, and the rear bench gets its own pair of AC vents and a foldable armrest. 

MG has set up the Astor’s suspension to offer great comfort, and the compact SUV delivers well on that front. It rounds off potholes and absorbs bumps very well, and does a good job of insulating the cabin from road imperfections. However, the suspension softness does translate to a bit of floatiness at highway speeds. 

MG Astor Performance and handling

The interiors of the MG Astor furnish a sports car-like vibe, but the Astor drives like a comfortable cruiser. The soft suspension setup — while being comfortable — isn’t sporty, and there’s a fair amount of body roll in corners. The Astor also gets steering modes that change the weight of the steering, but the weight is artificial, and there’s no change in the feedback you get from the front wheels. It is best left in its softest ‘Urban’ setting, which goes well with the Astor’s relaxed manners.

The Astor gets two different engine options — a 1.5 litre naturally aspirated unit and a 1.3 litre turbo petrol. The 1.5 is not for the enthusiast, with rather sedate power output figures. The 1.3 on the other hand is more spirited, and can do a 0-100 run in just over 10 seconds. However, the relaxed power delivery of the engine doesn’t make it feel as quick as it can go, and the red-line is also at a rather low 5,600 RPM. The engine, however, is refined, especially for a 3-cylinder unit, and doesn’t get too loud even under stress. 

MG Astor Key specifications 

MG Astor Safety Features

The MG Astor does well on the safety front, being one of the most affordable cars to be equipped with level 2 ADAS features, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and prevention, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, high beam assist, and more. While there is no NCAP rating yet, the long list of safety features promises a decent if not good score, which include up to six airbags, ABS, EBD, active cornering brake control, ESP, traction control, hill hold and hill descent control, TPMS, rear parking sensors, 360-degree parking camera, heated ORVMs, and many more. It also offers disc brakes on all four corners in all variants, and while this improves brake feel, the brake performance is only at par with rivals.

MG Astor Technology and Infotainment

In typical MG fashion, the Astor is loaded to the gills when it comes to tech features. It gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment in the middle of the dash, placed in a traditional position, instead of being a floating unit atop the dashboard. The system gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and is mated to a six-speaker audio system. The Astor also gets a 7-inch digital instrument cluster which displays information neatly, including ADAS related info. Connected car tech is also a part of the features list, and includes features like geo-fencing, remote engine start, and pre-cooling. 

While the list of features is quite comprehensive, MG has also added a gimmick on top of it. It gets a voice command activated AI bot that sits on top of the dashboard. The bot has a small display to mimic eyes, and you can use the bot to access several features within the car, like opening the sunroof. Not just that, but the bot can also access Wikipedia to pull information off the internet, in case you want to know how far the sun is from the earth while you are driving. The bot can also understand Hindi commands, but doesn’t get a proper voice assistant like Alexa or Siri. 

Is the MG Astor for you?

The MG Astor is quite an interesting proposition. Where most Indians want a high-riding car that delivers the ‘SUV wali feeling’, the Astor delivers the opposite of that. It is a compact SUV sized car, which looks more like a crossover on the outside, and a sports car on the inside. When you drive it though, it drives more like a comfortable cruiser, and not like the sporty crossover it looks like. In a way the overall package of the Astor is a bit confusing, but it fits perfectly for buyers who want a sporty looking car that drives more like a comfy compact SUV. The ton of features on offer make a strong case for it, and while this proposition isn’t mainstream, it will appeal to a handful of people regardless.