[ranjitht87]

Originally Posted by RPM1706

This 1.3 litre is THE reason to buy the Astor. It's not just a 1.3 but a turbocharged engine.

I think @manpreetsj is talking about the 1.4 L 4 cylinder turbo engine in both creta and seltos and the 1.5L 4 cylinder turbo engine in kushaq and taigun.
Top end of all these 4 cars have turbo engines with 4 cylinder whereas in astor its a 3 cylinder turbo although it produces higher power output.

[ron178]

Disclaimer: I do not intend to predict the outcome of any crash test of an Indian MG Astor from the following data, however, it may have some relevance. No one asked for it, so feel free to ignore this post if it doesn't interest you.

I've been looking at scores of different versions of the MG ZS around the world in previous crash tests, and have made the following observations.

I've been able to locate results of four NCAP tests of the ZS in total - three of the fossil-fuel car and one of the EV (which is shared across two NCAPs).

Since it is pointless to compare star ratings for the tests, I'll be looking at just the frontal offset test scores for the cars. A few points to note - firstly, all the results involved use the newer HIC15 head injury criterion, as opposed to the HIC36 criterion used by the SaferCarsForIndia program by Global NCAP which currently operates in India. I have a feeling that the performance limits have been adjusted to meet the same percentage risk of head injury, however, this goes unconfirmed and I welcome any inputs in this regard. Secondly, the performance limits for chest compression have been revised and hence made more stringent in these tests, i.e., the lower performance limit (the value above which the region is marked red) has been changed from 50mm (SaferCarsForIndia) to 42mm, and since the score for a region is determined through linear interpolation, the colour of the body region will be affected in different protocol. Third, and most important, we have absolutely no idea whether the Astor sold in India will perform similarly to the ZSs tested internationally before. For this reason alone, I think this little exercise of mine may be pointless. We know all too well by now that we shouldn't use data from international cars for ones sold in India.

For the sake of this comparison, I will ignore the above changes. While it is possible to determine the range of values the chest compression score would take under Global NCAP protocol, it is rather cumbersome, time-consuming, and gives no definitive outcome (you only get a range of values) (pretty much like this exercise of mine). Anyone who is willing to do it is welcome, but I will not. For reference, I will list equivalent Global NCAP scores for the chest for the two results published by ANCAP (since they have printed the exact score already in the detailed test report - the other NCAPs haven't) but I will not use it for fair comparison.

1) 2017 MG ZS, petrol, Euro NCAP (3 star rating)
This car scored 12.2/16 points in the frontal offset test, which is squarely in 4-star territory in a Global NCAP test (even if it gets marked up for seatbelt reminders).

The worst performing chest is yellow, which may improve to green and hence increase the test score in a Global NCAP test, though I don't know by how much (as I said before, it is possible to find a range).

2) 2017 MG ZS, petrol, ANCAP (independently tested locally in Australia) (4 star rating)
The car scored 10.46/16 points in the frontal offset test, which sits in 3-star territory in a Global NCAP test although it could score 4 stars if it gets marked up for seatbelt reminders.

Again, the worst performing chest is yellow, so the score could improve in a Global NCAP test. ANCAP has listed the chest score as 2.79 points in their PDF, which indicates a chest compression reading of 28.05mm. This corresponds to a Global NCAP score of 3.16 points, thus bringing the offset test score to 10.83, still in 3-star territory (4 with seatbelt reminder points). However, I believe there may be a flaw in my assumption here since the data at the bottom of the PDF shows that the chest compression was 30.47mm. Anyone who can understand why this is is more than welcome to point it out.

3) 2017 MG ZS EV, EuroNCAP (result shared by ANCAP) (5 star rating)
This car scored 14.71 points for frontal impact which is in 5-star Global NCAP territory (after some additional requirements).

Again, the worst performing chest is yellow, so the score could improve in a Global NCAP test. ANCAP has listed the chest score as 3.83 points in their PDF, which indicates a chest compression reading of 22.85mm. This corresponds to a Global NCAP score of 3.87 points, thus bringing the offset test score to 14.75, which is in 5-star territory

4) 2020 MG ZS petrol, ASEAN NCAP (2 airbags) (5-star rating)
This car scored 14.27 for frontal impact, which is in 5-star Global NCAP territory.

Here the worst performing chest is orange but since the score could only go up, it's safe to say this version would be a 5-star car if tested by Global NCAP if additional requirements are met.

My point in doing this was - why is there an inconsistency in results and which version will we get in India? It looks like some changes to the restraint systems were made for different versions, but I cannot figure out what they are or whether will make it to India. Of course, I could just hold my horses for two days, but I'm very curious, because RushLane claims:

MG Astor will be one of the safest car in the segment. As per source, MG is planning to launch Astor with 5 Star NCAP safety rating.

I cannot figure out whether this means MG has sponsored a Global NCAP test and has agreed to have the results revealed at launch, or whether they are simply going to advertise the ASEAN NCAP rating (like Nissan is doing) of the fourth car tested above, despite the fact that ASEAN NCAP ratings are not valid for India and the cars come from different factories (and were tested to different protocol). If they do the latter, how are we supposed to ascertain that the changes that seem to have been made to later iterations of the ZS like the ASEAN-spec car will be made to the Indian Astor?

Insider information, if any, about the Astor's NCAP rating would be greatly appreciated.

[a.bhatt]

Thanks for the analysis.

Are there any media drives planned for 15th or is it only a digital reveal?
If there are any Q&A sessions happening on 15th, it would be very relevant to ask the question on safety rating and NCAP testing.

[RT13]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Guys! This has been discussed in this group already quite a few times, but just a quick reminder - Please don't forget that this is a 3 cylinder 1.3 ltr engine and not a standard larger 4 cylinder engine that you get in competing cars in 17 to 20 Lakhs price range.

Hence, pricing Astor at slightly lower price compared to competition, with all the segment first features will be the only reason for many to ignore this small sized engine.

Gee thanks for the reminder. Did you mean ‘NOT to ignore’? Because I just don’t understand your sentence.

Also, why would you say the competing cars are in the 17-20L range? The very point is that this is a segment below. It isn’t competing with that range at all.

Quite apart from which, apart from academic, so-called ‘connoisseur’ hair-splitting on this forum, at the end of the day if the torque and horsepower it puts out is more than its competitors, I don’t think consumers are going to complain IMO. In fact most people won’t care if it simply performs.

[bwildrd#1]

Originally Posted by RT13

Also, why would you say the competing cars are in the 17-20L range? The very point is that this is a segment below. It isn’t competing with that range at all.

By competing cars he meant Germans(1.5) and Koreans(1.4) I believe. Below are the starting prices of Turbo petrol variants in this segment. Only exception is Kushaq which has two turbo petrol engines. So I have included Kushaq's top variant of 1.0L.

Duster RXE 1.3 MT - 11.27
Duster RXS 1.3 CVT - 13.65
Kicks XV 1.3 MT/CVT - 12.09/13.94
Seltos GTX(O) 1.4 MT - 15.45
Creta SX 1.4 DCT - 16.83
Seltos GTX Plus 1.4 DCT - 17.54
Kushaq Style 1.0 MT/TC - 14.59/15.79
Kushaq Style 1.5 MT/DSG - 16.19/17.59

*All prices in lakhs and ex-showroom

Taigun 1.5 MT might be undercutting Kushaq's 1.5 MT by a significant margin. But DSG prices will be more or less similar.

With these prices across manufacturers in the segment I think Astor will be targeting 15.5L to 17L for top of the line 1.3L variant

[Venkatesh]

MG Astor unveil tomorrow at 11:30 am.



Side profile teased



Link

[UltraViolence]

Although I don’t think any undisguised side profile pic of MG Astor is available yet, so I took MG ZST pics for my analysis. Design and looks are a subjective matter so please don’t take this seriously. The following is just my observation.

In my opinion the sharp kink at the end of the shoulder line, which rises up, to meet the sloping roof makes it look more like a hatchback on stilts and not a C-SUV. The rear quarter glass is basically non-existent here.



Presented below is my very shoddy attempt at Photoshop to fix the quarter glass and this IMO instantly looks miles better than the top pic, with a proper SUV stance maybe?

[arunramaswamy]

The rear window line is too high for my liking. Short people may feel claustrophobic. Panaromic sunroof should mitigate it to a certain level.

[Oomph11]

MG should realize that “AI Affair” is not going to be the USP of the car, they should really emphasize on the ADAS features and the safety it brings. That should be it’s USP. The AI assistant seems just like an extension of the hector voice commands albeit in a different form.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by Oomph11

MG should realize that “AI Affair” is not going to be the USP of the car, they should really emphasize on the ADAS features and the safety it brings. That should be it’s USP. The AI assistant seems just like an extension of the hector voice commands albeit in a different form.

What is the market they are trying to capture, Urban or rural? I assume it is urban market for the moment. They still have to make significant inroads into 2-3 tier market. Eventually growth will come from 2-3 tier places.

You are right USP is ADAS but assuming there will be non ADAS variants how will they market those?

Common feature in all variants will be AI, also ADAS inside is lot harder to digest than AI inside. This is easier to sell and communicate to someone who is not very technically inclined.

Yes they will bring and put in marketing material with GNCAP(fingers crossed), passive and active safety feature along with gizmo list. They need a evolution for tag line Internet inside to project this is a step up from existing product portfolio.

MG has one of the best marketing team for the moment. They have been news every few months. This is not easy considering they don’t have extensive product portfolio. Team would have done the homework.

[Venkatesh]

MG Astor Lane Keep Assist feature revealed.

The new MG Astor comes with Lane Keep Assist that doesn’t let you deviate from the lane and makes your drives safe.

Link

[CircleOfLife]

There is some interesting details on variant line up for turbo petrol.

Turbo petrol will be offered with AT transmission. Will be available in 2 variants sharp and savy.

All credits & copyright to Motorbeam.
Link https://www.motorbeam.com/mg-astor-e...roduct-reveal/

[CEF_Beasts]

MG Astor as a package looks promising although it should have got a diesel! Knowing MG it’s surely going to be a VFM package, a worthy competitor to the Koreans

Poor MotorBeam can’t see a LHD car.

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

All credits & copyright to Motorbeam.

I'd probably trust a rock than Motorbeam. They posted this picture with a caption "MG Astor spotted undisguised..." Even a 5 year old could tell it's a LHD car.

[AnnaRocks]

Originally Posted by a.bhatt

Thanks for the analysis.

Are there any media drives planned for 15th or is it only a digital reveal?
If there are any Q&A sessions happening on 15th, it would be very relevant to ask the question on safety rating and NCAP testing.

The local dealer informed me that tomorrow's launch will be a virtual one followed by price reveal soon and probably they will get a display car as early as next week with the deliveries starting in the first half of October.