[amol4184]

I never even sat in a car with red/red-ish iterior. Can someone who owned a car with such interior tell me how do they do in the long term, especially if the owner is not a car person? Asking for a friend. It looks fantastic. Instant draw.
I have seen how filthy light colored interiors become if the owner is disinterested.

[Swarup5]

The demography and Dominance of carmakers is seeing a gradual shift to Asian cars. What an eventful year 2021 has been!

- We saw the end of an Era for Ford India. ( No more American cars except EV)

- We welcomed Tesla (only for the rich and mighty, though).

- We are seeing Italian, German carmakers run for cover, yet again proving their weak points.

- Volumes of MSIL cars are seeing a gradual decline, thanks to the Indian crowds choosing safer cars.

- Blockbuster launch (?) of the XUV 700 . The interest it has gathered across the SUV frenzy crowd is unprecedented.

- And now we welcome Astor, a proper crowd puller for its segment. Chinese might finally might have the last say.

- Needless to mention, the Korean twins already have a fan following like nothing else.


In summary, we are left mostly with carmakers from

Japan>Korea>India>Europe>China - Increasing order of their might.

[shibulijack]

Hot scoop: 1.3 turbo is a 3 cylinder unit. Looks like the initial reports were erroneous.

Confirmed by Bilal of Carwale who took the test drive in Buddh International circuit.

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Hot scoop: 1.3 turbo is a 3 cylinder unit. Looks like the initial reports were erroneous.

Confirmed by Bilal of Carwale who took the test drive in Buddh International circuit.

If thats true, then its a big deal breaker for me! I don't think many would be comfortable paying 17Lakhs or more on road for 3 cylinder "small" engine. Many fear that turbo puts pressure on engine and with a 1700kg car like Astor, with such small engine, how good will it drive & how long will it last?

Though the claim seems to be right, as it fits into the way globally ZST model is being sold with 1.3L 3 cylinder turbo engine with 230Nm torque. Maybe for Indian fuel quality they have de-tuned it a bit.

Its a bit disappointing. Only if they sell a smaller engine car between price of top end Sonet and Seltos - which leaves Astor's top end at 16L? on road. At such price it may make it easier for few to go ahead with Astor.

Look forward to 30th Sep drive reviews, followed by TD in 1st week of Oct.

[anb]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

If thats true, then its a big deal breaker for me! I don't think many would be comfortable paying 17Lakhs or more on road for 3 cylinder "small" engine. Many fear that turbo puts pressure on engine and with a 1700kg car like Astor, with such small engine, how good will it drive & how long will it last?
Its a bit disappointing. Only if they sell a smaller engine car between price of top end Sonet and Seltos - which leaves Astor's top end at 16L? on road. At such price it may make it easier for few to go ahead with Astor.

There isn’t much difference in engine size between 1.3 of Astor and 1.4 engine in Jeep Compass/ Seltos. I am glad that they are not offering a 1.0 turbo. Even the 50 lakhs Mercedes A class limousine ( CLA) comes with 1.3 l petrol engine only.

[KapilD]

Originally Posted by Swarup5

The demography and Dominance of carmakers is seeing a gradual shift to Asian cars. What an eventful year 2021 has been!

...

In summary, we are left mostly with carmakers from

Japan>Korea>India>Europe>China - Increasing order of their might.

Add to this the discontinuation of genuine reliable products by Totoya and now only giving us rebadged Maruti/Suzuki

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Hot scoop: 1.3 turbo is a 3 cylinder unit. Looks like the initial reports were erroneous.

Confirmed by Bilal of Carwale who took the test drive in Buddh International circuit.

This would be a bummer.. Hopefully its incorrect, time will tell.

Also, on another note:

Has anyone looked into the engine bay and seen that the crumple zone in the longitudinal beams are well in front of the engine placement (this is what I felt when I peeped into the 1.5L car)? Should add to the better safety and lesser engine repair bill of the car? - in a low speed crash of course.

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by anb

There isn’t much difference in engine size between 1.3 of Astor and 1.4 engine in Jeep Compass/ Seltos. I am glad that they are not offering a 1.0 turbo. Even the 50 lakhs Mercedes A class limousine ( CLA) comes with 1.3 l petrol engine only.

Agree with you. 1L engine would have placed it against segment below cars (including Kushaq 1L Turbo).

On Merc CLA having 1.3L turbo - It is 4 cylinder engine. 1.3 or 1.4 doesn't change much as long as technology is smooth and reliable like 4 cylinders in age old NA engines. I am uncomfortable with 3 cylinders doing the job of 4!

I'm not a technical expert, but basis what I have read and seen on this 1.3L 3 cylinder engine, it is light weight and good in fuel efficiency. But it will have vibration issues to an extent and wont be fun to drive like 1.4 of Seltos or 1.5L Turbo of Kushaq.

[dh.harshal]

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Hot scoop: 1.3 turbo is a 3 cylinder unit. Looks like the initial reports were erroneous.

Confirmed by Bilal of Carwale who took the test drive in Buddh International circuit.

This was a worry all along. Let's wait till the embargo lifts up on 30th.
By the way, International ZS Turbo's 3 cylinder engine is not as bad in driving/revving/vibrations as the one in Indian sub 4M compact SUVs.
However I agree that if it's a 3 cylinder engine, they have to undercut Creta in pricing by more than 50-75k ex-showroom.

On another note, I had a discussion with a MG showroom owner who is a friend of a friend. He told me that MG is planning to hold online flash sale on 7th Oct for only first 3k-4k cars. They are not allowed to take any bookings offline at showrooms.
I see this as a cheap marketing strategy usually followed by Chinese mobile phone companies.

We have started to see minor holes here & there with Astor. A perfect car remains a myth

[KapilD]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Agree with you. 1L engine would have placed it against segment below cars (including Kushaq 1L Turbo).
..
I'm not a technical expert, but basis what I have read and seen on this 1.3L 3 cylinder engine, it is light weight and good in fuel efficiency. But it will have vibration issues to an extent and wont be fun to drive like 1.4 of Seltos or 1.5L Turbo of Kushaq.

The above thoughts are echoed based details on the Australian model for ZST: 3 cylinder and higher mileage. Also, the power output is 150 horses and 230 Nm torque.

But how’s the refinement? major question to be revealed on 30/06

[Col Mehta]

Okay, so just spoke with the Astor sales team in Moti Nagar, Delhi. They have confirmed that the 1.3 litre petrol engine is a 4 cylinder unit. They recently underwent product training and sounded pretty confident.

I'm going to be very disappointed if the engine does turn out to be a 3 cylinder unit after all this.

[shibulijack]

Quick update: I tried contacting various auto reviewers who participated in the MG Astor Drive at the BIC. Laskhya Khanna of V3 cars mentioned that it's a 4 cylinder unit! There seems to be some discrepancies between the reviewers themselves, so let's just wait for the official word from our trusted TeamBHP instead.

[NT56]

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Quick update: I tried contacting various auto reviewers who participated in the MG Astor Drive at the BIC. Laskhya Khanna of V3 cars mentioned that it's a 4 cylinder unit! There seems to be some discrepancies between the reviewers themselves, so let's just wait for the official word from our trusted TeamBHP instead.

I thought this was already confirmed by teambhp as per below post.

Originally Posted by Aditya

MG Astor Engine Images

1349cc, 4-cylinder turbo-petrol develops 138 BHP & 220 Nm (hence the name "Brit Dynamic 220")

[GeeTee TSI]

For the sake of argument, won't a 3 cylinder engine have a counter balancer shaft to reduce the vibrations? I think the concern (if at all), should be small capacity turbos and their inherent lack of efficiency at heavy throttle/high load, which is pretty much the norm nowadays

[Bibendum90949]

I feel the infotainment screen is placed is way too low. It means one has to take the eyes considerably off the road to glance at navigation, other information etc. Even the AI unit that sits on the dashboard is obstructing the view and can create problems by creating blind spots, more so when you're on winding roads. And if such roads are broken, you'll tend to miss potholes while on left turners.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by NT56

I thought this was already confirmed by teambhp as per below post.

I don’t think it’s been fact checked. In fact, quite a few reviewers who attended the drive yesterday have replied to my messages confirming that it’s a 3 cylinder engine.

@mods who are participating in the drive, can you please confirm?