[sid3091]

Originally Posted by Turbokick

Ride and handling :
Kushaq : 8.5/10
Creta : 8/10
Astor : 7.5/10

Interiors :
Kushaq :7/10
Creta : 8/10
Astor : 9/10

Engine and gearbox :
Kushaq 1.0 TSI AT : 8.5/10
Creta 1.5 MT : 7/10
Astor 1.3 AT : 7.5/10

Overall build quality :
Kushaq : 8/10 (poor interior bits apart it is very good)
Creta : 8/10 (consistent throughout)
Astor : 8.5/10 (not as solid as skoda but hard to fault overall)

NVH and smoothness :
Kushaq : 8.5/10
Creta : 8.5/10
Astor : 8/10

Great review! A panoramic sunroof and slightly better interior quality and I'd trade my Ecosport S for the Kushaq.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Transmission

Its annoying that the shades are not thick enough for some of our tastes (despite the tinted glass), but its hardly anything that a quick DIY fix of pasting 1-2 layers of dark film to the sunroof wont fix...

At that point, does one even need a sunroof if the goal is to tint it dark? Maybe we (as a market) will get past this obsession over sunroofs and then manufacturers will stop pushing them too.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

At that point, does one even need a sunroof if the goal is to tint it dark? Maybe we (as a market) will get past this obsession over sunroofs and then manufacturers will stop pushing them too.

Because there is large difference between a dark tint and full blown opaque build. A 10% tint is a significant difference to me - so that leaves about 10 levels of opacity between transparent and opaque as far as I am concerned.
For people like me that absolutely love panoramic sunroofs, I'd rather have the stock/factory-fit glass too light so that I can tint it to taste rather than have it too dark off the gate and be hard to modify if needed.

That said I also hope they have no-sunroof variants for people with the opposite tastes.

And I'm not guessing my liking for glass - we have lots of glass areas our house (3 large exterior aluminium-framed-glass-walls facing the elements) and I love it.

[JayD]

Checked out the Astor today while I was getting my ZS serviced. Initial impressions are good and the car seems to be of significantly higher quality than the Kushaq.

If the ZS is anything to go by , the Astor should also be well put together and a well built car. The dual tone white n black interiors looked great and feels premium. If MG plays the pricing card right then the Korean twins will have some serious sleepless nights. The Kushaq (and Taigun) feel old already and are reeling in EPC issues anyways. The complete lack of German feel in them aren’t helping either.

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

Wow, a very unbiased and detailed feedback

Thanks a lot. I just wanted to find out how good these new cars w.r.t Creta and yes they are extremely competent !

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

This in fact has been a point which always intrigued me. Given many highway drives across baking hot sun also requires car to be parked in the hot sun (at times), how does this impact the cabin temperature and also the comfort of passengers if the sun falls on their skin. It is tough enough using (aftermarket) blinds on windows but it is a different matter from above.

Does any manufacturer provide a thick upholstery for the sunroof instead of a translucent curtain?

I think this is for the first time I noticed something like this. My Creta's sunshade is relatively lot thicker. Doesnt allow any light to pass. And inspite of my car being in black, cooling has never been an issue (I am from Odisha)

Originally Posted by 911CarerraS

I agree with your point and I think they'll price the top end at 15.99 Lakhs , I just hope that the variant distribution is good and not like the Xuv700

I would say it to be slightly optimistic here. For the kind of equipment, quality and even the active safety features on offer, this car can be priced close to the Korean cousins (They lack the ADAS as well)

Originally Posted by sid3091

Great review! A panoramic sunroof and slightly better interior quality and I'd trade my Ecosport S for the Kushaq.

I just hope that Skoda addresses these silly bits ASAP. (and ofcourse EPC related issues). If done, Kushaq is a top choice.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by Turbokick

Overall build quality :
Kushaq : 8/10 (poor interior bits apart it is very good)
Creta : 8/10 (consistent throughout)
Astor : 8.5/10 (not as solid as skoda but hard to fault overall)

Interesting scoring here because I initially felt the same way too. But then, imagine if we swapped the badges - VW Astor and MG Kushaq. Would the scores still be the same? "Perceived" value plays a big part, ain't it?

[Clouseau]

Hey Folkses!

Checked out the Astor today at the Ring Road (LPN) showroom. The car certainly has wow factors:
1) The minute you open the doors and catch those red/black interiors you are hooked. The XUV700 looks DULL in comparison. That shade of red is very lively and mildly intoxicating (sangria anyone?). So no need to w(h)ine there.
2) The ADAS features are extremely useful and as many have observed can be set based on your preferences - not just on/off. For example you can chose off/warning/or full control...
3) The sunroof is PANORAMIC - and has er 8! settings. Another wow there.
4) There's loads of soft touch on offer - the seats, dashboard etc. The steering also feels comfy.
5) Drove the Turbo engine and got a mileage of over 10 for a short, 5 km, choked ride. Not bad at all. I'm eyeing the 1.5 (City) engine which I reckon will do better.

Then there are the not-so-wows:
1) The ride quality is indeed soft - especially coming off a Duster.
2) The pedestrian ADAS feature slows the car down but will not halt it immediately so you still need to manage the thing.
3) Continuing from 2) ADAS is yet to be widely used and tested in India so uncertainties there mates.
4) Continuing for 2) and 3) ADAS will be useful but you cannot rely on it entirely. A fine example of this is how those fancy driverless cars keep crashing in the US.
5) The 360 camera and reverse assist are a bit dodgy. Could do with better clarity for sure (couldn't we all though).
6) The boot's definitely smaller than the Duster's, although bigger than the others (Seltos/Kushaq/Taigun/Creta etc). My issue is if and how many golf sets will fit. Will have to check...

The salesperson (Yash) was extremely polite and helpful but clearly the showroom was nowhere near as busy as the XUV700.

Well that's my 2-bits' worth. Overall though I'm seriously considering the car but have been promised a test-drive of the trusty (?) 1.5 next week. Will keep y'all posted.

Cheers!

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Interesting scoring here because I initially felt the same way too. But then, imagine if we swapped the badges - VW Astor and MG Kushaq. Would the scores still be the same? "Perceived" value plays a big part, ain't it?

Well as I said in my post the comparisons are based on my ownership experience with Creta. It is ofcourse just an initial impression and not necessarily conclusive considering the fact that few hours in a showroom cannot be equated with owning the car altogether.

Now when I said 'build quality', it meant
1. Quality of fit and finish inside out
2. Paint quality
3. Materials used
4. Solidity of panels

Now these parameters cannot be directly equated with longevity or safety but yes 'perceived' quality 'felt' good.

If Skoda can sort certain issues and bring it to atleast Polo/Rapid level then we have the proper European thing.

MG isnt as solid as the Skoda but overall 'quality feel' seemed best in class.

Even if you swap the badges my opinion will remain the same.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by Turbokick

Now when I said 'build quality', it meant
1. Quality of fit and finish inside out
2. Paint quality
3. Materials used
4. Solidity of panels

Now these parameters cannot be directly equated with longevity or safety but yes 'perceived' quality 'felt' good.

MG isnt as solid as the Skoda but overall 'quality feel' seemed best in class.

Even if you swap the badges my opinion will remain the same.

Your explanation sounds confusing. You use the word “quality” a lot to describe about the build and you acknowledge that Astor has the best “quality feel” and yet you “feel” Kushaq is more solid? To me, thud sound or thick sheets mean nothing until I see an NCAP score. So I’d probably not conclude that Kushaq is more solid without any metrics or logic behind it. And if I am, it’s probably my bias at play.

On a relevant theme, any idea if we might get to see Astor’s crash test rating anytime soon? Considering the abysmal rating of Seltos, getting 4+ stars would be a really good marketing angle too.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by shibulijack

Your explanation sounds confusing. You use the word “quality” a lot to describe about the build and you acknowledge that Astor has the best “quality feel” and yet you “feel” Kushaq is more solid? To me, thud sound or thick sheets mean nothing until I see an NCAP score.

I have owned the VW Polo GT/Duster/Honda City/Nissan Micra.:
1) The Polo door frame and sheet metal felt most solid.
2) The Duster door panels felt less solid than even the Micra.
3) The Micra and Honda City never had a single db of noise/vibration inspite of handling all sorts of bad roads. I even drove the City over a big stone by mistake, jolting the car to the side precariously, but no underbody damage or rattles developed.
4) Surprisingly, the Polo had more rattles within a year of ownership.


Bottomline- The Astor may pleasantly surprise and Kushaq may disappoint in this aspect !

[bhp_maniac]

The Astor definitely looks like a competent one in the segment if they get the pricing right, the looks are more matured and not as screaming as some of them out there Even if they don't undercut the Koreans and the Germans, there would be ample interest in the market considering the equipment levels and gizmos on offer. ADAS definitely would be a big help if done right, need to see the real world experience in Indian conditions. Some may love that cute smiling robot on the dash, not for me though. No offence, but I was never a fan of MG for the "Internet inside" badging and now the "AI inside" badging, really? For me, it says a lot about how the company sees their product more as a tech gadget than a car.

Being said that, more choices means more competition which translates to better options for the customers. On a side note, it's worrying to see the comments about the inferior interior quality of Kushaq. That solid built quality, ride quality, and the interior plastic quality were definitely the selling points of the Germans in the past, hope they are not planning to compromise on that with their India 2.0 program.

[Axe77]

Eagerly awaiting the price reveal now. I’m not in this specific market but really curious to where the on road price of the top end of this car ends up vis a vis both the VAG twins and the Korean twins. If its undercutting these two on price, it will definitely take away a meaningful chunk away from both this segment, not to mention also the segment below like Sonet etc.

[Behemoth]

Having seen both vehicles in person, I can confirm that the Astor is much larger and has better presence than the Kushaq. The Kushaq really looks like a slightly bigger Hatchback while the Astor looks like a proper CSUV. In terms of size and design language, it mimics the Mercedes GLA quite a lot (in a good way). The interiors are also miles ahead of the Kushaq in terms of material selection and build. If I were considering both of these vehicles, I would actually pay a 20% premium over the Kushaq for the Astor due to the better feraures, size and design and also the bigger engine compared to the 1.0 TSI in the Kushaq. However we all know the Kushaq is easily 2 L overpriced so I expect the Astor to be launched at price points Similar to the 1.0 variants of the Kushaq and at that price the Astor will be much better value. Also since the Astor is based on an existing car in global markets, I would be much more comfortable in terms of the reliability of the car vs the Kushaq which has turned out to be an experiment on the Indian buyers.

[gauravdgr8]

Checked out the Kushaq at the T3 yesterday as am actively looking to change my Brezza.

The first thing I wanted to check was the rear seat space. Surely not for 3 people at all. Brezza is wider by 30mm and that difference is visible.

[riturajsharma19]

It seems some dealers are accepting bookings. I just booked one - top end 1.3 turbo in Aurora Silver with Red & Black interiors.