[tj112]

Originally Posted by JJ1991

Received a message from MG that I've pre-reserved the Astor . Surprised to see that they've chosen the model and even the colour for me where I've done only a short test drive and mentioned nothing about booking. Apparently you only need to have a test drive to pre reserve an Astor. Lol

Exactly same thing happened with me.
Probably all a part of the game to show huge bookings in the initial days vs XUV/Taigun/Kushaq

[The Rationalist]

Looks like bhpians are in festival sale mood of Amazon and Flipkart, looking for ₹2 lakh cash back or No cost EMI when it comes to Astor! The pricing looks decent to me, 6 years back I paid ₹9 lakh for Aspire automatic, after going through the reviews Astor is miles ahead in all aspects. The problem with most manufacturers are they don’t have a base variant with automatic, the first one to do that will definitely hit a jackpot! Hello MG are you listening !!!

[Sidban85]

I also got an SMS. Color is orange though, which may be picked from the color of the test drive vehicle. But version is Sharp O, which I think they will promote saying 90% bookings are for top end AT Turbo.

Maybe they are worried that the price reveal has not created enough real excitement? Hence resorting to these tactics. Let's see what they price the ADAS pack at.

[neeraj0272]

I too got an email that an Astor has been pre-booked for me! It surely is an age of propaganda in India!
Soon enough MG will be shouting from the rooftop about the number of Astors booked.

[Axe77]

I’m disappointed at this cheap stunt of unsolicited / inaccurate pre-booking messages. Makes me lose respect for the brand. Whichever branding co / marketing co / internal team came up with this stunt, I think it takes away from brand equity and perception of the brand rather than enhance it.

Short point: Mission NOT Accomplished!

[RPM1706]

I too got this message. And, like the others mentioned, they have taken you for granted that you want nothing but the 1.3 Sharp, and the Optional, at that! The only point where they have been flexible is the colour. MG has decided I would prefer black!

Really! This sort of desperate and even crass marketing tactics really takes away the fun of trying out and investing in a new brand.

Without making the lower engine 1.5 available in either manual or CVT to either the media or in most showrooms, this is kind of force selling the highest variant. Makes you wonder if the 1.5 is not a competent enough performer.

[vredesbyrd]

The base Style variant seems decently equipped and does seem value for money. Can't say the same for other variants, though.

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

The base Style variant seems decently equipped and does seem value for money. Can't say the same for other variants, though.

Agreed. Base variant is damn good deal for those in market with upto 13L budget. For sure it will dent Taigun/Kushaq 1.0, Sonet, Venue and Nexon sales.

But turbo variants aren't competitive enough. Maybe companies believe that a small set of buyers only go for these top variants and those people are ready to shell out 20 lakhs on CSUV not caring about whether 1-2 lakhs discount is offered against competition. I wish top variant price was inclusive of ADAS, that would have made it a sweet deal.

[Rsvedi]

Was disappointed personally with astor pricing. Was expecting turbo smart varient to be around 15.5L on road. But that's my bad. Now I have a budget of around 15L. Looking to buy the car for my wife. So it would not clock too many kms in the long run. So should I go for Smart manual varient or super CVT varient? Both are more or less similarly priced. Pls suggest if I should opt for automatic comfort with less features or manual gearbox with loaded features?? Pls suggest

[Arun1]

Can someone please tell how to estimate on road cost here in Chennai?

[RT13]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Note: Off topic

Hi

I am seriously considering Hector Plus 6 seater Petrol AT Sharp. But wondering about the real world mileage in BLR. I drive 56 kms between office (Whitefield) and home (Bannerghatta Road).

What is the mileage in the Bangalore grid lock. Now a days I drive to office in the early hours ( as in 6.30AM start from home and 3.30pm start from office). Still would like to know what we can expect in BLR in general.

And how is the mileage in the highway, if cruising at 90kmph?

Is this comparable to the other competitors?

-Arvind

I’m not sure if the OT is permitted here but I’ll respond. Mods, please delete if you consider it inappropriate. Arvind you can pm me if you would like more info.

Incidentally, we picked up exactly the same model - Sharp Automatic (DCT) 6 seater. We’ve only done about 2,000 kms so far but let me outline my mileage experience. Been fairly good at running it in, keeping it mostly below 2k rpm for the first thousand and generally judicious with the throttle except when overtaking. We also paid for the engine oil to be changed at the first service (which is usually just a general checkup) as that’s our preferred method for running in.

Mileage in general - this is not a straight answer in my experience so bear with me.

Apart from traffic, when it comes to mileage, I find that distance plays a much larger role than in the equivalent manuals, with this sort of combo (slightly smaller displacement turbo petrol automatic mated to a larger body). The shorter the run, the lower the mileage tends to be, by an order of magnitude Which actually works a bit in your favour if you think about it.

Runs under 5 kms in bumper-to-bumper traffic sometimes yield an abysmal 6 kmpl. However, runs over 10-15 kms see an increase to as much as 9 with reasonably consistent flow of traffic (ring road driving, etc). I would imagine that your 6:30 a.m start should fairly consistently yield that much, notwithstanding our horrendous roads at the moment which might impede cruising. The 3.30 return may not be as good but I think you get the picture.

Highway driving - we have only done one longish drive to Coorg, apart from a bunch of airport road 100km runs. At 90 km/h this engine effortlessly ticks over at about 1700-1800 rpm. It’s great for cruising. If it’s an open road and you can engage cruise control for reasonable lengths of time, the mileage sees a significant bump and you’ll easily clock 11 kmpl. I have a feeling that over very long open runs, like from Bangalore to Goa, where you can engage cruise control for significant periods of time, you may even get 12+. I have yet to test this theory but I’m fairly sure given the return we’ve got even up to Devanahalli and back. On the Coorg trip we got about 9.2 all told. But this was because the Mysore Road is in an utterly awful state. There is almost no place after Ramanagaram where you can even go 1 km in a straight line. The constant diversions because of the new elevated road construction means it is one long meandering road that also happens to be packed with traffic. From Mysore to Coorg it was mostly narrower highway with unpredictable traffic and while coming back, it was one long jam from nearly Kengeri to the centre. Basically over the entire drive, I was only able to engage cruise control for some 3-4 kms so that should give you an idea. So with with that awful drive and the rolling hills of Coorg and some aggressive driving, overall I’m fairly content with the return. Surprised even. I’m absolutely sure that on a drive to Chennai let alone Goa, we’ll get 12.

This is my personal experience. I’ve heard of other people getting even 14 on highway but I haven’t. Having said which, all things considered, I think it should improve a bit more by the time we clock 5-10k, given how the engine seems to be opening up.

Oh, and choosing the CVT might eke out another 1 kmpl or a smidge more, as I understand it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by Arun1

Can someone please tell how to estimate on road cost here in Chennai?

You may check Carwale website for indicative on road price.

Further, for your reference I have attached on road price applicable in Gurgaon. You may compare both and arrive at estimate for Chennai.

Or else simple method would be to connect with local dealership and they will whatsapp it to you.

On a separate note - As per a footnote in brochure - Sharp+ADAS is also known as "Savvy". MG will most likely announce it as a separate trim.
https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-n...iant-27933.htm

[RT13]

Originally Posted by Rsvedi

Pls suggest if I should opt for automatic comfort with less features or manual gearbox with loaded features?? Pls suggest

This is an odd question. Either you want a manual or you need an automatic. If you need an automatic, no amount of features can make up for the lack of it. For example, in Bangalore traffic driving an automatic can reduce stress levels (not to mention calf/foot fatigue) by many levels. There’s just no substitute for it. A decent auto gearbox costs a ton of money so they naturally have to scale down on other features to prevent sticker shock and offer it at an acceptable price. I’d take a car that was stripped down to the minimum on features just to have it in an automatic avatar. But, if you’re genuinely wedded to the manual experience or you live outside a major city and simply don’t need an automatic, then the world is your oyster. You get to pick a cheaper car on the whole.

So, answer the first question for yourself (what gearbox do I need) and that’s it. Frankly nobody else can make that choice for you.

[Col Mehta]

Not sure about others, but in our case the SA did call us, confirmed if we wanted to book/reserve the car, asked about the preferred variant and colour. We also received OTP on our phone to confirm the action performed, which should have been the case with everyone? If yes, I don't think MG is doing anything wrong here.

But I still feel that MG is going to shout through the roof and brag about the number of bookings in X hours/days. This is how the modern day marketing machinery operates I guess .

[Arun1]

Thank You @manpreetsj

The prices you have shared is in line with my estimates. I was just concerned because the Bangalore OTR prices were almost 1L more. The showroom guys in Chennai haven't been updated with the OTR prices yet it seems, I'm hoping the prices are in line with Gurgaon prices.