[Sayan]

https://youtu.be/rz-sh9y03Oo

Came across this video on YouTube which has me worried seriously. Video shows this is more than 3 full seconds slower to 100 than the Seltos with a similar engine and transmission.
I do understand that 0-100 times matter little in the real world but the timing suggests performance more in the range of entry level hatchbacks.
I booked the sharp CVT variant on 21st itself. Dealer told me that my unit would be part of the second batch to be delivered in December. While I'm in no hurry to take delivery, the lackluster performance has forced me to reconsider my booking.

[neeraj0272]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Astor mass deliveries start ahead of Diwali celebrations -

I didn't expect that many whites in the mix especially for Astor. Seems White is still our favourite!

[dishankbhan]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Astor mass deliveries start ahead of Diwali celebrations -

Attachment 2227148

This explains why my friend who booked the Astor a week after me, got the delivery in the first batch. Seems like a festival of white. Low maintainence colour makes sense for Indians.

[manpreetsj]

Originally Posted by ranjitht87

The premium hatchbacks (baleno, i20) are so good with respect to space, refined NA engines and feature list that moving to sub4suv or c-suv doesnt feel like a proper upgrade atleast with respect to space. I will be missing the auto irvm and UV cut glass and offcourse the high mileage figures that my current baleno is giving.
However for my current need of an automatic with higher seating position with a decent engine and reliable TC and good safety ratings, Astor seems the best available choice.

Completely agree! Looking at your requirements, why aren't you considering Hector CVT? Unless FE of 9-12 is a deal breaker, Hector is best fit. I test drove it again last weekend and liked the overall performance of engine. I will most likely go ahead with booking of Hector Sharp CVT, as it fulfills my requirement of segment jump, higher seating position, ample space, comfortable ride, all creature comforts & safety features (including 6 airbags) and strong build quality (NCAP expected soon? maybe yes, as per SA). Only thing missing is ADAS, which practically I can live without as I am often a sedate risk averse driver (in any case if I get car allotted in Jan, by then Hector Savvy with ADAS & higher asking price may also come out, who knows!). After evaluating all cars available at this price point, Hector seems to be right fit!

[nasir88]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Completely agree! Looking at your requirements, why aren't you considering Hector CVT? Unless FE of 9-12 is a deal breaker, Hector is best fit.

Agree with this analysis, and I was considering the Hector CVT as well, but the only dealbreaker was the laggy infotainment screen which is a couple of generations behind the Astor's. Since we are going to be dependant on these screens for the next 5 years atleast, unlike mobile phones, which can be changed easily, and they are used to control all the features of the car, including HVAC.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Reasons (personal; may not be relevant to you. Still sharing as some of us have been discussion on this topic since launch) -
1) Even though Astor is very good package from what an average Indian car buyer would need (premium interiors, sporty looks, black exterior paint (rare these days), average turbo engine, etc.), still even after putting 20L on table, I am not getting the "big" upgrade from current 2017 Elite i20.
- Wheelbase is almost identical, hence inside space is same
- Boot is maybe 25% larger than i20, at best

Perfect alignment between our thoughts, although Astor is a segment above, it does not feel like an upgrade from i20.

I decided to book a Seltos, and then I also booked a Taigun (which I promptly cancelled, you can read about it here (Volkswagen Taigun Review)).

I have 3 kids & including my parents we are 7 people, kids are growing fast and the eldest one needs her own seating space. Current ride elite i20 or in near future seltos would also have ok, as we do not always travel together but then I thought, if I have to buy a new car and keep it for 8 to 10 years, it is better to buy a car with more seating capacity.

As a result I have cancelled the booking of Seltos as well and booked a Alcazar, it is a good 7 seater for short distances and perfect 5 seater with huge cargo capacity.

As you mentioned, Hector is more value for money, I did not consider Hector Plus due to missing Diesel + AT combination.

[ElNovato]

Hi all,

Thank you mods for accepting my membership request.

Thanks to this forum, I have absorbed a lot of knowledge that I believe has helped me in making the right car purchase decision. Have religiously followed Sonet, Kushaq/Taigun, and Astor threads. After months of mental tug-of-war I have zeroed in on the MG Astor Sharp 1.5 CVT to be my first car.

I have been a motorcycle tourer for close to 10 years now, had a lot of fun exploring our beautiful country. In fact, car purchase was never considered before I got married in 2019. Then the pandemic happened, and I kept delaying the purchase decision; waiting for more options to choose from. Sonet D-AT was a front runner for a long time, then we started seeing the VISION IN based car leaks. Kushaq's pricing disappointed me, but by that time MG ZS - petrol variant was in the news. Marked my interest on the MG website, was updated and invited on the launch day. The car looked stunning and fresh in black. Price is slightly higher than expected, but I have made my peace with it.

Our requirements-

1. Should be able to seat 4 comfortably. Focused on sub 4m, 4.3m segment. I am the tallest in the family at 5'8", so rear seat knee room was not a major concern. It will be used mainly within city and on highways only 3-4 times in a year. Wife and I, both agreed that our trips to hills will still be on the bike.
2. Automatic transmission was a non-negotiable requirement. Wife is not at all comfortable with a manual. Preferred TC, CVT for reliability.
3. Decent boot size to handle airport pick ups for parents and weekend holiday luggage for 4.
4. Good ground clearance. No, I am not going to go off road, but thanks to Bengaluru roads and unreasonably tall speed breakers we did not consider sedans.

We had narrowed down to 2 options: Sonet D-AT and Astor 1.5 CVT.

Sonet is a good car, but with our expected usage I was not able to justify the diesel option. Specially given the struggles with DPF issues in BS6 cars. Petrol was not considered being a DCT. Sonet cabin looked great when I first sat in it, but after experiencing Astor, the front seats in Sonet felt too close to the dashboard, with everything, specially infotainment right in the face. Also, the poor safety rating of Seltos kept playing on our mind.

Sales manager at Kia informed about the 6-8 months waiting period for the Sonet GTX+ variant. Currently the price mentioned in Sonet booking docket is : 17,02,384/- (including accessories and extended warranty) and Astor 1.5 CVT Sharp is 18,82,000/- (including a few accessories and MG Shield - 3 years, 30k kms )

Astor looked like a worthy upgrade to us for 1.8 lakhs premium. Only thing I will miss are the ventilated seats.

Test drove the Astor 1.5 CVT, and as mentioned in this thread multiple times, experienced the engine noise only on flooring the pedal. While driving sedately, NVH levels are lesser than expected, thanks to the engine bay insulation. Need to learn managing throttle input and overtakes, but I am content with its performance.

For Astor, we paid the pre booking amount on Oct 11th and dealer made the booking for us on Oct 21st. Our RM from MG Kalyan Nagar(Bengaluru) has confirmed our booking is for the first batch and the car will get delivered this year. On Oct 21st itself we got an SMS and email confirmation of our booking from MG. Last week, on Oct 27th, got a call from MG to verify the booking details, followed by a mail from CRE Bangalore, welcoming us to MG family and it had a pdf attached with all the booking details.

[ranjitht87]

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Completely agree! Looking at your requirements, why aren't you considering Hector CVT? Unless FE of 9-12 is a deal breaker, Hector is best fit. I test drove it again last weekend and liked the overall performance of engine.

When compared with Astor, hector has better leg space and can comfortably accomodate 5th passenger.
But these 2 are not an issue for us as we may rarely have a 5th passenger and leg space is not a concern as non of us are that tall.
My wife is new to driving and she prefers Astor over hector as a driver because of its compact size. The compactness of astor also make it a better car for driving as well as in finding parking space in Bangalore city.

[Venkatesh]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Astor mass deliveries start ahead of Diwali celebrations -

The first batch of more than 500 Astor SUVs delivered to customers on Dhanteras today.

MG India says the deliveries is particularly special considering the acute shortage of semiconductor chips and aims to improve the availability to meet its initial target of 5,000 deliveries by end-2021.

Link

[Arun1]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

The first batch of more than 500 Astor SUVs delivered to customers on Dhanteras today.


Link

OTOH, complete silence from my sales rep here in Chennai.
If any of those 500 lucky ones are here, please share your overall experience from booking to delivery.

[nasir88]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

The first batch of more than 500 Astor SUVs delivered to customers on Dhanteras today.

Hope there were some lucky BHPians part of the deliveries today. Expect to see some early ownership updates

[ridehard]

Originally Posted by Arun1

OTOH, complete silence from my sales rep here in Chennai.
If any of those 500 lucky ones are here, please share your overall experience from booking to delivery.

Which dealer? The OMR one?
It's the same case with my service rep. He's gone completely mum, although earlier he was telling very confidently that I will get it in the December batch.

[Arun1]

Nope. Annasalai Nandanam.

[ElNovato]

Originally Posted by JoBlo

While I await delivery, I am researching (and need your inputs on) :

1. Paint protection film or Ceramic for the whole car
2. PPF for bumpers only and ceramic for rest of the car (who's a good detailer in Bangalore)
3. Upgrading to wider premium tyres (better comfort, noise, etc.)
4. Best car cover (waterproof and durable)

Thanks.

I am in the same boat and reading about protective coatings these days. Have booked the Starry black color and I understand it would take some effort to maintain it.

1,2. Partial PPF + Ceramic seems to be the preferred option.

Planning to get a quote from Autotriz HRBR layout and Feynlab Museum Road for different packages.

4. Also, found this car cover online : [url="https://coozo.in/recaro-car-body-cover-spyro-grey-mg-astor-waterproof.html"]
Saw the name mentioned on a team-bhp thread only.

Inputs from members on these options would definitely be helpful.

[immortalmechano]

Originally Posted by ridehard

Which dealer? The OMR one?
It's the same case with my service rep. He's gone completely mum, although earlier he was telling very confidently that I will get it in the December batch.

Yeah I'm hearing the same from my dealer in Coimbatore and he was promising me a Dec delivery earlier. He still says something on those lines everytime I call. We will have to see what happens.

I'm part of a Astor Owners WhatsApp group( Yes, I see the irony in calling ourselves owners and have no visibility on when we will get the car) and one of the members got his delivery yesterday of the CVT variant. He even reported decent mileage on the 60km drive he had of around 13.5 in Delhi. Early days but sounds decent.