[cbrspn]

Originally Posted by skendora

Got delivery of Astor (6AT Savy) on the 21st of January.

The car has run around 300kms in the last 10 days and I'm getting mileage of 12.5 kmpl.

This is amazing! Mine is barely at 8.5-9kmpl, with most of the drive in the city. May I ask, what is your driving style, highly sedated, or medium? Also, are you running primarily in the city or on the highways?

[prakmah07]

Hey All, I finally took delivery of the MG Astor Style Variant from MG Lajpat Nagar this week. The delivery experience was really smooth, I informed the time I would be visiting to collect the car. After reaching the showroom it didn't take much longer, had to wait for about an hour or so. I had already informed the accessories I wanted to be installed, they kept it ready. I Have gone with Mud Flaps, 3D Mats, Corner Protector (Chrome) and Boot Mat, was not very interested in other Chrome accessories that the showroom kept pushing for. Overall experience was good and the team briefed me about the car, will also be arranging for a video call probably next week to explain the features in detail.

The driving experience has been good, the car from inside and outside feels premium despite the base variant. The engine is refined and vibrations on the inside or on a very minimum side. Having driven about 220 odd Kms, the accumulated average is showing 11.6 kmpl.

The speaker sound quality is good. There are no speakers in the rear seat, hoping that MG would probably fit it as part of an accessory in future.

Will keep updating as I get to know more about the car.

[hagarthenormal]

I took a look at the Candy White and Starry Black top end Astors. Everything looked very classy and well thought. I would say understated elegance on the exterior and a dash of exuberance on the inside (like how one should be in life?). It is a beautiful & serious candidate for anyone with a 20L budget.

A minor dislike: The robot assistant is just a toy trick and doesn't gel well with the rest of the car, I'd say. And since it is not firmly fixed to the dash, one should expect it to rattle on rough roads even on a new car.

Ref: Ares, My first car | MG Astor 1.3 Turbo AT Ownership Review - An owner who is quite happy with the car but makes the following observation:

Originally Posted by cbrspn

The stupid robot is a gimmick and serves no real purpose. Voice works without it too. It just sits there and rattles like an idiot on slightly bad roads. Only rattle from an otherwise solid car.

On asking about this issue, the sales person very nonchalantly said that it can be taken off (!). Would be a good idea, as it would free up space for a nice idol.

At ~22L Bangalore OTR price, the top end Astor looked like a good package that could've been a sweeter deal if it were priced a couple of lakhs lesser. This feeling was further reinforced after we took a look at a really attractive Midnight Black XUV 700 AX5 (22.2L OTR), after leaving the MG showroom. I wouldn't know if such comparison is justified, given they are two different segments / philosophies altogether.

A very personal note: The British flag badges on Astor's sides were nice to look at but kept reminding me of their bl**dy colonial rule. One way to reconcile with it, would be to think that we'd be riding the British (no offense to my English brothers of the present, who mustn't be derided for their forefathers' colonial atrocities).

[Sidban85]

Has anyone been able to find a good replacement for the sunroof mesh? I did a 500km round-trip from Bangalore this week and cabin was really not cool enough in the back during the afternoon.

If this is the case in February, I am worried about summer. So, is there a way to sort this out?

Also, any way to remove the robot? It does not work half the time.

[immortalmechano]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Has anyone been able to find a good replacement for the sunroof mesh? I did a 500km round-trip from Bangalore this week and cabin was really not cool enough in the back during the afternoon.

If this is the case in February, I am worried about summer. So, is there a way to sort this out?

Also, any way to remove the robot? It does not work half the time.

One option could be going for an additional CR70 film without any tint for the sunroof. I've been evaluating cR70 film options with no tint film for the rear windows and rear windscreen alone but still sceptical due to Blore cops...

[Sidban85]

Originally Posted by immortalmechano

One option could be going for an additional CR70 film without any tint for the sunroof. I've been evaluating cR70 film options with no tint film for the rear windows and rear windscreen alone but still sceptical due to Blore cops...

Do these films work in heat reduction? I have never use them. Looks like Rs 10000 or so investment. But maybe good in long term. Thank you for the advice.

[hagarthenormal]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Also, any way to remove the robot? It does not work half the time.

The MG dealer on Lavelle road, Bangalore said that it can be removed. Best to get it done by an MG service center, if they confirm in writing that it wouldn't void warranty of the rest of the features. Will save you from rattles too.

[Sidban85]

Anyone took the maintenance package? Which one did you choose and what are the differences in terms of coverage?

[K.grg]

Background
My wife is driving an i10, which was bought in 2012. Her running is quite low, around 18500 KMs in 10 years. Though she wasn't keen on changing her vehicle, the bug had bitten me quite deeply. When I finally succeeded in convincing her to change her car, she said she will opt only for SUVs / crossovers and that she wouldn't be interested in Hatchbacks or Sedans. And, it was also decided that we will look only for auto transmission.

Of all the sub 4-meter SUVs, I was attracted only by Sonet, for the tremendous value it offered for the price. And in 2021, in mini-SUVs, I liked Seltos though the price differential between HTX of both cars was around 4 odd lakhs rupees. When my wife test drove Sonet, she liked it and we booked HTX in June '21. Then the waiting game started with no commitment from the dealer. However, Allied Kia in Sohna Road Gurgaon sales team, including their Head of Sales, was very good in attending to any queries but were expressing their helplessness for early delivery.

Kushaq came along and being a Skoda owner already, I was keen to add one more Skoda to our garage and was willing to scale the budget up for it. Both of us liked the exterior and the drive was awesome. We had decided that we will go for Style AT 1.0 and we wanted to have one more test drive. This time, when the SA came home, we could hear couple of rattles in the car, which wasn't there a week ago in the same car. Though I had read Kushaq thread in detail, I wanted to check the car in detail this time, personally. As someone had mentioned in Kushaq thread, this was a skoda, which was completely 'Un-skoda like', in terms of interior quality and fit & finish. With heavy heart, we decided to knock off Kushaq from the list, though I was able to bargain a cash discount of 50 K (insurance was self from outside).

I was also tempted by Seltos, but wife wasn't interested in it as she felt that there are so many Seltos running in the city, but few Sonets. She felt that she will settle for Sonet. A Hyundai showroom owner in another city is a personal buddy, and told me that if my wife wanted Creta, he will ensure delivery as early as possible. But both of us weren't interested in Creta at all, for several reasons.

Enter MG Astor
When MG Astor was launched on October 21st, I was able to book it in the first few minutes online and had got confirmation. When I shared the booking details with a Sales Advisor MG Flagship showroom in Gurgaon, he said based on the serial number, I should get the delivery in November for sure. But I hadn't shown Astor to my wife nor had she test driven it nor had I discussed anything about Astor till my booking. So went to the Gurgaon flagship showroom for the test drive. My wife immediately fell for it hook, line and sinker. She loved the exterior, interior and the so-called European styling. In fact, she said, booking Astor even without letting her know about it, 'was the best thing you had ever done in my life'

It wasn't a happy ending, though, mates. 'Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost'.

In November first week, SA from the showroom called and said my booking isn't in the list for Nov & Dec. I should possibly get it in January. I was surprised as my booking serial number was in 20s, and it was unfathomable that I won't get my delivery among first 20 cars. I had written mails to Rajeev Chaba couple of times. But, let me tell you, he is neither Anand Mahindra nor Zac Holis for sure. The other two gentlemen are known to be very customer-friendly when it comes to interacting with consumers. In my case, someone from MG called both the times, and just expressed their apologies. That's it!!!

We decided that let's wait till January and then take a call. In January I was told that it might be Feb when I get my car. SA also said if I opt for Spiced Orange, we can take the delivery next day. Though I had booked Black, my wife wanted to have some bold colours, as it wasn't our primary family car. When we saw the Orange colour personally, we felt that though the colour was very sporty it may not age well. She wanted Red, so politely refused to take the delivery.

I had randomly called MG showrooms in Agra / Karnal / Chandigarh / Noida to know if they had any free stocks of Sharp CVT. White was available at couple of locations and Red was available in AT, but white was off the list and didn't want to stretch the budget to AT.

Booking & Buying Experience
Agra SA said he had Red in Sharp CVT, as the original allotted buyer couldn't arrange finance. As I had pre-approval from my banker, I said I could pick the car in two days. I sent someone whom I know to do the detailed PDI. The odometer was showing 15 kms but in the pic he had sent me, had some accessories fitted to it as the earlier buyer wanted them. One was the hood-branding and other was the side scoop. Hood branding was something I was interested, but didn't want the side scoop. SA said, if he removes the side scoop, it would be unusable. After much discussions, he said he will remove it and will not charge me though it will not be of use to him. Also, I had mentioned that I will be taking insurance directly from outside.

I took the insurance from Tata AIG, with all bells & whistles and saved 20 K. Drove down to Agra to take the delivery. He offered accessories package, which weren't necessary and I personally found they were more of bling. I just took, 3D foot mats, mud flaps, hood branding and let the side scoop be on for the time being(though he didn't charge me for it). The SA Yash Verma was very supportive, friendly and very prompt in handling local bank team. He even ensured that I get the delivery based on delivery order, though my bank was from Gurgaon and I was taking delivery from Agra.

I feel that the chrome package offered by MG / Koreans / Japanese, are designed by Bappi Lahiri's jewellers. Only Germans offer very subtle accessories, I guess.

There was no ribbon tied to the car, nor was the confetti blast, nor was there any cake cutting. It was just the customary MG music in full blast with clapping and unveiling. I guess as I didn't take insurance or accessory package from them, they didn't want to spend any money on me. But I was only interested in the car, anyway.


Ownership Experience
Good ones and OK ones:

1. Quality of the entire car, inside and outside, is top class. Feels like a proper European car, which makes us forget it's Chinese connections.
2. Interior makes the car look like at least two segments above.
3. Auto Hold and Electronic Parking Brake is very good, apart form freeing up the real estate in the central console, it is easy on the eyes without the hand lever.
4. Well-controlled NVH and while idling engine noise creeps inside.
5. Suspension set up is quite satisfactory
6. Music system is good, though there is no sub-woofer
7. Full Under-body protector sheet
8. Complete wheel arch cladding
9. Tail lamps are really good and gives a 3D kind of look.
10. Front grille is quite attractive.
11. Electric seat adjuster for the driver is very convenient though isn't very necessary. As only my wife drives it and once the height is set, there is no changing it frequently.
12. 360 degree camera is very helpful.
13. Rear drive assist is actually useful in real world.
14. Though I am not a big fan of sunroof, for my wife it mattered a lot. A lot!

Bad ones and no so good ones:

1. AI Bot for sure. It works two times out of 10 times. If you are buying Astor primarily for AI Bot, please don't buy it.
2. Though I have huge respect for Mrs. Deepa Malik, MG should have used different voice modulation while recording her voice. When the AI Bot says, in Deepa Malik's voice, 'I am listening', I actually feel that my school-time Math's teacher is pulling me up for not doing my homework. Even when she is saying 'Goodbye', I feel that I am being shown the door by my Headmaster. I feel that I am obliged to say 'Goodbye madam' when I exit the car. When the bot says 'Hello', I have to control the urge to stand up and say 'Good morning madam'.
3. Transmission is typical of a CVT, which was clear even during test drives, so it was a known devil.
4. Fuel consumption: The car is so much like Rishabh Pant when it comes to mileage scores, you never know when it gives magical numbers or when it gives you heart aches. The drive from Agra to Gurgaon, which had highway, expressway, broken stretch and under-construction roads, it gave a mileage of 15.5 kmpl. The car was driven under 90 KMPH, in less than 2000 rpm, with three passengers and AC on. In pure local drives, it has given mileage between 7-11. Mind you, this is a naturally aspirated CVT and not a turbo petrol and still low mileage.
5. Though Jio Saavn has a great library, is very very laggy. Even after first service and the system update, it doesn't run well.
6. The UI of the infotainment system is very boring and the choice of themes are limited and all look very similar to each other. Serious updates are due for the infotainment to make it attractive.
7. Though the car looks awesome from the front and from the side profile, the rear looks like a hatchback. The smaller boot lid and thick rear bumper makes it look like a proper hatchback.
8. The digital MID looks good, but please do not expect it to be Skoda's virtual cockpit kind.
9. Front DRLs are very uninspiring.
10. Though armrests are fixed, no auto dimming IRVM and no wireless charger, it wasn't a deal-breaker to my wife.

Side Note: Car Exchange
Though Cars 24 and Olx Cars, claim to offer best prices, in my case, their prices were lower than the outside market rates and the exchange prices offered by car dealers. In fact OLX cars offered the lowest price followed by Cars 24. Exchange prices from dealers were the highest and outside market buyers fell in between.

[ronnie141]

I had a keen eye on getting the 'Rear Bull Bar' accesory that MG is selling worth 4K. However my dilemma is that is it legal? There's very less information available online on it other than te generic info which says that it is now banned in India!

Would anybody be able to please help me in this regard? I'm aware of the recent guidelines which prohibit from fitment of such accessories. Ref: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...sh-guards.html (Government to take strict action against bull bars & crash guards)

But then how is MG even selling this? I'm located in Ambala, Haryana, and the dealership tells me if it perfectly fine and legal to get a Bull Bar installed. The RTO letter does use the word 'unauthorised', does that mean it's legal to do so if it's an official accessory? Do I risk getting stopped all over becaue of this? Looking forward to the BHPians for help. TIA.

Regards,

[K.grg]

Originally Posted by ronnie141

I had a keen eye on getting the 'Rear Bull Bar' accesory that MG is selling worth 4K. However my dilemma is that is it legal? There's very less information available online on it other than te generic info which says that it is now banned in India

Regards,

It is completely illegal and I have paid heavy penalty for installing it in my XUV. Few of my friends have also been issued challans for the same.

[ronnie141]

Originally Posted by K.grg

It is completely illegal and I have paid heavy penalty for installing it in my XUV. Few of my friends have also been issued challans for the same.

Thankyou for the response. But then again, aren't there various types and shapes and sizes? Why would MG even be selling it as an official accessory if it is illegal?

The dealership tells me it's legal and there's no issue. The MG call center tells me they need to have a talk with the 'Upper Management' and they will look into it without letting me on on any upates.

[immortalmechano]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Anyone took the maintenance package? Which one did you choose and what are the differences in terms of coverage?

I went with the 5 year 50k, classic package that costs 29k. Understand it covers all PMS consumables(oil, filters, spark plugs) and labour so sounds like a decent deal. The other packages don't make sense for a petrol unless you really drive a lot I think.

[cbrspn]

Originally Posted by K.grg

It is completely illegal and I have paid heavy penalty for installing it in my XUV. Few of my friends have also been issued challans for the same.

Originally Posted by ronnie141

Thankyou for the response. But then again, aren't there various types and shapes and sizes? Why would MG even be selling it as an official accessory if it is illegal?

The dealership tells me it's legal and there's no issue.

Going by the reasons given in this Cars24 article about reasons for Bull Bar Ban, the modification should be allowed in the rear as

1. The official one by MG does not increase the overall length of the vehicle in compliance to MVA Section 52. (The bottom of rear bumper is a sculpted towards the inside allowing enough space)
2. It does not interfere with the airbag sensors

I am unsure whether the bull bar has an impact on the structural composition of the car, that would depend on how the bar is installed and its material. AFAIK the Bull Bar's primary purpose seems to be to deter motorcyclists and cars in the city from rear-ending you and damaging the bumper.

[ashutoshb]

Here is what I found about Astor's wheels.

It has 100 PCD wheels. 5 holes.

Style variant comes with 16 inch steel wheels, width 6.5J.
Other variants come with 17 inch alloy wheels, width 7J.

Do not know about the offset yet.

Talking about wheel upgrades for the Style variant, apart from going for MG's own OEM wheels, I can also look for Polo or Rapid's 16 inch wheels. They have the same 6.5J width.

Kushaq and Taigun do come with 16 inch wheels, 100 PCD, 5 holes, but they are 6J.

Most aftermarket 16" wheels in this size, will have wider wheels, either 7J or 7.5J.

I saw one wheel from Minda, still looking for more.

UNO MINDA W1D081-000M00 16 inch PCD 5 100 Hyper Silver Machined Alloy Wheel for Ameo, Rapid, Polo, Zest https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0874TW3BH/...15B1VRKTKS1R9F