[mgastor2022grey]

Originally Posted by kmrjt1

Are you implying CVTs and other cheaper transmissions from MG are better than VW's DSG? I disagree.

People need to maintain and service their cars properly. Don't intend to be derogatory.

MGs have long way to go for proving their reliability in the market. Cannot trust them yet.

Hello kmrjt1, completely disagree with you. Let me tell you an experience of mine:

In Tamin Nadu, politicians like large cars that are commanding to move around in city. So, from 2008, they have been using Toyota Fortuner for bullet-proof reliability. However, from 2022-23, I have been seeing many Hector Plus used as politician's car. I had then only understood that they have ditched Fortuner for MG as same amount of reliability, better features and interior at a low price. So, your opinion is completely wrong. MG's CVT is definitely lower in terms of driving pleasure when compared to VW's DSG. However, it gives adequate kick-in-the-pants when slotted in sports mode and driven aggressively. If that does not satisfy you, you gave even go for the 1.3L Turbo AT. And yes, they are much more reliable that the DSG.

D you think BHPians will neglect their cars? And that too new ones such as a 3-4 year old Taigun / Virtus / Tiguan? Absolutely not! All BHPians take care of their cars like their kids and care for them.

MG has already proven its reliability. Read my story above and you will understand. And I must say, from what you have told, "Cannot trust their origin" means you don't like China or their products. Drive an Astor or other Chinese car and you will know. By the way, for the Astor, only the body shell and metal is from China, engine and transmission is sourced from FCA group and other good companies

[kmrjt1]

Originally Posted by mgastor2022grey

Hello kmrjt1, completely disagree with you. Let me tell you an experience of mine:

In Tamin Nadu, politicians like large cars that are commanding to move around in city. So, from 2008, they have been using Toyota Fortuner for bullet-proof reliability. However, from 2022-23, I have been seeing many Hector Plus used as politician's car. I had then only understood that they have ditched Fortuner for MG as same amount of reliability, better features and interior at a low price. So, your opinion is completely wrong. MG's CVT is definitely lower in terms of driving pleasure when compared to VW's DSG. However, it gives adequate kick-in-the-pants when slotted in sports mode and driven aggressively. If that does not satisfy you, you gave even go for the 1.3L Turbo AT. And yes, they are much more reliable that the DSG.

D you think BHPians will neglect their cars? And that too new ones such as a 3-4 year old Taigun / Virtus / Tiguan? Absolutely not! All BHPians take care of their cars like their kids and care for them.

MG has already proven its reliability. Read my story above and you will understand. And I must say, from what you have told, "Cannot trust their origin" means you don't like China or their products. Drive an Astor or other Chinese car and you will know. By the way, for the Astor, only the body shell and metal is from China, engine and transmission is sourced from FCA group and other good companies

I can understand what you are saying. Few corrections though -

1. Astor's 1.3L Torque Converter is peppy, but there are peppier transmissions and engines in Kushaq/Taigun and Seltos, it still doesn't match performance of 1.5L T-GDI DCT of Hyundai/Kia, forget about 1.5L TSI DSG of VW/Skoda.
2. All MG cars have Chinese engines, except the Diesel ones - noone can match the power of Diesel engines made by FCA and Hector Diesel has the same engine as Tata Harrier/Safari Diesel. Agree. But petrol engines are indigenous - MG Hector/Baojun 530/Wulig Almas - whatever you choose to call the car, has the same indigenous engine everywhere. Same for Astor petrol. They simply cannot match ICE engine capabilities of other established brands and they don't spend money on RnD. Reason why Chinese automobiles are trying to focus on EV.

3. 4 years isn't enough to prove reliability. They have to go a long way and sustain in a market that's flooded with competitive products from established brands with reputable past.

4. My standards of taking care of car is slightly different - always use authorized service center and not a FNG for service, do service on time every 6 months, graphene coat your car and never use regular car cleaners/personnel, take care of underbody and engine bay regularly by cleaning them, take a package from 3M or Turtle Wax for cleaning.

5. From where I belong (Mumbai/Pune), politicians/diplomats still use Fortuner/Innova. Ditching Fortuner for the Gloster still makes some sense, but not the Hector. The latter simply doesn't have drivability required for diplomats on the move.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by kmrjt1

Are you implying CVTs and other cheaper transmissions from MG are better than VW's DSG? I disagree. I have used Polo for 6 years, exchanged it for a Tiguan that has DQ250 DSG and none have given me any problem ever. People need to maintain and service their cars properly. Don't intend to be derogatory, but it's a VW that you are owning and not any other mass market brand. They need timely maintenance. MGs have long way to go for proving their reliability in the market. Cannot trust them yet.

And yes, Hyundai's reliability is proven, far better than MG, and it isn't an exaggeration by any means.

Anecdotes dont make a conclusion, but statistically - it appears, so far, that yes the cheapest VW DSGs might just be the least reliable of all gearboxes in India going by the sheer number of breakdowns reported here in TeamBhp itself. Until I see MG CVT breakdown reports that point to manufacturing/design defects like the DSGs in consideration here all we can do is wait and watch how the matter turns out in the years to come - not jump into conclusions forming facts out of opinions and personal biases.

The fact that the VW DQ200 needed a recall in China and needed extended warranties should tell you enough about its reliability. Here is a TeamBHp thrad on this very matter: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...not-india.html (Skoda Superb DSG 7 Speed DQ200 failures- China gets official reaction, why not India?)


>> Cannot trust them yet.
Thats fine, you are free to do what you want to do with your money. But then again you cant call them worse when recommending (for/against) the car to someone else if you have no data whatsoever to prove your point, not even anecdotes - and there are plenty of anecdotes that go against your opinion in this matter.

[kmrjt1]

Originally Posted by Transmission

Anecdotes dont make a conclusion, but statistically - it appears, so far, that yes the cheapest VW DSGs might just be the least reliable of all gearboxes in India going by the sheer number of breakdowns reported here in TeamBhp itself. Until I see MG CVT breakdown reports that point to manufacturing/design defects like the DSGs in consideration here all we can do is wait and watch how the matter turns out in the years to come - not jump into conclusions forming facts out of opinions and personal biases.

The fact that the VW DQ200 needed a recall in China and needed extended warranties should tell you enough about its reliability. Here is a TeamBHp thrad on this very matter: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...not-india.html (Skoda Superb DSG 7 Speed DQ200 failures- China gets official reaction, why not India?)


>> Cannot trust them yet.
Thats fine, you are free to do what you want to do with your money. But then again you cant call them worse when recommending (for/against) the car to someone else if you have no data whatsoever to prove your point, not even anecdotes - and there are plenty of anecdotes that go against your opinion in this matter.

The CVT is certainly worse when it comes to choice of transmission. I don't need to evidence it, anyone can read it up over internet. Honda and Nissan pioneered CVT and Noone makes it better than them today. Anyone who wishes for a car with good transmission will avoid CVT, especially if not made by Nissan/Honda. And you are right, I certainly cannot trust CVTs made by an auto manufacturer that has equivocal advertising to mislead the average customer.
As far as past issues with VW DQ200 goes, they were rectified and the current gen hasn't reported any. It's still a brand that's not with an obscure marketing and certainly has some of the best cars in the market, notwithstanding the luxury brands they own.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by kmrjt1

The CVT is certainly worse when it comes to choice of transmission. I don't need to evidence it, anyone can read it up over internet. Honda and Nissan pioneered CVT and Noone makes it better than them today. Anyone who wishes for a car with good transmission will avoid CVT, especially if not made by Nissan/Honda. And you are right, I certainly cannot trust CVTs made by an auto manufacturer that has equivocal advertising to mislead the average customer.
As far as past issues with VW DQ200 goes, they were rectified and the current gen hasn't reported any. It's still a brand that's not with an obscure marketing and certainly has some of the best cars in the market, notwithstanding the luxury brands they own.

Where is the evidence that the dry clutch DQ200 was "fixed"? There is none - except VW's own recent claims. But then they themselves claimed that there were no issues with this transmission in the first place, so their claims aren't exactly trustworthy.

(As for the "fun factor" of the CVT, thats a different matter altogether (yes, they are less "fun") and no, not all Nissan CVTs are great, their earlier Jatco branded CVTs were objectively terrible for reliability, but that seems to be an issue that has likely been fixed going by more recent observations... But I digress. I was just responding wrt the reliability of the dry dual clutch transmissions. I have nothing more to to add and do not wish to derail this thread any more by talking more CVTs and their (lack of) fun factor. Just pointing out that there is strong evidence to show that the cheaper DSGs arent very reliable and there is no evidence yet to show that the MG's CVTs are unreliable irrespective of their country of origin (only time will tell). Its not that hard to understand. Peace, and out!)

[amitwiz1]

Has anyone successfully managed to get the AI robot removed? If not removed, can it be disabled somehow?

[masterminded]

IMO

All Automatic Gear boxes have issues. Each company tunes it differently. The tuning and the way it responds to your driving style is the deciding factor if it’s a good gearbox or not.

The automatic gearboxes will never behave and one shouldn’t expect it to behave like manuals. Even clutch less manuals have their share of issues.

[mgastor2022grey]

Originally Posted by amitwiz1

Has anyone successfully managed to get the AI robot removed? If not removed, can it be disabled somehow?

What? Why would you want to do that? In case you remove the bot, there will be an ugly gap in the dashboard with all the parts exposed. Not only will it look ugly, it will also void warranty.

However, you can turn off the bot by entering into the AI assistant setting and disabling it.

Please do not remove it. It will make the dashboard look ugly and incomplete

[alchex7]

I did the PDI for MG Astor today, which I am planning to get delivered next week. I was surprised that the tyres were Ceat SecuraDrive. I had mostly seen Continental UC6 before, and a few Goodyear. Even the display car in the showroom was shod with Ceat SecuraDrive, so I guess this is one of the ways in which MG has reduced price for 2024 models.
Another surprising thing is that even though the car is manufactured in Jan 2024, the vehicle is NOT E20 fuel compatible (the fuel lid explicitly mentioned to avoid E20 petrol). I guess I was mistaken that all BS 6.2 cars would be E20 compatible.
Other things looked good so going ahead with the purchase, but need to decide if I want to update the tyres right after delivery? Can any of the esteemed members who have received Astor with Ceat SecuraDrive shed some light on its tyre performance?

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by alchex7

Other things looked good so going ahead with the purchase, but need to decide if I want to update the tyres right after delivery?

From a peaceful long-term ownership standpoint, I would strongly advise you to get an E20-compliant car rather than replacing the tyres. You can get stuck in the middle of the road as a result of the problems created if you refuel a non-E20-compliant car with E20 fuel. Additionally, the repairs would be costly.

[alchex7]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

From a peaceful long-term ownership standpoint, I would strongly advise you to get an E20-compliant car rather than replacing the tyres. You can get stuck in the middle of the road as a result of the problems created if you refuel a non-E20-compliant car with E20 fuel. Additionally, the repairs would be costly.

Won't that be the problem for any car which is older than 2023? I think E10 will be available readily for the coming 10 years at a minimum else so many old cars would face troubles fueling. Apologies if I didn't get the urgency of getting a E20 fuel compatible car? Is there any mandate from the govt that it would be switching to E20 petrol completely soon?(I am genuinely curious, since I was not considering the E20 non compatibility a major issue)

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by alchex7

Won't that be the problem for any car which is older than 2023? I think E10 will be available readily for the coming 10 years at a minimum else so many old cars would face troubles fueling.

These buyers never had the chance to opt for it, but given how the government makes any decisions, I personally, proactively, would always prefer an E20-compliant car, given that we are going to hold it for more than 5 years. I am surprised that MG is still not offering an E20 car.

Originally Posted by alchex7

Is there any mandate from the govt that it would be switching to E20 petrol completely soon?(I am genuinely curious, since I was not considering the E20 non compatibility a major issue)

Quoting a BHPian who had posted about it-

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

E20 Petrol will be PAN India from 01 April 2025.

Govt started rolling out E20 Petrol in select cities from 01 April 2023. Giving 2 years time to become E20 Petrol PAN India. Already E20 Petrol is available in metro cities.

Car manufacturers would have to sell only E20 Petrol compliant cars from 01 April 2023.

Some threads on E20- 1 , 2, 3

[carscrazy22]

Originally Posted by alchex7

I did the PDI for MG Astor today, which I am planning to get delivered next week. I was surprised that the tyres were Ceat SecuraDrive. I had mostly seen Continental UC6 before, and a few Goodyear. Even the display car in the showroom was shod with Ceat SecuraDrive, so I guess this is one of the ways in which MG has reduced price for 2024 models.

My purchase from Oct, 2023 has Ceat Securadrive, so not applicable to updated model. I believe only the 1.5-litre petrol unit of the Astor is E20 fuel-ready.

[alchex7]

Originally Posted by carscrazy22

My purchase from Oct, 2023 has Ceat Securadrive, so not applicable to updated model.

How would you rate the comfort and noise of the tyre?

[carscrazy22]

Originally Posted by alchex7

How would you rate the comfort and noise of the tyre?

I find it okay. Honestly with music the noise doesn't bother. An upgrade wouldn't cost much as long as you keep the same rim.