[Hickstead]

Originally Posted by anti21

Same, I also spent months researching about cars and finally settling on Astor. Yeah, all the cars in the segment are a bit overpriced but I found that Astor delivered more bang for buck than any other manufacturer in the segment.
.

Well. I have already put my observations on Astor and why I was not able to consider it in this thread earlier. Some of the owners acknowledged it too. I do not want any more justifications. I have started this topic as @Piyush Kanthak was asking about the low sales of MG. I am pretty sure that all my points are valid due to which MG is struggling to get numbers. Enjoy your ownership. Thanks.

[991.2GT3]

Originally Posted by Hickstead

Simple yet strong reasons:

1) Weak snob value
2) Car is cramped inside (Astor )
3) No butch road presence ( Looks like a cross over and no SUV feel, Astor )
4) Sluggish engines
5) Lazy transmission ( CVT )
5) Horrible fuel economy
6) Pathetic resale value
8) First brand with Chinese perception

and the list could go on based on individual preferences.

1- Snob value is subjective. For me it starts with Porsche or the likes, as other Germans are plenty around now. For some it may be a Hyundai Creta. Depends on where you're coming from really.

2- I checked out the Seltos, Kushaq, City 5th gen & the Astor in the past couple of weeks as our Polo was due for an upgrade. Seltos was the family's first choice but safety concerns, lack of discounts & the cheap aftermarket looking dashboard made us deter. Kushaq 1.0 was decided on & booked until we sat in the Astor. There's a night & day difference between both the width of the rear seats as well as the recline angle & the legspace. The Kushaq feels like a lifted polo now. Unbiased view, i still want the Kushaq for its lovely engine but the Astor just feels 2 segments above & the family loves it.

3- Again very subjective. For some Thar/Gurkha/G wagon have massive road presence. I personally would go for Astor/Seltos/Cayenne. If you talk dimensions- Astor is the 2nd biggest in all aspects after the Nisaan Kicks as pointed out by other bhpains.

4- No comment, haven't driven. You can always checkout the manual or the 1.3 turbo which comes with the non CVT auto transmission.

5- Yes, that's a definitive drawback & probably the main reason for the low sales vs competitors. I fear my Astor would give same FE as my Endeavour - 7kmpl in the city. I'm okay with this as the other pros far outweigh the cons for my needs atleast.

6- As other bhpians have pointed out, not enough available in the used market to draw an objective conclusion. It was launched just 13 months back to be fair.

Also do note that other cars in this segment have their lower ends priced closed to 10L & top models in the range of 20L. So a top model Creta for example is just the base with a better motor and some knick knacks. Now the Astor also starts at 10L you can say and goes upto 20-22 BUT look at it this way - the ZS EV is a 30L rupee car (mid model HR OTR).. so in 15-18L you're getting a fully loaded ICE version of a 3 million rupee electric crossover.

Remove the MG badge and slap on a BMW one & the Astor will sell for 2x the price, easy. The one real klink in the Astor in my opinion is the underpowered 1.5 NA motor, it really is a let down. But this is not our primary car and not one to extract fun out of, it fulfills our needs and is bang for the buck. I would have loved to have the kushaq's 1.0 tsi in the Astor, would've been the best of both worlds.

[GentlemanOnRoad]

I recently took a test drive of Astor, Taigun and Kushaq. I already own a Jeep Meridian 4*4 and want to get a smaller hatchback/compact SUV which is feature loaded to make city driving a pleasant experience (To be driven by my wife). Here are my observations:

1. Feature wise, Astor is a clear winner with several helpful features like auto-lock, ADAS 2 and a super-responsive AI system.
2. Taigun/Kushaq are better when it comes to driving experience as Astor was a bit dull to drive.

Thus, I have decided to go for Astor, as wife prefers a feature loaded car that a fun to drive car. However, I wonder if MG could bring a facelift for Astor in the coming months. Any guesses/rumours about the chances of a facelift?

[anti21]

Originally Posted by GentlemanOnRoad

Any guesses/rumours about the chances of a facelift?

Yeah, there was a facelift launched in other Asian region. The tentative launch for India is late this year. However, the Indian one will not be a hybrid but carry the same engine as current ones as per reports.

It doesn't make sense logically but my guess would be to think that MG doesn't have the capacity right now for a hybrid. GoI has been blocking investment for past 2 years from the parent company and this has heavily affected their expansion plans.

[hakunamatata]

Just an update. In my previous post regarding delivery of our MG Astor (MG Astor Review) I had mentioned two issues. So, I visited the service center last week.

1. Clanking noise - Issue resolved. While fitting the seat covers, showroom guys seem to have forgotten to put a lock that holds the backseat in its place. The movement of backseat was casing this noise. Service center staff have finally installed the lock and now the ride quality feels sublime!
2. Laggy infotainment system - This issue still persists. To be more specific it is related to Android Auto. After driving for about 20-25mins with Google Maps, the navigation become super laggy. By the time the screen shows a turn, I have already crossed it 5-10 seconds back. This lag keeps increasing as you drive longer. I am using a Google Pixel device, so I would not suspect the phone interface to have issues with Android Auto. Service center guys said that the OS is also up to date. Even the cable that I use is a high-speed cable by a trusted manufacturer.

Yet today on our way to a movie, all of a sudden it stopped recognizing my phone. Tried connecting another android phone and it didn't recognize that either. When I started the car after the movie, it started working again.

Has anyone else faced this issue as well? I would really appreciate if someone could share a solution for this issue.

[sanjogpanda]

Anyone got and using MG Dashcam via MG WWF program ? How good or bad are they. I have got them and pondering whether to install them or not.
Should I go with it or should I go with 70mai

[hakunamatata]

Originally Posted by sanjogpanda

Anyone got and using MG Dashcam via MG WWF program ? How good or bad are they. I have got them and pondering whether to install them or not.
Should I go with it or should I go with 70mai

I would suggest to go with 70Mai or some other brand.
I wanted to get the MG DVR dashcam installed as well before delivery of my car. However, the SA suggested not to install it as MG has been receiving a lot of complaints for it. As ironic as it may sound, their dashcam has compatibility issues with MG operating system and does not work well.

[caffeineAM]

Originally Posted by hakunamatata

Has anyone else faced this issue as well? I would really appreciate if someone could share a solution for this issue.

I use a Galaxy S22 and have faced zero issues with Android Auto. Have done some 4+ hour non-stop drives and did not see any lag. I have this cable: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[hakunamatata]

Originally Posted by caffeineAM

I use a Galaxy S22 and have faced zero issues with Android Auto. Have done some 4+ hour non-stop drives and did not see any lag. I have this cable: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good to hear that. I have ordered the cable and will share an update in a few days.
Many thanks for sharing!

[samsristi]

Originally Posted by anti21

Same, I also spent months researching about cars and finally settling on Astor. Yeah, all the cars in the segment are a bit overpriced but I found that Astor delivered more bang for buck than any other manufacturer in the segment.



I don't see any issue with space. Plenty of it is available. The legroom is quite decent. Under thigh support is fairly good. The shoulder width is a bit less that Creta/Seltos but more than other cars. It appears to be small due to the huge pillar size which makes the interior feels a bit small. Unless they are faking the numbers or bending the laws of physics which I doubt.



As mentioned, this is subjective. Some people like me love it over the boxy hatchback design. In fact, this car gets a more premium treatment than Creta and Seltos for sure. And again, road presence is of cars like Endevour or Fortuner or Thar. In this segment of raised elongated hatchbacks, all of them have it the same. I've never faced any "road presence" issue i.e. people tend to give way easily. The horn is pretty solid to be fair.



The figures are same of Kushaq, Taigun or any other solid build cars you take. Strong body weighs more and hence give slightly lower mileage. I get on an average 8-11 in City and 14-15 in highway on the Turbo. Granted I am a sedate driver, but on highways I cruise at 80-100 easily. This is in line with similar Kushaq/Taigun/Seltos/Creta. Just google their real-world mileage. This is more due to BS6 and throttle sensitive turbo engines which has reduced the mileage for the cars. Older cars non-BS6 cars have higher mileage.

I respect your decision on Astor. Everyone has different priority when it comes to cars, however I need to correct your statement on VW engines

I own a Slavia 1.5 Turbo MT ( same drive train in Kushaq and Taigun) for which I paid 20 lacs. If I drive at a speed of 80-100, I get a mileage of 20-21. I usually drive in a range of 110 to 120 and returns me a mileage of 16+ consistently. I have clocked 13k so far.

In the end, there is no comparison on engine and performance front between MG and VAG.. they are miles apart in every front..

[anti21]

Originally Posted by samsristi

I own a Slavia 1.5 Turbo MT ( same drive train in Kushaq and Taigun) for which I paid 20 lacs. If I drive at a speed of 80-100, I get a mileage of 20-21. I usually drive in a range of 110 to 120 and returns me a mileage of 16+ consistently. I have clocked 13k so far.

In the end, there is no comparison on engine and performance front between MG and VAG.. they are miles apart in every front..

You are getting out of the world amazing mileage from Slavia (even higher than the advertised mileage). Kudos to you and your driving skills!

But then you are the exception not the norm. Here are some real-world figures which is in line with what others generally report: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...plained-424048

Yes, the engine and transmission wise performance of VAG is much greater than that of MG. I completely agree on that front. However, reliability and service wise, MG India is so ahead of VAG that it would need Hubble telescope to locate VAG India from its rear view.

In the end, if you don't care about reliability or service issues and are an enthusiast who is ready to deal with 3-4 weeks of part availability non-sense every 2 years on avg. and a good chance of car giving up on you in the middle of the road (compared to other manufacturers) then VAG India is the way to go. They simply drive the best in the segment.

However, if you want some reliability, better to be as far as possible from them.

BTW, SAIC Motors, which is the parent of MG and has developed the engine for Astor along with GM, manufactures and distributes all the VWs in China. There they recalled and actually fixed the DSG issues back in 2013. Something which VW India has not been able to do still in 2023. Quite surprising, eh?

[K.grg]

Originally Posted by anti21

You are getting out of the world amazing mileage from Slavia (even higher than the advertised mileage). Kudos to you and your driving skills!

Yes, the engine and transmission wise performance of VAG is much greater than that of MG. I completely agree on that front. However, reliability and service wise, MG India is so ahead of VAG that it would need Hubble telescope to locate VAG India from its rear view.

In the end, if you don't care about reliability or service issues and are an enthusiast who is ready to deal with 3-4 weeks of part availability non-sense every 2 years on avg. and a good chance of car giving up on you in the middle of the road (compared to other manufacturers) then VAG India is the way to go. They simply drive the best in the segment.
eh?

I have both Skoda Octavia and MG Astor. Though I am not comparing them, as they belong to different segments/leagues, the mileage of Astor, with 1.5 NA is far lower than an 1.8 TSI engine and it is surprising. Let me clarify that I am not concerned about mileage of Astor as it is sparingly driven, about 2.8 KMs in one year. But the low mileage is very significant.

I have got higher mileage in Octavia than the ARAI certified one and I have shared it in Octavia thread of Team BhP with the images.

No doubt, Astor has best and high quality interiors in the segment and very different and attractive exterior (subject to individual taste). This is precisely the reason my better half chose this car over Kushaq which we had almost finalised. But if anyone is looking for driving fun Kushaq’s TSI engine is miles ahead of Astor. If Mileage is important, Astor is not the car, but if features, interior quality and good looks, Astor is a great option.

In my case, my VAG car has never given any trouble in last almost 4 years and around 50K of running.

[samsristi]

Originally Posted by anti21

But then you are the exception not the norm. Here are some real-world figures which is in line with what others generally report: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...plained-424048

Autocar is speaking rubbish here. I don't blame you; they are a big name and anyone will trust them on face value. The fact is, if you drive a 1.5 T 100kmph, it only runs with 2 cylinders at 2000 rpm. This is how it yields that much mileage. Dont believe me, test it yourself if you have time.

I agree on the reliability front but VAG has come a long way: 1 lac and 4 years warranty is sufficient to believe that they have pulled their sleeves up. Before this, I owned a Vento TSI DSG, clocked 85k in 4 years. I had no DSG issues; yes I do have my doubts hence moved to manual this time. But the impression that you buy a VAG and it's going to give you sleepless nights is a very wrong perception. MA cost is mere 25K for 60K kms.

Every brand fails. Hector caught fire, Creta had CVT failures, Honda had hydraulic steering issues after 5 years. Mahindra XUV 700 keeps getting warning lights, Harrier had multiple clutch failures... Issues are endless. It's a personal choice what one wants in their car. Reliability with cars these days have become more or less a luck factor. Hence there is no need to create panic and stay away VAG. I respect your love for MG. All the best to them. But I request you not to keep enthusiasts away from VAG putting these notions that every other VAG car will fail. Let's give them a fair chance with 2.0

[ankitbko]

I got my Astor CVT Savvy delivered last Friday. It is January 2023 model. Surprised to see the sunroof control knob has been replaced with push switch. Even the showroom sales person was surprised to see this. Has anyone else got the new model with push switch? Anyone knows what are the other changes in 2023 model?

[Avadhoot]

Originally Posted by ankitbko

I got my Astor CVT Savvy delivered last Friday. It is January 2023 model. Surprised to see the sunroof control knob has been replaced with push switch. Even the showroom sales person was surprised to see this. Has anyone else got the new model with push switch? Anyone knows what are the other changes in 2023 model?

Attachment 2423573

I visited MG showroom today and did find an Astor Turbo with push switch for sunroof on display. Realized the difference just now on reading this post.
But apart from that, I did not find any other visible changes in the model as compared to the 2022 version.