Volkswagen Polo replacement: MG Astor vs Volkswagen Taigun

The Taigun is around 1.5L cheaper than the Astor, but has ventilated seats, wireless Android Auto, auto dimming IRVM, paddle shifters and telescopic steering wheel which the Astor does not have.

BHPian TheStRyder recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am faced with a dilemma regarding my impending car purchase and need guidance from the forum.

Looking to replace my Polo 1.6 which has faithfully done duty for a decade plus.

The vehicle would be mainly for city use with once in two months outstation trip. My annual usage is not more than 6k to7k kms.

My requirements are automatic transmission, driving pleasure, safety features with 6 airbags, and decent boot space.

Was pretty impressed with the new Honda City but the home minister vetoed it and any sedan is now out of the equation.

Other vehicles I test drove are:

Skoda Kushaq 1.0 AT:

Loved driving the Kushaq 1.0 AT. The steering felt light enough for the city and the beautiful TSI has enough grunt for the city. Car felt quite chuckable and felt like driving a hatchback. Was pretty disappointed with the interior fit and finish. Hated the touch sensitive ACC. The exterior fit and finish and the paint quality was excellent.

Volkswagen Taigun 1.0 AT and 1.5 DSG:

Interior quality of Taigun felt better than the Kushaq. Was blown away by the 1.5 DSG. Again the roofliner quality was abysmal. Touch screen was sleak and responsive. The rear seating is strictly for 2 adults.

MG Astor:

Was wowed by the interior fit and finish and the quality of materials used. 1.3 turbo AT has enough grunt for city and highway drive though the 1.5 TSI with DSG is obviously superior. The 3 cylinder engine was butter smooth with no viberations. Handling and suspension were perfect for city use. Tested the ADAS features and found blindspot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and Adaptive Cruise Control quite useful. Lane Assist is practically useless in our country.

Nexon EV:

Enjoyed the drive in sports mode. The instant torque is addictive. Trying to get the test drive car home since a month so that family can experience it but the RM is absolutely not interesed in making a sale. Has stopped responding to my texts and calls now.

Kia Seltos / Sonet / Creta:

Test drove the Kias and the Creta but eliminated from the shortlist due to safety concerns.

Initially the budget was around 16L OTR but now stretched it to 20 big ones.

Have booked the Astor 1.3 turbo Savvy and the app shows delivery in December but am still not convinced with the Astor. Though the 1.3 turbo is a competent engine with class leading interior qualities and features with decent handling I am not sure how the Astor will age. The 1.5 NA engine is pretty underwhelming as per few ownership reviews and test drives by people in Astor Whatsapp groups I am part of. Since I hold on to my cars for atleast 7 to 10 years, don't want to get stuck with a car which might be discontinued.

I am now confused between the Taigun 1.0 AT Topline and Astor 1.3 Turbo Savvy. ( 1.5 DSG goes over budget and since most of the drive will be in city in traffic, don't think DSG is the right choice)

The Taigun is around 1.5L cheaper than the Astor but has ventilated seats, wireless Android Auto, auto dimming IRVM, paddle shifters and telescopic steering wheel which the Astor does not have.

Meanwhile, the Astor has segment above interior quality, blind spot monitoring, 360 camera, electronically adjustable drivers seat, ADAS features, heated ORVM, panoramic sunroof, better back seat and boot space.

As both cars are untested, I would rate them equal in safety aspects with ADAS features providing an edge to the Astor.

Also interested in the upcoming Slavia but convincing the home minister for a sedan seems like an uphill task.

Kindly help with your suggestions.

Here's what BHPian FiatDiesel had to say on the matter:

Hi TheStRyder, Congratulations for booking the Astor. I can help with in general quality feedback of MG as the owner of a Hector and having friends who own the first generation Hector launched back in 2019.

You will be fine and won’t regret your decision in terms of quality of car. My friend with the first generation Hector is still very happy with the car and has had a fuss free ownership. He has a petrol DCT Sharp. To give you an example of quality, my Hector got rear ended by a Triber due to sudden braking of a Kia Sonet in front of me. I managed to stop the Hector without hitting the Sonet, thanks to all 4 disc brakes, however the car behind me, the Triber with 7 adults on board couldn’t stop and hit us towards the left side of rear bumper. There was pile up as the car behind the Triber, a Wagon R, hit the Triber rear and so on and so forth.

Our Hector remained standstill, engine running, AC blowing chilled air, it was just 4 months old. When the Triber hit us, we just felt a slight jerk inside. Nothing more. I got down, went and saw rear of the Hector and then saw the Triber, couldn’t take my eyes off it. While the Hector’s bumper towards left side had gone inside, the Triber’s bonnet had folded at 90 degrees and its coolant chamber has gone bust. It’s driver door was not opening smoothly and was making creaking sounds as th front of car was bent inwards.

As you can see, I was overwhelmed by the scene of the other car then mine because my car didn’t gave me the vibes of much hurt apart from the bumper. No lights or error message and Infact, later I found the reverse parking sensors also working fine despite the  left side of bumper being damaged.

We were on a flyover in Navi Mumbai, the Triber had ladies as well, no one hurt, got 4 of the Triber occupants into my Hector and dropped them to the nearest pickup point of Uber.

I drove my car whole day in Mumbai and came to Pune late evening. Next day, handed it over to the dealership for repair. I inspected the car when they opened the bumper and to my surprise, not even a scratch on the body inside the bumper, forget dent. The Hector has A bull bar running across inside THE bumper .

And while the bumper took the hit, it must have exerted pressure on the side panels where it connects with them, no slightest impact anywhere.

I had zero dep insurance, got my car back within a week as good as new. Though the accident was sad, specially for the folks with severely damaged cars, but it reinforced my belief and trust in MG in terms of quality of the car. No corners are cut to save costs, you are actually getting very high quality car.

To top this, after sales service is very good. This is also the reason I am a happy customer.

Sorry for the long rant and if you found it boring. Just wanted to alley your fears w.r.t long term reliability. You will be happy.

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