MG Motor India is all set to launch the Astor SUV in India on October 11, 2021. It was last month when MG revealed the SUV, and now, we will know more about the prices of the car and variant details. We have already driven the Astor, and you can read our review here. It is essentially the petrol ICE or Internal Combustion Engine version of the MG ZS EV, which is already on sale in India. When launched, the SUV will take on the rivals like the Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Nissan Kicks, Skoda Kushaq and the Volkswagen Taigun in the competitive compact SUV segment. We expect the Astor to be priced from Rs. 10 lakh, going all the way up to Rs. 18 lakh (ex-showroom, India).
Also Read: MG Astor SUV India Launch: What To Expect
MG is likely to offer the upcoming Astor SUV in eight variants - Style, Super, Smart Std., Smart, Sharp Std., Sharp, Savvy and Savvy Red. The SUV will come in five colour options - Glaze Red, Spiced Orange, Aurora Silver, Starry Black and Candy White. It will be the brand's first model to feature Level 2 autonomous technology along with a bunch of systems under the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
In terms of looks, the MG Astor borrows design elements from the ZS facelift, which was introduced in the UK market last year. It also comes with a bold celestial pattern grille, full LED hawkeye projector headlamps with boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights, 17-inch turbine-inspired machined alloy wheels, heated ORVMs, and roof rails giving it an upmarket appeal. The SUV comes with new LED taillamps and a new rear bumper with a chrome accentuated dual exhaust design. Dimensionally, the SUV is 4323 mm long, 1809 mm wide and 1650 mm high, and has a wheelbase of 2585 mm.
The MG Astor gets a dual-tone interior theme with premium leather seats
On the inside, the MG Astor gets three interior themes to choose from. There is also a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. As for features, the SUV comes with a multi-functional steering wheel with chrome inserts, power-adjustable front seats, auto climate control, 360-degree camera view, air-purifier, electric parking brake, panoramic sunroof, 7-inch fully digital LCD instrument cluster and more. In terms of safety, the SUV comes 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, traction control, hill descent control, hill hold control, Emergency Stop Signal, ISOFIX mounts, TPMS, all-disc brakes, 360-degree around-view camera, front fog lamp with Cornering Assist, rear fog lamp and more.
It will also be the brand's first SUV to employ the 'Car-as-a-Platform' (CAAP) concept. Under this new concept, MG aims to offer a range of technology-driven services to its customer using the SUV itself as a platform. The latest offering also gets an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered personal assistant as part of its i-Smart hub.
The Astor gets Level 2 autonomous technology under the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
The new MG Astor will be a petrol-only SUV, and it will be offered with a choice of two petrol mills. The first one will be a new 1.5-litre naturally aspirated unit that is tuned to produce 108 bhp at 6000 rpm and 144 Nm at 4400 rpm of peak torque. It will come mated to a manual gearbox and an 8-speed CVT gearbox. The SUV will also be available with a more powerful turbo petrol engine - a 1.4-litre turbocharged unit. The motor will make 138 bhp at 5600 rpm and peak torque of 220 Nm at 3600 rpm. This engine will come mated to a 6-speed automatic torque converter unit as standard.
