MG recently unveiled the Astor mid-size SUV for the Indian market. The prices of the Astor are not yet out, but Autocar India has revealed the variant lineup and engine options that will be offered with the variants. There will be two petrol engine options and no diesel on offer. The lower-spec engine will be offered with a manual gearbox or a CVT automatic gearbox whereas the higher-spec engine will only be mated to an automatic gearbox only.
MG will be offering the Astor in eight variants. There will be Style, Super, Smart Std, Smart, Sharp Std, Sharp, Savvy and Savvy Red. The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine would produce 110 PS of max power and 144 Nm of peak torque. The 1.3-litre engine comes with turbocharging and puts out 140 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 242 Nm.
The base variant is Style and it will be offered only with the naturally aspirated petrol engine. There would be no automatic transmission on offer. You would be able to get the Super, Smart Std, Smart, Sharp Std and Sharp with both engine options and the naturally aspirated engine would get automatic transmission also. The top-end Savvy and Savvy Red will only be offered with both engine options and automatic transmission only.
Also read: Citroen”s 3 new cars for India DETAILED
Offering the more powerful engine with most of the variants can lure in more buyers. As of now, other mid-size SUV’s have reserved the more powerful engine only for their top-end variants. For instance, the Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos do offer a more powerful engine but is reserved for the high-end variants only. On the other hand, Astor is not offered with a diesel engine, whereas other mid-size SUVs and diesel engines are still in high demand. People who often travel on highways prefer a diesel engine because they are more frugal than petrol engines.
Rivals and pricing
MG Astor’s main rivals are Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun. Because of the pricing, Astor will also go against Renault Duster, Nissan Kicks, Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV700. The Astor is expected to start from somewhere around Rs. 10 lakhs ex-showroom and go up to Rs. 16 lakhs ex-showroom.
First in segment features
The highlight of the Astor will be first in segment features. It is the first vehicle to come with artificial intelligence and the most affordable vehicle to come with advanced driver aid systems. The ADAS features will use radar and cameras. It will come with Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and much more. A total of 14 Autonomous Level 2 features will be on offer.
Other features include LED headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lamps, digital instrument cluster, a tyre pressure monitoring system, heated outside rearview mirrors, a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Steering Weight adjustment, electronic parking brake, traction control, stability control etc. You would be able to get different themes for the cabin with leather upholstery too.
Also read: Skoda Kushaq SUV”s official launch & price announcement timeline revealed officially
The post MG Astor variant line-up leaked ahead of launch first appeared on Cartoq.