MG Astor Deliveries Begin — Over 500 SUVs Delivered On Dhanteras

The MG Astor was launched last month at an introductory price of 9.78 lakhs (ex-showroom). MG opened up bookings for the Astor last month and customers had booked out the first 5,000 unit batch of the SUV for India in just one day.

MG has stated that it will deliver 4,000 to 5,000 units of the Astor by the end of December 2021. Bookings for the MG Astor are still open, however, any of the SUVs booked right now will be delivered in 2022.

The MG Astor is offered with either 1.5-litre or 1.3-litre turbo petrol powerplants. The 1.5-litre petrol engine in the Astor cranks out 108bhp at 6,000rpm and 144Nm of peak torque at 4,400rpm. The MG Astor's 1.5-litre engine is offered with either 5-speed manual or CVT automatic transmission options.

The smaller 1.3-litre engine is turbocharged and thus is the powerplant of choice for Astor customers looking for more power. The MG Astor's 1.3 turbo petrol powerplant kicks out 138bhp at 5,600rpm and 220Nm of peak torque at 3,600rpm. The 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine is paired with a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

In terms of design, the Astor borrows its good looks from the ZS electric SUV, however, MG has given the new SUV a few design flourishes to make it unique. These design flourishes include the large hexagonal grille with the large MG badge front and centre sporting streaks of chrome that head out towards the edges.

Also new are MG's Hawkeye LED projector headlamps that wrap around the sides of the SUV and feature boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights. At the sides, the sloping roofline and the 17-inch alloy wheels are the highlights. The rear sports LED taillights and faux exhaust tips on either side of the rear bumper.

Inside, the MG Astor features a large 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display with navigation and smartphone connectivity options along with a 7-inch digital instrument cluster. The dashboard features a dual-tone design with the lower half clad in leather. The MG Astor also features an air purifier system with a PM 2.5 filter that purifies the air drawn inside by the A/C.

The top-spec 'Sharp' variant of the MG Astor comes packed with even more features including an AI personal assistant, a panoramic sunroof, Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), a 360-degree surround-view camera.

The ADAS system makes the Astor the first SUV in its segment to offer semi-autonomous (Level 2) driving features including adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, collision warning, driver alert, blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert.

Other safety features on the MG Astor SUV include 6 airbags, anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), Hill Hold Control (HHC), Hill Descent Control (HDC), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS). Disc brakes at both the front and the rear, ISOFIX child seat mounts, and impact sensing door unlock are among the many more safety features packed into the Astor.

Thoughts On The MG Astor

The MG Astor came into India riding on a whole lot of hype and the carmaker is keen to keep that going by delivering the SUV to customers as soon as humanly possible. If they continue at their current speed, customers should flock to buy what is one of the most feature-packed SUVs in its segment.