MG Astor SUV, rival to Creta and Seltos, to launch on this date

MG Motor will launch the Astor SUV next week. The carmaker has confirmed that it will reveal the price of its fifth model for India on October 11. MG Astor was officially unveiled earlier last month. It comes packed with features, some of which are not available in its rivals.

2021 Astor SUV is essentially the ICE version of MG ZS, the carmaker's first electric car in India. Under the hood, Astor will be packed with two engine options. The 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which will come mated with a six-speed torque convertor automatic gearbox, is capable of producing output of 140 PS and peak torque of 220 NM. The second option is a 1.5-litre petrol engine, mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 8-speed CVT unit, can churn out maximum power of 110 PS and 144 Nm of peak torque.

MG is likely to offer the Astor SUV in as many as eight trims and offer around 20 variants to choose from. MG Motor has named the trims as Style, Super, Smart STD, Smart, Sharp STD, Sharp, Savvy and Savvy Red.

MG is going to pack the top two trims Savvy and Savvy Red with all the features. This includes the advanced driver assistant system (ADAS), AI personal assistant and much more.

MG Astor will be the first SUV in its segment to get ADAS feature, which brings in the Autonomous Level 2 technology. It includes as many as 14 autonomous features, like advanced cruise control, forward collision warning, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure prevention, blind-spot detection, speed assist among others.

The MG Astor will also offer features like hill hold, hill descent, disc brakes, 360-degree camera and cornering assist foglamp.

The AI personal assistant inside the Astor is operated through voice commands. It can help hands free operation of features like the panoramic sunroof, climate control, navigation and more.

The interior of the Astor is plush with good material. It gets a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 360-degree camera, multiple speakers, five USB ports and more.

Packed to the brim with features, the Astor SUV is likely to give even the compact SUV segment leaders like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos or Tata Harrier a run for their money.