MG Majestor first drive review: Industrial Strength draped in Royal Silk
- Proper 4x4 Equipment
- Feature-loaded
- Sharp styling
- Third-row not usable by adults
- Features concealed in infotainment system
- Hard to manoeuvre in city traffic
MG’s massive Majestor SUV debuts with a powerful 2.0L twin-turbo diesel engine and advanced off-road capabilities. It features a luxury tech-heavy cabin, Level-2 ADAS, and imposing dimensions to challenge segment leaders.
India’s SUV market continues to grow as the appetite for better, bigger, and bolder cars increases among Indian customers. Now MG Motor India has taken up the behemoth task to introduce its biggest, widest and tallest SUV to date, the Majestor. As the title suggests, the Majestor is indeed 'Majestic'. When you take into account its sheer size and functionality, you wouldn't be able to gauge its capabilities at first, and you will definitely be taken by surprise. It would compete against the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Jeep Meridian, Skoda Kodiaq, Volkswagen Tayron R-Line and Citroen C5 Aircross. However, to be really honest, it has only one real competitor and no need to point out the elephant in the room.
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Diesel
MG Majestor: Exterior
The people who are fond of big, life-sized SUVs are definitely going to love the MG Majestor. It has been designed to perform, but it magnetically attracts attention, and we attracted plenty of it from people during our first drive. While filming the Majestor, people stopped by, admired the car and asked about its availability, which goes on to show that good designs go a long way.
The MG Majestor boasts LED DRLs, vertically stacked LED headlamps, a massive front grille with inserts, a front-view camera, roof rails for a rugged appeal, connected LED taillamps, a rear defogger, a rear-view camera, a brushed-steel side step, and black cladding for character. From the looks of it, the MG Majestor looks extremely impressive, while we equate the MG Majestor to a war rig dressed in a tuxedo, making it look extremely sharp.
The MG Majestor is the Hulk reincarnate because it is the biggest mass-market SUV to be sold in India. The Majestor measures 5,046 mm in length, 2016 mm in width, and 1,870 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,950 mm. Let’s not forget that the MG Majestor is an extremely capable off-road machine, with a water wading capacity of 810 mm, which is only behind the Jeep Wrangler with 864mm and the Land Rover Defender, with 900 mm. The MG Majestor gets a maximum ground clearance of up to 219 mm.
MG Majestor: Interior and Features
MG Majestor has an ‘ace up its sleeve’, which is its cabin. The interior of Majestor is well-placed and looks tidy. Everything has been placed with precision, especially the materials that have been used to elevate the in-cabin experience. The climb into the MG Majestor’s cabin is steep, which is why MG has provided grab rails on pillars, making entry easier from all four doors. In addition to that, the driver's seat retracts to offer easier access to the driver before sliding into position after you hit the ignition button.
The view from the driver’s seat ought to instil confidence because almost everything on the road is smaller compared to the goliath-sized SUV. In addition to that, the driver's seat gets a 12-way power adjustment with adjustable lumbar support. The seats also sport ventilation and massage features. The co-driver seat, on the other hand, gets 8-way power adjustment with adjustable lumbar support, along with ventilation and massage features. The Majestor boasts a three-zone automatic climate control, and the air conditioning is controlled by physical buttons. There is ample space in the MG Majestor to keep everyday essentials within arm’s reach. The SUV offers a double-decker space in the centre console, with the lower deck offering charging ports, including a 12V charging socket, a USB-C-type charging port, and a USB-A-type charging port, while the upper deck offers two wireless smartphone charging pads. The centre console further has two cup holders, which can be concealed through a sliding tray mechanism, along with a huge centre armrest which hides a huge cavity underneath.
The MG Majestor further boasts a 12.3-inch digital infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Additionally, the car gets a multi-function, tilt-and-telescopic adjustable, flat-bottomed steering wheel. The 4x4 controls are well-placed in the centre console, with the drive mode selector and locking differential buttons all placed close to each other, comfortably within the driver’s reach.
The MG Majestor’s second-row seats would be where a lot of owners would spend their time. It is an extremely comfortable place to be in, considering the second row gets its own air conditioning zone along with the third row. The Majestor comes in 6-seater and 7-seater configurations. We tested the 7-seater version with the second row bench seat. While the seats themselves are comfortable and offer ample knee room and adequate head plus shoulder room, we felt that we were sitting in a knees-up position in the second row, and the under-thigh support could have been better. The ambient lighting and roof-mounted AC vents give a seamless and premium feel to the second row. The second row also gets an armrest with two cup holders, a 220V charging socket and a USB type-A for added convenience.
Climbing into the third row is a bit of a task, as the second-row seat does not tumble and roll, so it has to be folded and slid forward in order to create access to get into the third row. My honest opinion about the third row of the MG Majestor is that it is extremely stuffy. My knees were getting crushed between the second row and third row, even though I’m not the tallest person. The third row, however, does get dedicated AC vents and cup holders, but in terms of seating, it is better suited for children. Moreover, the MG Majestor gets a boot space of 343 litres, and it is expandable to 1,250 litres. The boot also gets a 12V charging socket, for using tyre inflators or vacuum cleaners, among other things.
MG Majestor: Engine
The MG Majestor is powered by a 2.0L twin-turbocharged diesel engine producing 212 bhp and 487 Nm of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The engine feels extremely punchy and powerful from the get-go. We wish diesel engines had a registration cycle so that we could enjoy them better, and this makes the case of why diesel engines shouldn’t go away at all. The acceleration is fast, and gears keep climbing in the sports mode. However, switch to eco mode, and the SUV becomes extremely frugal in terms of fuel consumption and in terms of performance.
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MG Majestor: Drive Review
Driving the MG Majestor was an absolute joy. The SUV has been perfectly tuned to handle Indian road conditions. The engine is powerful enough to leave most cars behind on the open stretches of roads, while it can also be adjusted to a setting to make it more fuel efficient and in tune with city driving conditions. The size of the SUV is intimidating for most cars on the road, since we were making the Mahindra XUV 700s, Toyota Fortuners and Tata Safaris look like they were average-sized vehicles.
The drive itself was splendid, with the suspension being extremely comfortable. We drove on the roughest of patches of roads available in Delhi NCR, yet we sailed through pretty comfortably without any massive jolt that would throw us around in the cabin. I drove like a complete maniac at the 4x4 track in the autocross section, and yet the car performed exceptionally well as it remained stable without throwing me off my game (break up into smaller sentences). The way the car tackled the 4x4 track was commendable. It obliterated every obstacle that was thrown at it with ease. While the off-roading capability is impressive, I feel that it can handle a more sinister off-roading course.
However, I felt that a few things could have been done better with this car. For starters, the sunroof shade could have been thicker to make it opaque, as the one on this car is rather translucent, taking into account Indian summers. A lot of features have been tucked away into the infotainment system, which can be distracting for drivers. While offering technology that no one else offers, we feel that important features should be controlled using a physical dial or buttons, which definitely feels like a big miss, since globally, physical controls are making a comeback.
The safety features on the MG Majestor are top-notch with Level-2 ADAS, rain-sensing wipers and 6-airbags, making it one of the best overall packages in the segment. But in order to be successful, MG has to offer reliability to customers along with expanding its service network. Considering that it is looking to dethrone the Toyota Fortuner, MG will have to expand its presence to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, marking it as an aspirational product for the demographic.
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