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2,000 km with my MG Astor Turbo: My quick review about the car

26th March 2025, 10:38 by Ananth Iyer

The reason I call it the sub-20L Volvo is because I recently also test drove the XC60 and I could draw a lot of parallels between these two machines

BHPian rev8 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

This post should have come earlier on this thread but I was too distracted by other things going on, but hopefully this still adds some value for people on the fence about Astor.

We purchased the MY23 top end (2024 mfd.) Astor 1.3 Turbo Savvy Sangria Red in Aug '24 with a steal deal under MG's 100 year anniversary celebrations.
Here are my impressions post crossing 2000 kms:

Design and feel

Overall, the car still turns heads (thanks to the low sale volumes I guess) but I do not feel that the design has aged too much. A bit of a Volvo vibe to it.
The feel though is at another level and unmatched in this segment or the next. I would place the Jeep Compass as the closest next rival.

The interior quality is impressive. I love the Sangria Red theme which brings a fresh look in an otherwise grayscale optioned competition. To add a bit more context, I have been on a separate car hunt and have thus spent a lot of time in premium cabins and yet the Astor DOES NOT disappoint.
The build quality is solid. The door close thud, weight to the panels and parts (especially the bonnet - it's heavy) and everything about the car feels solid. The horn I daresay adds to the effect.
The paint finish is also really good. I have the Candy White.
The front is a looker even though the design has aged. I find myself looking back towards wherever it's parked and make sure to reverse park it to get just that one more look.
The smoked headlights in the top end with black branding embossed on the hood (picture below) elevate the look, but it's really the diamond crystal look in the headlamps that make it a stunner along with the spider grill.
The back is pretty meh and could be a lot better.
The A/C side vents look really amazing with the rotary knobs and are good ergonomically as well.
Another feel good factor for me is the white illumination on switches and controls which with the red interior looks sublime during night drives in subtle ambient backlights.
Another thing I need to call out is the headliner. It is a proper luxury car element in this car which the competition just does not have. Me being tall brings it right into my face at times and every single time I just appreciate the quality. Imagine, a headliner providing a feel good factor.

Driving dynamics and ADAS

Overall, the turbo motor is great for well paced driving, but not for pedal to the metal. Based on your use case though, it could be an amazing engine and gearbox combo.
For me, I love the city AND the highway experience separately BUT not the transitions between the two in this car. And again, I draw parallels with the Volvos.

Post 2000 kms, I see a noticeable drop in revs. On a recent run on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, it maintained 2.2k@120kph and 2.1k@115kph, which was really great for a fuel efficiency of ~14 kmpl with A/C on.
The throttle has amazing response when pressed half to three quarters way and I feel like that is the ideal way to drive this car. The moment you depress it fully, the gearbox gets confused and tries to milk it with higher revs leading to a jerky and confused experience. So in my opinion, it's the gearbox tuning and not the engine that is limiting it's enthusiast capabilities.
The gearbox by itself is sublime and has very smooth shifts and you won't feel it shift unless you are looking for it. The gear ratios are tall with comfortable overlaps.
One key point here is the gearbox experience along with ADAS, specifically ACC. If you are on a slight incline even at speeds over 110, the car drops to a lower gear to maintain the set cruise speed instead of increasing throttle input leading to higher revs and lower fuel efficiency. And it's not an engine grunt problem because I am easily able to offset the incline with small throttle inputs if I disengage ACC and take manual control.
Really wish there were drive modes available to set the preferences so that the car would prioritize fuel efficiency in such scenarios, but hey, it's a sub 20L segment so that's a dreamy ask.
The body roll and cornering is average as you would expect from a CSUV.
The suspension is better than I expected. Potholes are absorbed really well and the drive is smooth. However, I will not comment too much here as I have not experienced the competition in this segment deeply so am not sure of the industry benchmarks. I have no complaints from the suspension setup though.
Braking is really good. Not sure if it is due to an all disc brake setup, but they are confidence inspiring and the car maintains impressive stability on heavy braking.
For context, I did not do an emergency brake but I was able to stop the car for a missed exit from 120-0 very quickly. The car stayed well planted and the braking action was not jerky at all yet effective.
The ACC overall is non intrusive and does not apply regular sharp braking in Indian conditions. I feel comfortable enough with it to use it on daily city commutes when the traffic is in a comfortable flow. In heavy traffic though, I avoid it to maintain closer distances to the vehicles in front and avoid people trying to jump into the gap.
LKA stops working the moment lanes disappear even if for a brief second so it would have been nicer if it could adapt and fill those small gaps with other viual aids, but not going to complain about it. I definitely wish it was available at lower speeds though because a minimum of 60kmph makes it a highway only feature.

Ergonomics and comfort

The seats are well cushioned and have ample range of movement. I'm 6'1" and the maximum settings work well for me.
Telescopic steering would have been a great addition for better ergonomics.
The dead pedal footrest is comfortable and large enough.
The back seat is comfortable and has a good recline angle. It's not the segment best though.
Love the presence of physical buttons for a lot many controls, especially climate. Auto hold and EPB are also conveniently placed making it easy to control preferred driving modes as per traffic conditions and types of roads. I prefer keeping auto hold on only if there are traffic lights on the route. In stop & go traffic, I prefer to keep it off and do single pedal driving using the brakes.
Physical button for 360 cam is also helpful for tight conditions, and I like that on slow speeds the turn indicators enable side cameras view.
The ORVM controls are poorly placed and takes effort to adjust them also impacting safety. I would highly recommend adjusting the positions before you take off.
The A/C is more than adequate and I did not need to use it on higher than 2/8 blower setting so far however it is yet to taste the Delhi heatwaves.
The USB for dashcam is a really nice touch.
I love how keyless entry is done and the welcome lights feature adds to a feel good factor while getting into the car, especially post dusk.
The side gaps in the center tunnel are very helpful for routing cables and not letting them come in the way of driver's access to the controls.

Infotainment

The audio quality is okayish. Better than some other OEM ones out there but not great. There is no subwoofer but the speaker units do have some low-end to them enabling a decent bass, however, the low mids are quite poor leading to a boomy sound without the fullness. The treble is also quite sharp but I feel that is more due to a lack of number of speakers. Had they put 6 speakers (not counting the tweeters), it would have been a much better audio experience, and a separate subwoofer instead of bassy main units would also provide a better overall experience. But I am nitpicking because audio experience is key in my books.
Infotainment screen is good by 2021 standards when this car was launched but the competition has edged out ahead in 2024. It now needs faster responses, possibility to go back or to the previous screen and an overall refreshed UX with lesser clicks or taps.
I have no care for the AI bot and it lays there useless when I drive, however my parents (who this car really is for) do end up using it quite a bit to control the sunroof, radio and more. So I guess it's still a functional element. The bot body on the dash is questionable but has become the default idol of the car and the emojis on it's screen do end up uplifting my mom's spirits so yay I guess!

Final thoughts

I am really happy with the purchase because the Astor aces the primary areas of our requirements - Interior quality and feel good materials, Features and Safety while providing decent levels of Comfort and Driving experience.

All of that at a bargain of a price, thanks to being in the right place at the right time.

Other competition that was seriously considered was the Honda Elevate and Toyota Hyryder but the Astor blew us away with the premium feel.

The reason I call it the sub-20L Volvo is because I recently also test drove the XC60 and I could draw a lot of parallels between these two machines albeit it's not an apples to apples comparison, but I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that Astor is the Volvo of it's own segment so if you would have opted for a Volvo in the luxury segment, this might be your car.

Delivery day picture