MG Astor Vs Maruti S-Cross – Detailed Specifications Comparison

Check out our on-paper comparison of the recently-launched MG Astor with one of its closest rivals, Maruti Suzuki S-Cross

MG Motor India recently launched a new midsize SUV in our market – Astor. This new SUV is essentially a petrol-powered version of the ZS EV, featuring cosmetic changes on the inside and outside. MG Astor is not only a handsome vehicle, it has a lot of features on offer as well, some of which are segment-firsts or segment-best.

Here, we compare the spec-sheets of the MG Astor and Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, to see how these two SUVs stack up against each other.

MG Astor Vs Maruti S-Cross – Exterior design and dimension

MG Astor has a brilliant exterior design, featuring a pair of dagger-shaped headlamps and a chrome-studded grille at the front. The taillights look sharp as well, and the bumpers (both front and rear) look very sporty. It also gets black plastic cladding all around, a pair of prominent roof rails, and dual-tone alloy wheels.

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross looks extremely aggressive, with angry-looking headlamps and an imposing front grille. The taillights are rather bulbous, and unlike other SUVs, the S-Cross is low-slung and sporty. It does get black cladding all around though, like its rivals, with faux bash plates and faux roof rails as well.

The Astor is slightly longer and wider than the S-Cross, while being significantly taller than it. However, the Maruti has a longer wheelbase than the MG. In terms of road presence, there isn’t a clear winner between the two; the MG is more imposing because of its dimensions, although the S-Cross has a more aggressive design.

MG Astor Vs Maruti S-Cross – Interior styling and features

The interior of MG Astor is extremely premium and upmarket, with lots of soft-touch surfaces on the dashboard and doors. There are three interior colour options available – dual-tone Sangria Red, dual-tone Iconic Ivory, and Tuxedo Black – and personally speaking, the red option looks the best.

There are plenty of features on offer here, like a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen, a large panoramic sunroof, automatic climate control, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, a power-adjustable driver seat, heated ORVMs, i-Smart connected car tech, all-LED exterior lights, etc. It also gets level-2 ADAS, along with an AI assistant in the form of a cute little robot on the dashboard.

Maruti S-Cross has a rather simple and plain cabin in comparison. There are hard plastics all around, which doesn’t give the car a very premium feel, although the dark interior theme looks nice. There are a few silver highlights around the cabin, like on the centre console, AC vents, and the steering wheel.

The Maruti comes loaded with features like a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, all-LED exterior lights, all power windows, power-adjustable ORVMs, etc. However, it does miss out on a lot of things, like wireless smartphone charging, ventilated seats, and a sunroof, which are available in plenty of rivals.

MG Astor Vs Maruti S-Cross – Powertrain

There are two engine options available on the Astor. The first one is a 1.5-litre NA petrol unit (110 PS/144 Nm), which can be had with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a CVT. The second one is a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol unit (140 PS/220 Nm), mated to a 6-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

The S-Cross just has one engine option on offer – a 1.5-litre NA petrol unit, which belts out 105 PS of peak power and 138 Nm of maximum torque. The SUV gets a mild hybrid system and an engine start/stop system, to help improve the fuel economy. Transmission options include a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed torque-converter automatic.

MG Astor Vs Maruti S-Cross – Price

MG Astor is extremely aggressively priced, between Rs. 9.78 lakh and Rs. 16.78 lakh. Maruti S-Cross is even more affordable, priced from Rs. 8.59 lakh to Rs. 12.56 lakh, but it was way fewer features and equipment on offer, and its cabin isn’t as premium as the Astor. Between these two, our pick is definitely the MG due to its value-for-money quotient!

All prices mentioned are ex-showroom, New Delhi