Published : 01 December 2022
Read Time : 5 min
Author: Amit Saraswat
MG launched the Astor facelift in Thailand with updated exterior and interior. While it’s called the Astor in India and ZS in the UK, MG call the compact SUV the VS in Thailand. As per our sources, MG will launch the Astor facelift in India in early 2023.

MG have made big changes to the front of the SUV whereas its side and rear profiles see a nip and tuck. Up front, the new Astor comes with a smaller enclosed grille with a blue highlight in the middle. The blue element makes its way into the LED headlights, which also incorporate LED DRLs. MG have added a cross-effect design below the front grille to lend it an aggressive stance.

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While it's hard to judge from the preview pictures, the Astor facelift doesn’t seem to have large air intake ducts at the front. It is worth mentioning that the Astor (a.k.a VS) comes with a strong hybrid powertrain in the Thai market. Around the side, the Astor gets new alloy wheels with aero wheel covers whereas the rear profile doesn’t get any perceptible changes.

The interiors of the Astor facelift have received a ton of changes, including a trendy twin-screen layout. Atop the dashboard sits the new twin connected screens, both measuring 12.3-inch in size. MG have also got rid of the manual controls for the air conditioning and offered capacitive buttons integrated within the dashboard panel. The centre console also gets capacitive buttons for driving mode, brake energy regeneration modes (KERS) and traction control. We expect the India-bound model to also offer the said changes, albeit without the KERS and battery controls.
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As we stated earlier, MG offer the Astor with a strong hybrid powertrain in Thailand. It comes with a 1.5L normal petrol engine coupled with an electric motor, which combined produce 177PS of power. The engine alone produces 109PS of power and 142Nm of torque. The electric motor, on the other hand, produces 95PS and 200Nm of torque. The powertrain comes mated to an e-CVT transmission and it channels power to the front wheels. The India-spec Astor comes with a 1.5L normal petrol engine and a 1.3L turbo petrol engine and we expect MG to continue with the same set of engines.

As per our sources, MG Motor India will launch the Astor facelift in early 2023. We expect MG to showcase the Astor facelift at the 2023 Auto Expo and the launch to follow soon after. The Astor will continue to go up against C-segment SUVs like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara.
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