About a month ago, Morris Garages India took us through a plethora of things the Astor would offer. And now, we can see how the car in question actually looks like. As expected, it looks similar to the ZS EV. And there’s a good reason for that. The Astor belongs to the same family, albeit with a tweaked design. Look at it this way – the conventionally-powered SUV sports a refreshed look of the pure electric ZS EV.

Like all MGs, the Astor does have a presence. If one goes by, people will turn and take notice. Part of the credit goes to some striking design cues. For instance, the prominent grille with a 3D effect (MG calls it “celestial grille”) and those sleek “Hawk-eye” headlamps. Likewise, the rear-end styling is sharp, with the spilt taillamps featuring LED units and Astor branding accompanying the MG logo. The side profile is neat, and those dual-tone 17-inch alloy wheels look nice. The rest of the credit goes to the car’s silhouette. It isn’t as imposing a conventional SUV shape. Instead, it makes do with a smoother stance.

Dimensions? The Astor measures 4,323mm in length, 1,809mm in width and 1,650mm in height. Other details, such as ground clearance and wheelbase length, are still under wraps. However, from what we know, the Astor is longer, wider and taller than two of its main rivals – the Kia Seltos and the Hyundai Creta.

Indoors, the Astor will offer a variety of options and features. To start with, it’ll be available in three upholstery finishes – dual-tone Sangria Red, two-tone Iconic Ivory and Tuxedo Black. On the features front, the car packs a 6-way electrically-adjustable seat for the driver, a massive panoramic sunroof, a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, heated ORVMs and segment-first three steering modes. And let’s not forget, using i-Smart Hub 2.0, the Astor offers 80+ connected-car features.

The Astor also becomes the first car in the segment to pack Level 2 ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). There are 14 of them, including adaptive cruise control, intelligent headlamp control, automatic emergency braking and Lane Keep Assist. Another segment-first feature is what MG is calling an AI-powered personal assistant. Riding on top of the dashboard is a tiny-robotic creature capable of doing more than just responding to voice commands.

As suspected, the Astor will be a petrol-only offering. There will be two engine options – a 1.3-litre turbo and a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated unit. The former will produce around 138bhp/220Nm and come coupled to a 6-speed automatic transmission only. On the other hand, the latter is a detuned version of Hector’s petrol engine, producing 108bhp/144Nm in the Astor. As standard, the larger powerplant will be mated to a manual gearbox, with an 8-step CVT as an option.

The Astor is MG’s contender in the booming compact SUV space. Besides featuring both South Korean products mentioned above, the segment also has the Nissan Kicks, Skoda Kushaq and soon-to-be-launched Volkswagen Taigun. Those who want to see the Astor in the flesh can do so from this weekend at authorised MG dealerships.