At this year’s Auto Expo, MG (Morris Garages) Motor India unveiled three upcoming products – the Hector Plus, G10 and Gloster. The Hector Plus is already amongst us, and there’s no official word about the G10’s launch. As for the Gloster, which will become the company’s flagship offering, bookings have opened today with the minimum token amount set at Rs 1 lakh.

As per MG Motor India, the Gloster is “India’s first autonomous level-1 premium SUV”. The “autonomous” tag comes courtesy of some assistance and safety features, including adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. Two additional gizmos – Blind Spot Detection and Lane Departure Warning – are part of that package as well. Five of those qualify as segment-first features.

The SUV, which measures nearly 5 metres in length and stands close 1.9 metres tall, will be available with a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine, with one or two turbochargers. With a single turbo, the powerplant pumps out 161bhp/375Nm. The power and torque figures shoot up to 215bhp and 480Nm, respectively, with an additional turbocharger. In both forms, the Gloster comes with 8-speed automatic transmission. As for the on-demand four-wheel-drive system, that’s on offer only with the twin-turbo variant.

More first-in-segment stuff pops up when you look at the list of Gloster’s creature comforts. It offers a 12-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with massage and ventilation function, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a vast array of connected-car features (i-Smart 2.0), a 12-speaker sound system, a PM2.5 filter and heated front seats. Other features include 64-colour ambient lighting, an 8.0-inch colour display within the instrument cluster, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated ORVMs and LED headlamps with auto levelling.

MG Motor India is offering the Gloster in six- and seven-seater form. That means you can have it with captain seats in the second row, which is also a segment-first feature. And, as for colour options, there are four to choose from – Agate Red, Metal Black, Metal Ash and Warm White. The Gloster will go on sale during the 2020 festive period. With prices expected to start north of Rs 30 lakh, it will compete with the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace in India.