After tasting success in the sub-Rs 20 lakh SUV space with the Hector’s ‘more for less’ approach, MG is now geared up to take things to a whole new level and enter the premium, seven-seat, body-on-frame SUV segment with its all-new offering, the Gloster. MG’s underlying approach with this new SUV is similar to the Hector’s, so even this new SUV holds a distinct size, performance and premium feel advantage compared to its rivals. MG has also gone a step ahead and stuffed the Gloster with several segment-first premium features like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), thus far seen only on a handful of all-out luxury vehicles, to give it an edge over the competition.
The Gloster comes from the Maxus brand, owned by SAIC (the same parent as MG), and is essentially the Maxus D90 in China and the LDV D90 in Australia. It’s been rebranded for India and sold as the flagship of the Morris Garages (MG) range, with a suitably British-sounding name – Gloster.
But can the Gloster’s spec advantage on paper translate into superior performance, practicality and comfort, compared to the Mahindra Alturas G4, Ford Endeavour and the king of the segment, the Toyota Fortuner?
We put it through our exhaustive real-world tests to find out.
This is where the MG Gloster begins to shine. First, there’s the refinement, both from the engine and the running gear, at low speeds or high, which is really exceptional, with engine, wind and road noise very effectively muted.
The ride quality is also really good. Sure, you’ll get some of that lumpiness typical of a ladder-frame SUV at low speeds, but it smoothens out admirably as you go faster and isn’t nearly as choppy or bouncy as some of the others out there. And just as you’d expect from a hardy body-on-frame SUV, this one isn’t shy to go off the beaten path, and it suppresses broken roads without batting an eyelid.
There’s a fair bit of body roll, which you would expect from such a tall vehicle, but you can still corner confidently, as the steering has a reassuringly fluid feel to it. In fact, the steering is the big surprise, because it is very light and allows you to come to grips with this behemoth’s dimensions in almost no time. And it manages to do this while giving you a reasonable amount of feedback and confidence at speed – not too sharp to be edgy, but not too slow to be ponderous either.
In fact, it’s safe to say the Gloster has the best ride and handling mix among all the large, ladder-frame SUVs on the market right now.
Although it isn’t branded, the OEM audio system on the MG Gloster holds its own against some pricier options. The cavernous cabin is filled up well by 12 speakers, including a subwoofer in the boot and a centre channel speaker in the dashboard. It’s a tonally balanced system that impresses with its low-end grunt and definition. It’s only at the top-end of the frequency spectrum that it starts sounding a bit unrefined and sibilant, but the on-board graphic EQ can help tame that easily. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported but the 12.3-inch screen could be more responsive in its touch sensitivity and also brighter under direct sunlight. But its unique feature is a built-in Gaana app that also allows for song search via voice commands, which are a hit-or-miss affair. More USB ports wouldn’t go unappreciated either, but you do get to use up to 70 features through your smartphone, thanks to the iSmart 2.0 connected car app.
How the ADAS works
The ADAS or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the Gloster have some features that we’re more familiar with, like driver fatigue detection, which suggests the driver take a break via a prompt on the MID after it senses the car has been on the move for a long time, or it detects erratic driving behaviour. The next feature is the auto parking assist, which is essentially a hands-free park-in or park-out function for parallel or perpendicular spaces, where the driver merely controls the vehicle speed and forward/reverse gears, and the car steers itself.
It also gets a blind-spot warning function, which flashes a light in the wing mirror to make you aware of a vehicle in your rear three-quarter view, and if you are indicating, you won’t hear the ticking sound if there is an object in your blind spot. Then there’s lane-departure warning, which alerts you with a graphic on the MID as well as an audible warning when it detects you are straying out of your lane without indicating. What’s nice is that this system even detects washed off or faint lane markers.
There’s a self-explanatory frontal collision warning, which throws up a prompt on the MID accompanied by an audible warning, if it senses that the car could possibly have a head-on collision. And finally, adaptive cruise control, which maintains a set distance from the car in front of you and adjusts your speed to match, even down to a complete halt. This works brilliantly for the most part and will even slam the brakes if an errant driver suddenly cuts in front of you. But if the traffic in front is a bit slower than your set speed, the Gloster’s system, while maintaining a safe distance, will remain at a lower gear than usual, in an attempt to immediately reach the preset speed when the traffic clears. This on-guard behaviour takes away from a relaxed cruise control experience to an extent. The autonomous emergency braking function works extremely well while using adaptive cruise control, but we still wouldn’t advise that you rely on this system a hundred percent.
Whilst the ADAS features work extremely well for the most part, the warning alarms and parking sensors are too loud and can get very annoying, and there’s no way to lower the volume. In fact, even something like the turn indicators sound excessively loud.
All things considered, the MG Gloster comes across as a pleasant surprise. It could very well have turned out to be a collection of impressive specs with no substance to back it up, but that simply hasn’t been the case.
The only real fly in the ointment appears to be the sluggish response at low speeds, which, coupled with the gargantuan dimensions, can make city driving pretty taxing. Also, the premium looking cabin gives an illusion of luxury, and the tactile feel of some bits in the cabin should have been better for a car at this price point.
Refinement and ride quality are standouts, as is interior space, and then of course there’s the long equipment list, which is enough to shame far more expensive SUVs.
This top-spec Savvy version, however, will be priced just above the established competition, at around Rs 37 lakh (ex-showroom). That’s a pretty bold move, but MG is hoping buyers will see value in the size, space, performance, comfort and, of course, the equipment.
The Gloster might not enjoy the same brand equity as the Toyota Fortuner, and it might not be as effortless off the road either, but as a seven-seat family tourer, MG’s latest SUV is as good as it gets.
from Autocar India - Cars https://ift.tt/3kAEss5
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