If you remember, MG Motor India was one of the first carmakers in India to bring connected car technology. In 2019, it was a huge novelty feature as people could now remotely start/stop your car through your smartphone or even open the sunroof or turn on the AC or know the location of the car. Well, the list is as long as 35+ connected features but fast forward to 2021, MG is now keen on bringing the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, which promises to make driving a lot easier than ever. Here's all that you need to know about the MG Drive AI and the features it will offer on the upcoming Astor.
This AI technology is being presented through a digital personal assistant that will bring you all the information that you seek along with performing several tasks to enhance your car ownership experience. What's really interesting here is that you can actually ask your personal assistant to tell a joke or pull details from Wikipedia on a subject you wish to know more about. Of course, it can even provide you with navigation assistance along with even offering news updates.
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All this can be done with your voice and Astor will be India's first car to get this feature as standard. The AI is a smart device that supports your voice and keeps on learning whenever the new updates are rolled in. It is basically human assistance but in a robotic manner.
Some of the salient features of the personal AI assistant include-
- Wikipedia support
- Navigation support
- Tell jokes
- Play News Updates
- Hold conversations
- Display Festival GIFs
- Play Music
- Control select car features
- Provide in-car warning
- Communication in Hinglish
MG has also rolled out i-SMART Hub where it provides its reach to several sectors available in the market so you can get the job done right through your car. While some of these facilities are free and some can be bought via paid subscriptions.
The biggest highlights include the Connectivity, Parking, Navigation and Digital Passport features. The connectivity is taken care of by Jio that comes with an embedded SIM that even offers other Jio services like Saavn music streaming app. The parking facility is taken care of by Park+ that helps you reserve a parking spot and even pay for it before you have reached your destination.
The Navigation function is powered by MapmyIndia that shares almost every route present in the country and also alerts you about overspeeding. Finally, the digital passport is taken care of by Koinearth that uses blockchain technology and assures that you get the best possible insurance premium and higher resale value of your MG car. Basically, this is done based on the usage pattern. For instance, someone who uses his car for less than 10,000 km a year won't have to pay the same insurance premium as someone who drives more than, say, 30,000 km in the same time period.
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MG Astor also comes with Level 2 ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), which is a step up from the Level 1 ADAS that the MG Gloster comes with. Features that this technology suite offers include -
- Adaptive cruise control
- Forward collision warning
- Automatic emergency braking
- Automatic emergency braking - pedestrian
- Lane keep assist
- Lane departure warning
- Lane departure prevention
- Speed assist system - speed warning
- Speed assist system - intelligent mode
- Speed assist system - manual mode
- Rear-drive assist - rear cross-traffic alert
- Rear-drive assist - lane change assist
- Rear-drive assist - Blind spot detection
- Intelligent headlight control
Under the hood, the MG Astor should come with two petrol engine options - a 1.5L naturally aspirated unit churning out 120 PS of power with 150 Nm of peak torque and a 1.3L turbo petrol unit. The latter will generate as much as 163 PS of power with a healthy torque of 230 Nm of peak torque. The 1.5L unit could be sold with a 5-speed stick shift whereas the 1.3L turbo petrol is expected to come mated to a 6-speed MT as standard along with an optional CVT.
Other features of the MG Astor are likely to include a large panoramic sunroof, red brake callipers, a larger 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment unit with modern connectivity features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Do expect a fully digital instrument cluster too on the house.
So what do you think about the MG Drive AI and what are your thoughts on their upcoming SUV, Astor that rivals the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos? Do let us know your thoughts in the comment section below and make sure you are a member of our 91Wheels Whatsapp and 91Wheels Telegram group where we bring you all the latest information related to the Indian Automotive Industry.
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