MG Gloster

 MG's latest car, the Gloster, aims to give a tough challenge to the popular Toyota's Fortuner. The Toyota is known for its reliability, but the Gloster aims higher with heaps of space and features. But there has also been a resurgence of late in the segment just below with the Tata Safari and the Mahindra XUV700 upping their game. So the MG Gloster will have it's work cut out for it.

Looks

SUVs like the Fortuner might feel a bit threatened by the MG Gloster because it's larger. If you thought the Ford Endeavour is a large SUV, the MG Gloster is 80mm longer, 40mm wider, and 30mm taller than the Ford. You'll need a side step to get into the cabin because it's quite tall. However, it's not as wide or long as the Mercedes GLS or the BMW X7, although it has a similar overall shape.

The design of the Gloster is similar to Toyota's Land Cruiser, which is known for its boxy shape. It has modern touches like slim LED headlamps and tail lamps. The large grille with satin chrome adds a touch of elegance. The way the chrome trim flows around the glass area and roof rails adds a touch of flash to an already loud design. The Gloster's wheelbase is 2950 mm, which is 100 mm longer than the Endeavour. Its size is evident when you see the relatively small 19" alloy wheels. MG kept the design simple and rugged, which is a good thing.

 

Interior

Looking inside the cabin, you can see the German car influence inside the MG Gloster. The 12.3-inch screen, air vents, aircon controls, drive mode selector, and split armrest are all oriented horizontally and it feels similar to the design you’d see in a BMW car. The tan leather seats add a luxurious touch. The dashboard and door panels have soft materials, and the seats and door panels have a special diamond pattern. The cabin has LED ambient lights and can be customized with different colors.

Luxe Like!

In the second row, the comfortable captain seats can recline and slide to suit your mood. The large windows and spacious dimensions make the cabin feel open and relaxing. You can also adjust the headrests for a comfortable nap. There's plenty of space in every row, including the third row. In fact, the MG Gloster offers the best 3rd row space among its rivalsl and even when compared to more expensive cars, making it a good option for joint families who require one vehicle to transport 6-7 people regularly.

The captain seats in the second row don't fold or tumble, so you have to walk through to get to the third row. Even tall people will have enough headroom and legroom in the third row for reasonable comfort. There's so much legroom that you have seatback pockets to store things. Each passenger has their own roof-mounted AC vent, and there's ample storage. There's a clever flip-out cup holder on one of the captain seats and a spot for your phone in the other. All four door pockets are spacious, and there's extra storage under the front armrest. Even wiith all three rows of seats up, you can fit a few overnight bags easily. If you fold the third row, you get a flat cargo floor and enough room for moving large items. 

Tech 

The front row of the MG Gloster is quite comfortable and luxurious. The driver has a seat that can adjust in 12 different ways and remember two positions, while the passenger seat adjusts in 8 ways. The driver's seat can be heated, cooled, and even has a massage function, but the passenger seat, unfortunately, only has heating. There's an 8-inch screen that shows important vehicle info and advanced driver assistance system alerts.

The 12.3-inch HD screen for entertainment looks great and is user-friendly. Voice commands work smoothly in the Gloster. It also has connected car technology and wireless charging, but your phone might get hot if charged here for an extended duration.

To keep passengers in the back cool, there's a 3-zone air conditioning system that lets you control the temperature and fan speed. The Gloster has more features like illuminated vanity mirrors for the driver and passenger, one-touch power windows, and keyfob controls for locking and unlocking all the windows.

Safety

The MG Gloster has safety features like six airbags, stability conrol, ABS + EBD, front and rear parking sensors, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which makes driving easier and safer. The list of features include adaptive cruise control, which can follow a car ahead of you at a pre-set distance and the Gloster will automatically slow down or speed up as traffic patterns change. You can set your cruise speed and just steer. It also has forward collision warning when it detects a possible accident and it can also engage automatic emergency braking if the driver doesn’t react to a possible hazard in time.

There's Blind Spot Warning (BLW) that alerts you when a vehicle is in your blind spot. The big side mirrors already provide good visibility, so BLW is a nice extra especially with a car of the Gloster’s large size.

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) tells you when you're drifting out of your lane, but Lane Keep Assist is even more helpful because it gently keeps your car in the lane. It also warns you if you change lanes without using your indicator.

Auto Park Assist is a great feature for parking. The Gloster finds parking spots and steers into them. The driver just needs to follow the prompts on the display to change gears.

Finally, the MG Gloster gets a 360-degree camera for easier parking but the resolution of the cameras is poor making the setup hard to rely on especially at night.

 

The Gloster is easy to drive for a few reasons. Firstly, you sit up high and have a clear view of the road because of the big windows and mirrors. The steering is light and precise, so you can control the Gloster with ease in the city or on narrow, winding roads.

Like most big SUVs, the Gloster does lean a bit when you go around corners, but it's predictable and not too bad. The light steering may make it easy to drive in the city but don’t forget that this is a tall and heavy SUV and it should not be driven in the same way as a low slung sedan.

This SUV handles rough roads quite comfortably, thanks to its suspension. It smoothly goes over bumps and even handles bad roads with ease. On the highway, it handles rough patches and potholes without any trouble. The suspension also keeps the ride inside the car comfortable. However, on bumpy city streets at low speeds, you can feel the suspension working, and it can be a bit bouncy

Then there is the engine and gearbox combination. MG is offering the Gloster as a turbo-diesel model only, albeit in two states of tune. Lower variants of the Gloster will get the 163PS/375Nm 2-litre engine with a single turbo, while the higher end variants will get a twin-turbo motor that's good for 218PS and 480Nm. Strong output numbers aside, it also gets a sophisticated automatic transmission. The abundance of torque and the smoothness and quickness of the gearbox makes the Gloster feel surprisingly light and easy to drive. You never have to mash the throttle to make your way through city traffic, and the Gloster makes for a great road trip car as it feels so relaxed at high speeds even when loaded up.

While you can hear a subdued diesel rumble, the engine remains smooth, which makes it a great companion for longer journeys. Sport mode makes the throttle response quicker and the gearbox a bit more eager and would be well suited for speeding things up as it also splits torque between the front and rear axles to improve grip and stability. But when you are in the mood to lounge, Eco mode would be the better pick as it dulls throttle response and slows the shifts to make things more laidback.

For off-roading the MG packs three additional modes: Snow, Sand and Rock. These are backed up with hill descent control and hill hold control.

Verdict

The MG Gloster packs in serious value for its price. It’s sized on par with SUVs that are significantly more expensive and puts its big size to good use by offering excellent space and practicality, even for those who will regularly use all its seat rows. It also packs in modern tech and premium interior while delivering more comfortable road manners than rivals like the Toyota Fortuner.

While there is room for improvement when it comes to finesse in interior quality, the MG Gloster is a well-rounded SUV that delivers a lot of bang for your buck.