ASTOR VS KUSHAQ VS TAIGUN LEFT OF FIELD

Nothing better than variety to drive competition, and these three crossover SUVs thrive in exactly that

- SIMRAN RASTOGI

For the longest while, if you wanted a solid family crossover/SUV of a manageable size up to Rs 20 lakh or thereabouts, there was no reason to look past the Korean duo of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. Their bestselling status affirms that. Fortunately for us, the Volkswagen India 2.0 twins in the form of the Skoda Kushaq and VW Taigun brought more choice to the table, with an emphasis on driving dynamics and the legacy of German build quality, though they are marginally down on rear seat space against the competition. And with the Astor, MG is hoping to shake things up further, by offering space, flashy looks and segment-firsts like advanced driver assistance systems that sure do make rivals look a little light in their brochures. But as with anything in life, you can’t have it all. Which one of these (admittedly worthy) alternate choices to the segment leaders are best worth your money?

Styling

If you believe the square footage of a car on the road is priority number one, you’d probably like the fact that the MG Astor is the largest car here by a fair bit, and it’s even marginally more so than the Koreans. It has nearly 100mm in length over these two, furthered by around 50mm more width, and about 40mm more height — these are substantial numbers. And while all three run on 17-inch wheels, the Astor again has meatier 215-section tyres, compared to the Kushaq and Taigun that run on 205-section rubber. Importantly, the latter two have a significant 66mm advantage in wheelbase over the Astor, actually making them the longest wheelbase SUVs in the segment, and as we’ll see, they need every bit of that advantage when we get to the interiors.