MG recently introduced its latest SUV for India, the Majestor, which is basically the Gloster in a new avatar – and in my view; it’s certainly a far better manifestation. As a matter of fact, MG deserves credit and applause for making such substantial and thoughtful changes, that the Majestor now is clearly a far superior machine than its predecessor, the Gloster. And maybe that’s why MG have dropped the Gloster name and reintroduced it as what can easily be positioned, and accepted, as a new vehicle – the Majestor.

The designers have not only worked hard on making the Majestor look more muscular and stronger,  but they have also made it bigger with the length being  5046 mm, width 2016 mm and height 1870 mm. The 2950 mm wheelbase is however the same as the Gloster. More importantly, it is larger than the Toyota Fortuner the undisputed segment ruler which is 4795 mm long, 1855 mm wide and 1835 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,745 mm.

The MG Majestor is not just externally larger than the Toyota Fortuner, but its interior is also far more spacious and comfortable. Looking at the Majestor, it’s obvious to anyone who knows anything about cars, that MG have clearly benchmarked it against the Fortuner and worked extremely hard to ensure that it scores higher on most ( if not all) counts. And after driving it a few days back in the Aamby Valley City at Lonavala, Maharasthra, I can confirm that not only does the Majestor score higher on paper, but it also outdoes most of its competition in both the driving and being an occupant experience.

Let me start with the looks. As I mentioned right in the beginning, the Majestor is a big full size SUV, which rivals even the Land Rover Defender 110 in size! It has a fairly proportionate two box shape with sharpish straight lines and flattish panels, and these along with things like the massive grille, prominent wheel arches, front bumper with a neatly integrated rugged looking skid plate, all give it a brawny personality with ample street presence. And as we know, this is something most Indian buyers of SUVs appreciate. And this strange need to dominate and tower over other vehicles and road users, is ably fulfilled by the MG Majestor.

Step inside (slightly difficult for the aged or those with mobility issues due to the high floor and H-point), and you are greeted with a well laid out spacious cabin that can seat 6, with the bucket or captain seats in the 2^nd row, or 7 with a bench seat. The materials, the ergonomics, the fit and finish, are all are fairly premium and the Majestor even has ventilated front seats with a multi-mode massage feature. Both front seats are electrically adjustable with the drivers being 12 way (including 4 way lumbar) and the co-drivers having 8 way, along with 4 way lumbar.

And thanks to the fairly soft ride and reasonably well contained body roll, this passenger compartment is not just comfortable when stationary, but even when the Majestor is moving. Yes, you don’t bounce or shift around as much as you do in some other SUVs, including the Toyota Fortuner. This despite the fact that the Majestor has a good old fashioned ladder frame chassis, which while generally being more rugged and better for off-roading, is not as forgiving when it comes to bumps, ruts and other road imperfections. So again, full marks to MG for having managed to achieve this level of ride comfort with a ladder frame.

At about 2.7 tons, the MG Majestor is quite heavy and to manage this mass, it is powered by a 2.0L twin turbo diesel engine generating 212 bhp and 478 Nm of torque. While the engine is adequately powerful, I think in an attempt to avoid discernible or disturbing turbo lag, the engineers have tuned it to deliver its horses gradually, and this may give some the feeling that the power is not coming in quickly enough. But since I usually don’t like all the horses bolting the barn suddenly, I am fairly fine with this relaxed power delivery. This engine is mated to an 8- speed auto which also has a fairly relaxed shifting manner. Of course you do have drive modes like normal, eco and sport, and while the later does speed things up a bit, it’s best not to expect super quick shifts.

The steering also comes with 3 driving modes, normal, urban and dynamic. Normal, is well normal. Urban provides more assist for a lighter steering to make parking and tight maneuvering easier. And in dynamic, the steering gets a heftier feel and reduced assist for better control and steering accuracy while changing directions at high speeds. I did try this mode, and its does make a decent difference.

But what impressed me the most, and completely won me over, is the off-roading ability of the MG Majestor. And knowing how good their SUV is in this department, MG smartly laid out one of the most challenging off-road trails possible in natural, but controlled conditions, inside the forested and hilly environs of the Aamby Valley City, and that’s where they invited me to drive the Majestor.

Again on paper, the Majestor has extremely impressive ammunition in its 4WD armoury like four wheel drive with low range via a separate transfer case, triple differential lock enabling locking of center, rear or front differentials, 202 mm of ground clearance and so on. It also has various off-road driving modes and a very interesting M-Crawl feature – but more of that a little later. While the specs and features are remarkable, what is even more striking is the way it all works and functions in actual, real life like, off-road conditions. This according to me is one of the highlights of the MG Majestor. It is able to live up to what it promises on paper.

Before I set out on the off-road trail accompanied by an instructor and Ankur Sharma DGM Vehicle Platform MG India, and his colleague Anand Parmar (Deputy Manager), I was properly briefed about the hardware packed in the 4WD system. But I had no idea about the software or its immense capabilities and ability to tame tough terrain with the ease it does. On the initial bit of the dirt trail I drove in 2 wheel (rear) drive. As it got loose and slippery and a bit steeper, Ankur suggested I go to 4-wheel high, but I chose to stay in 2 – wheel and was controlling the vehicle and negotiating the trail by gently and adequately feeding in the power when required, or braking smoothly to slow down to negotiate the various challenges of the trail. I did also shift to 4H but not 4L.

Then Ankur said, “ Bob due to your  40 plus years of off-roading experience and passion for driving in all terrains and conditions, we are seeing what you are able to do with our vehicle, but you are not seeing and experiencing, what our vehicle can do”. I immediately pulled over and asked what he would like me to do, and Ankur said, “The next slope is extremely steep and slippery with couple of tight turns and boulders also strewn around the path. I suggest you engage 4-wheel low and the M-Crawl function. And then just steer. Don’t touch either the accelerator or brake pedal. Let our Majestor do it all for you”.

So that is exactly what I did. Looking at the trail that lay ahead of us, I was bit skeptical about the Majestor managing it on its own. But soon after we set off, I was surprised to see how well the M-Crawl feature of the Majestor was controlling both the acceleration and braking. All I had to do was steer. And then we came to a tight and extremely narrow uphill turn where I had to give full steering lock to avoid a boulder sticking out almost at the apex of the turn. The steering lock was so acute and the boulder in such a position, that it stopped further progress and momentarily caused the wheels to start slipping and the Majestor even rolled back about a foot! I was just about to take back control when the vehicle stopped and gently began building up revs again. I opened the steering a bit to straighten the wheels and the moment they found some traction, the Majestor’s computers and sensors automatically fed in just the exact amount of power for us to move ahead and go over the rock without breaking momentum. Not too fast, neither too slow. Everything was done just perfectly. And without any drama. And though I hate admitting it, maybe if I was in control, I am not sure if I could have done it with that kind of ease and finesse.

The off-road software and hardware of the MG Majestor worked perfectly in tandem, to make a difficult and tough trail, look not so challenging. And while I am extremely impressed by this capability of the Majestor, a part of me is also disappointed that it completely takes the driver’s skills and experience out of the equation. A dummy could have been at the wheel with the only requirement being that he or she should be able to steer accurately, and the MG Majestor would have still done its job and gone up the slope easily enough.

So where does that leave the drivers skill, talent, experience, knowledge and so on. Nowhere. Absolutely nowhere and of no use what so ever. Instead it levels the playing field so much, that the Majestor makes even the growing tribe of so called self-appointed auto experts and commentators, look like off-road heroes. And this I honestly don’t like.

Yes that day on the trail, the MG Majestor not only smashed my ego and pride in my off-road driving skills, but it also gave me a vivid insight into the future when such skills will be completely redundant and the machine will do it better than man. That day is not far and seeing this I am glad that I have lived most of my life, being in control of the machine, rather than the other way around.

Anyways, let’s leave that discussion for another time, and comeback to the Majestor. Interestingly, while conversing with Ankur I also realized that the 2WD version of the Majestor has a ground clearance of 219 mm, while that of the four-wheel drive variant, due to the extra weight, transfer case and other off-roading gear is 202 mm. Ironical isn’t it – that the two wheel drive version has more ground clearance than the 4WD, where you are actually likely to need every bit of it.

So apart from the fact that the MG Majestor makes jokers look like heroes while off-roading, what else don’t I like. The fact that you have to go to the touch screen to use many functions, including things like headlights, seat memory and ventilation, etc. This irritates me. I also don’t like some of the smallish and difficult to read fonts in the dashboard instruments or the limited steering tilt adjustment. And of course I would prefer the gap between the brake and accelerator pedal to be more, but this Ankur tells me, MG is already in the process of addressing. Apart from things like this, I think the MG Majestor makes an excellent case for itself.

But the question is – will it be able to take the fight to the segment leader, the undisputable king, the Toyota Fortuner. If I was do a direct comparison test today, and give points on let’s say the top 10 parameters, I feel the MG Majestor would be a clear winner. But what I cannot give scores on is things like reputation, reliability, trust in the brand, longevity of product, resale value and so on. These have to be earned and won in the field. And when it comes to that, Toyota as we all know, stands way above not just MG, but almost all other manufacturers. And how well MG is able to convince customers about these aspects, is what in my opinion, will decide the scale of success of the Majestor. As a product there is little to fault. But the badge, well – only time will tell.