MG all set to derail the Toyota Fortuner & Ford Everest

MANILA: The Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Everest, also called Endeavour in the Indian market, are two of the major players in the mid-size SUV segment. The title, however, might come under the hammer as MG prepares the launch its offering in the segment, the Gloster. As much the name Gloster sounds new, it actually isn't.

The soon to be launched MG Gloster is a body-on-frame SUV based on the Maxus D90, which has been selling in markets like China and Australia from quite some time now. Since both MG and Maxus are owned by the Chinese auto group SAIC, it should have been a fairly easy deal to capture the SUV and put its badge on it. Similar to the Maxus D90, the Gloster will stand 5005 mm long, 1932 mm wide, and 1875 mm tall. On the outside, the SUV will sport various modern-day peculiarities like automatic LED headlamps, LED DRLs, LED fog lamps, chunky alloy wheels, and whatnot. The major change should in the form of a new MG signature grille sitting between the two headlamps.

Moving inside the MG Gloster, we will find an array of high-tech features and creature comforts such as heated/cooled driver seat with powered controls, large 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, three-zone climate control, panoramic sunroof, MG's Internet Inside connected car tech, air purifier system, and a 360-degree parking camera. The engine options on the China-spec Maxus D90 include a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol-fed engine that makes 224 PS of maximum power and a peak torque of 360 Nm and a bi-turbo diesel-fed mill churning out 215 PS and 480 Nm.

While the petrol motor can be had with either a 6-speed automatic gearbox or a 6-speed manual transmission, the bi-turbo diesel, on the other hand, comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission only. As for the MG Gloster, the SUV should be offered with both the above-mentioned engines. When compared with the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Everest aka Endeavour, the MG Gloster will be bigger than the two already on offer SUVs in the Indian market, where the Gloster will be unveiled at the Auto Expo 2020. Another rival of the MG Gloster will be the new Mahindra Alturas G4, which was launched in the country in November 2018.

Once launched in India, we hope for MG to offer the Gloster in other markets such as the Philippines as well. Also, since Maxus recently made a comeback to the Philippines, we won't might even Maxus to offer its D90 over here, would we? With the SUV segment ballooning with the passage of each day, the more options we have, the better it will be for the Filipinos.

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