MG Majestor

The SUV market in India is filled with two types of cars: Ones that look big and rugged, score excellent in features, but struggle when it comes to capabilities, and others which do deliver high in off-road performance but compromise on features and premiumness. 

This is where the MG Majestor comes in. It tried to bridge the gap between these two types of SUVs, and after having driven it, we now know how it manages to do that. Prices of the top-spec Savvy variant have been announced and it starts from Rs 40.99 lakh depending on the powertrain you pick. 

The Majestor is definitely a looker as it gets all the elements of a rugged and imposing SUV, but at the same time, it does not miss out on any modern day elements you’d want in a new car.

Its face is the first thing that will grab your attention with its massive gloss black grille that takes up almost the entire fascia. However, the remaining parts of the face looks just as butch with its reversed L-shaped LED DRLs, vertically stacked LED headlamps, and a chunky bumper with a very prominent skid plate. The overall face is upright and is further complemented by the creases on the bonnet.

In profile, you get an idea of its length, 5046 mm to be exact, making it the longest in the segment. Here you notice the boxy design, straight lines on the doors and panels, slim roof rails and cladding under the doors. Its modern 19-inch alloy wheels get complemented by massive old school wheel arches, and you also get a silver side step to get inside considering its high ground clearance of 219 mm. You can get a more detailed look at the MG Majestor in this article.

At the back, the connected tail lamp setup grabs your attention as you do not expect these modern elements on an old school SUV. But you quickly realise that it is still as boxy as you’d want it to be with the flat tailgate and a massive bumper with a grey skid plate, highlighting its abuse friendly design. There is also a dual-tip exhaust setup which adds a dash of sportiness.

But if there is one thing I did not like about this design is the massive “MAJESTOR” lettering on the boot lip. This could have been smaller and more subtle, or MG could have offered this as an accessory instead of a standard design element. 

However, it does look more intimidating than its sibling, the MG Gloster, and you can get a detailed comparison between the MG Gloster and MG Majestor here.

Moving on, this massive SUV is available in four exterior shades, none of which are funky in any way, but they do match the imposing appeal of this car. The four shades are Metal Black, Pearl White, Concrete Grey, and Metal Ash.

Overall, this design is as imposing as you’d want your big SUV to be, and the modern design elements have been integrated very nicely into an old school looking SUV. However, while it does look muscular, it lacks the mean and get-out-of-my-way attitude that some of its rivals offer and even though it has a great road presence which will turn heads, it will not scare anyone off so easily.

Design & Quality 

Before even getting inside the Majestor, you need to prepare yourself for the process. Being a tall SUV with a high ground clearance, the Majestor requires you to make a lot of efforts to climb inside, which will be very hectic and tiring for any elderly in your family. Thankfully, there is a side step and all doors have grab handles on the pillars to make this process slightly easier.

Once inside, you are greeted with an all-black cabin that mixes ruggedness with premiumness in a similar way that the exterior mixes a muscular design with modern elements. The cabin has a typical old- school SUV look with grab handles placed on the passenger side dashboard, huge AC vents, and large physical buttons, but it is also wrapped in soft touch leatherette padding from top to bottom as you get this padding on the entire dashboard and on all doors. 

Since the cabin is all black, including the seats, MG has added some brushed aluminium and chrome elements all around the cabin, including the doors, centre console, and steering wheel, and there are gloss black elements on the centre console as well.

In terms of quality, since everything is wrapped in leatherette, the touch and feel of this cabin is actually quite premium, and even the plastics all around the cabin feel smooth. However, the grab handles do tend to squeak when you grab them a little too hard, and I wish they felt a little more sturdy.

Front Seat Space

Now comes the space. At the front, there is more than enough headroom for the driver and passenger, and since the seats are electrically adjustable, you can adjust the base to get just the right underthigh support. The front passenger can also easily stretch their legs without pulling the seat back. 

Second Row Space

The second row gets two layout options: 6-seater and 7-seater. In the 6-seater variants, you get captain seats just like the ones in the front, but these are not electrically adjustable so you can’t adjust your underthigh support. This is bad because the underthigh support is actually less here since the floor is raised and the distance from the floor to the base is not as much as it should be, leaving passengers in a slightly knees up position. 

However, the knee room, legroom, side support, seat cushioning, and the headroom is just right and won’t make you complain. These captain seats also get individual adjustable armrests, you can slide and recline these seats, there are cupholders integrated in the left seat for both passengers, and there are AC controls along with rear AC vents. The only thing I feel MG missed here is seat ventilation and window shades.

In the 7-seater variants, you get the same space but the bench allows you to seat one passenger in the middle, and the width here is actually good for 3 average-sized adults to sit comfortably without much shoulder overlap. There is an adjustable middle headrest too for the comfort of the middle passenger.

Third Row Space

Lastly, there is a third two too. However, neither the 6- nor the 7-seater variant has tumble function in the second row, so you need to slide and recline the second row and squeeze your way to the third row.

Once inside, there is just enough space for two average-size adults to sit here for short journeys with manageable headroom. However, there is absolutely no under thigh support and you have to sit with your knees up. We advise you to only seat children here, not adults.

Practicality

Next up is practicality and the Majestor scores big on that front. All four doors gets bottle holders, the front passengers get two cupholders and a small cubby, under which is a hidden storage, the centre console also has a big tray underneath which you can use to keep slightly large items, there is storage under the centre armrest, you get a small glovebox, and there is a sunglass holder placed above the driver window.

Second row passengers get seatback pockets. The 6-seater variant has two cupholders integrated in the left passenger seat and the right one gets a small cubby. The 7-seater variants get a centre armrest with three cupholders. Lastly, the third row only gets two cupholders placed on the edges.

Features (4.5 out of 5)

Coming to the feature list, there isn’t anything major missing. You get a 12.3-inch free-floating touchscreen as the highlight of the dashboard and it runs smoothly without any lags. This screen is customizable, the user interface is easy to follow, and the icons are large enough to rear without any hassle. This screen also supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, both of which run seamlessly, and it is paired to a 12-speaker JBL sound system that provides a crisp and clear surround sound experience.

The only thing I don’t like is that the controls for the headlamps and seat ventilation are on the screen and you need to navigate to a few pages to get to the controls. MG should’ve offered physical controls for these features.

Other features include a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display which has two views and the information is easy to read. You also get a 12-way powered driver seat with memory function, an 8-way powered front passenger seat, ventilation and massage function for the front seats, a panoramic sunroof, two wireless phone chargers, cruise control, and three-zone climate control with AC vents for all rows.

Charging Options

For charging options, you get two wireless phone chargers at the front, a USB Type A port, a USB Type C port, and a 12V socket in the front. Second row passengers get two USB Type A ports and a 220V socket where you can directly plug in your charging brick. The third row passengers only get a single USB Type A port and there is a 12V socket in the boot as well.

In terms of safety, there is nothing that the Majestor misses out on. It gets 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESP), a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), traction control, front and rear parking sensors, ISOFIX child seat anchors, hill hold and descent control, and a 360-degree camera.

It also gets Level 2 ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) with features like adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, high beam assist, driver drowsiness warning, and autonomous emergency braking.

The MG Majestor has not been crash tested yet. 

Coming to the boot space, you get 343-litres while all rows are up and the third row is not reclined, and this too has been measured up to the roof. In reality, there is just enough space to keep three cabin-sized suitcases.

However, if you need to carry more luggage or need to move houses, you can fold the third row to get a flat floor which will solve your problems.

Now since this is a big SUV, the boot lip is at a height where placing or taking out luggage requires effort and strength. But there is some convenience after you’re done loading/unloading as there is a powered tailgate.

We drove the MG Majestor for a short time, so our assessment is initial, but our drive experience did give us a lot of insight into the performance of this SUV.

Let’s start with the engine. The Majestor gets a diesel unit only with an automatic and gets both rear-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive options. This engine is loud, you feel the vibrations on the steering wheel and even on the seats, but it is expected from a diesel unit.

City Performance

The performance, however, is not what you’d expect. As soon as you floor the pedal, you don’t get pushed back into the seat, the nose doesn’t rise up much, and you don’t accelerate instantly. Instead, the acceleration is gradual, it takes time to build up speed, and while the performance is not dull in any way, it's also not exciting or thrilling.

There is enough power to pick up city speeds and overtake others around you, and the steering wheel feels light which makes it easy to maneuver this huge machine inside city traffic. The Majestor feels easy to drive and it does not intimidate the driver. However, you also don’t get the “King of the road” feeling which is associated with SUVs of this size.

Highway Performance

Once you hit the highway, and the Majestor starts picking up speeds, it is easy to overtake others and get to triple digit speeds. It’s not quick in any way, but doesn't feel sluggish as well. The Majestor can carry momentum easily, but you need to be patient for it to build that momentum in the first place.

As for the transmission, it changes gears quickly, knows when to downshift, and a lot of times you won’t even feel gears change due to the smoothness of this transmission. However, if you still need more control, you do get paddle shifters which work as intended.

Off-road Performance

This is where the Majestor shines. It tackles rough terrains with ease where other smaller SUVs struggle. It has all the necessary mechanicals, including three differential locks (Front, rear, and centre), where the centre one basically puts the Majestor in 4-Low for extreme off-roading.

With this equipment, and 10 different off-road modes, the Majestor manages to complete any challenge and go through any terrain whether its snow, sand, slush, rocks, or mud, without breaking a sweat. It also gets a Crawl Mode called CCU, which basically means you don’t need to accelerate while off-roading, and the car moves ahead with a steady pace, making even a newcomer feel like an off-road veteran.

Ride Comfort

While driving the Majestor on smooth tarmac, you’ll realise that even the smallest of crack and imperfection on the road is felt inside the cabin, especially at slower speeds. It is not uncomfortable in any way, but you do feel every bit of it. 

However, as soon as you take it over bigger potholes, rough patches, and speed breakers, you realize that the impact gets cushioned very well, and the car comes back to its stable position in some time. It becomes even more comfortable when you carry more speed over those imperfections. The body roll, which results in heavy side to side movement in such big SUVs, is also controlled well in the Majestor, and this makes it easy for you to drive over poorly built roads.

Handling

The limited body roll also helps in handling as the Majestor feels stable while taking a corner. You don’t feel afraid that the car will go out of control and it actually gives you the confidence you need to ride through the corner.

Since our experience with the Majestor was short, we’ll only be able to give a more detailed assessment of its performance and comfort once we spend more time with it, so stay tuned for that.

The MG Majestor is available only in two variants: Sharp and Savvy.

Majestor Sharp

• The base variant only gets a rear-wheel drive setup.

• Gets LED headlamps, LED DRLs, connected LED tail lamps, dual-exhaust tips, front and rear skid plates, and 19-inch alloy wheels.

• Cabin gets an all-black theme, leatherette upholstery, soft touch padding on all corners, 7-seater layout, sliding and reclining second row seats, and contrasting brushed aluminium and piano black elements.

• The infotainment package gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an 8-speaker sound system, and a 12.3-inch digital driver display.

• Features include three-zone climate control, 12-way powered driver seat, 8-way powered front passenger seat, and two wireless phone chargers.

• Safety kit comes with 6 airbags, electronic stability control, a tyre pressure monitoring system, all-wheel disc brakes, hill hold and descent control, ISOFIX child seat anchors, and a 360-degree camera.

Majestor Savvy

• The top-spec variant gets both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive setups.

• No changes to the interior and exterior design.

• Infotainment gets a 12-speaker JBL sound system.

• Additional features include a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, massage function for front seats, a 220 V power socket, and memory function for the driver seat and driver side ORVM.

• Safety kit gets Level 2 ADAS features like adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and autonomous emergency braking.

CarDekho Recommends

• Pick the base-spec Sharp variant as it gets a great package which includes top-spec design, a premium cabin, all features you’ll need, and a strong safety suite.

• Go for the top-spec only if you want a four-wheel drive setup or ADAS features.

You can get a much more detailed variant-wise feature analysis of the MG Majestor here.

The MG Majestor excels at a lot of things. Whether its premiumness or design, features or off-road capabilities, there isn’t much that will disappoint. You can take this car on any challenging terrain, and it will clear it without hassle, or you can drive it around in the city, and it will keep everyone comfortable with its ride quality, and everyone entertained with its features.

The only thing that can be a tad bit upsetting is its performance. It can go fast but it doesn’t feel exciting, you can overtake others easily, but it does not make you feel powerful, which some of its rivals might do.

While it misses out on the “King of the road” feeling, it makes up for it with its detailed package that covers all aspects of a modern day car in the form and capable nature of an old school SUV.

Rivals To Consider

Toyota Fortuner

Reasons To Consider

• Feels more exciting to drive

• Has a more imposing road presence

• Gets a petrol option

Reasons To Ignore

• Very less features

• Not as premium inside

Check out the detailed comparison between the Toyota Fortuner and MG Majestor

Jeep Meridian

Reasons To Consider

• More comfortable ride quality

• Affordable pricing

Reasons To Ignore

• Less third row space

• Does not have an intimidating design