MG Gloster: How good is it off the road? [Video]
If you're looking for a short reply to the question then the answer is yes, the MG Gloster can do some serious off-roading. However, if you're looking for details, read on or watch the video below. MG announced the price of the all-new Gloster yesterday and the introductory prices massively undercuts the vehicles like Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour in the market. The Gloster is the biggest SUV in the segment and it has the longest wheelbase too! Does the big size make it less capable than the others? Here are some answers.
The 4WD equipment
MG offers a 2.0-litre diesel engine with the Gloster. However, the lower variants get only one turbocharger but the higher-end variants get the dual-turbo set-up that ensures a massive power of 218 Bhp and 480 Nm of peak torque. Now it gets a Borg Warner transfer case but there no proper low-ratio transmission in the Gloster. However, it comes with an electronic differential locker and a host of other features that makes the Gloster a capable SUV. So if you're someone who will really take the Gloster off the tarmac during your long trips, you can definitely do that. But can you take it to your off-roading session with your enthusiast friends? Yes, you can!
Luxurious off-roading
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Since we have already reviewed the Gloster on the tarmac, we are will not tell you how luxurious the Gloster feels. In short, it is more luxurious than the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour and offers many features that no other vehicle in the segment offers yet. The Gloster offers seven drive modes. While the Eco and the sport mode are for the highways, there are off-road specific modes like Sand, Mud, Snow, and Rock. We ignored all of those and started on the off-road circuit in Auto mode.
The Auto mode knows what's best for the vehicle and keeps it in RWD most of the time. Whenever it feels the need for engaging the 4WD, it automatically does that on the fly. So you do not have to stop completely to shift to the 4WD mode. However, we also wanted to test the other modes so we put the vehicle in Mud, Snow and Sand mode first. Changing the mode changes the throttle response and also changes the engagement of the traction control system that allows wheelspins, further helping during the off-roading tracks.
The most capable of all the modes is the Rock Mode. To engage the mode, you need to put the car in neutral and wait for a few seconds. Even without engaging the electric differential lock (EDL), the Gloster will pave its way through the slush, chicken holes and deep pits without breaking a sweat. It gets a five-link integral suspension in the rear, which offers a good amount of wheel articulation. However, if one or wheels hang in the air, the traction control system will automatically apply the brake to the particular wheel to ensure that the torque reaches the wheel that has traction.
Engaging the EDL makes the Gloster even more capable and you do not feel the wheelspin when a wheel loses traction. Also, it gets downhill control and auto hill hold, which ensures that you do not need to use the brakes while going uphill or downhill!
The Gloster offers a ground clearance of 210mm and gets a water wading capability of 210mm. Even though MG has not revealed the numbers for approach angle, departure angle and breakover angle, we can say that the vehicle did not scrape anywhere! Also, it gets a water wading capability of 550mm, which will allow you to cross flooded roads during the monsoons and river streams during your journey to the Himalayas.
A good choice?
The Gloster can be the one vehicle that you will need for the daily commute, your highway drives and your off-roading sessions if you're not planning to climb a mountain without roads! The modes take care of the off-roading and you really do not have to worry about getting stuck. It is like off-roading while chilling inside a five-star room!
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