Maruti Suzuki Ertiga MPV: Launch preview

Maruti Suzuki will launch the Ertiga seven seater MPV on April 12^th. The Ertiga will kick start a new segment in India, the compact MPV segment. It will squarely aim at large family buyers and its prices are expected to be in the range of Rs. 7 lakh – 9 lakh.

Looks

The Ertiga is one of the best looking Marutis in India as it has the right dose of modern and sporty looks. In fact, it looks more like a car than a people mover. The front design looks like a mix of the new Swift and the Ritz but yet, the Ertiga has a distinct face.

The well pronounced wheel arches add a tone of muscle while the blacked out B and C pillars hides the length of the MPV. The rear of the Ertiga has a tail lamp cluster that reminds you of the Honda Jazz’s rear. The boot door is quite large allowing easy access to the boot and hence, arranging luggage will be an easy task. Also see our video of family MPVs unveiled at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo

Space and comfort

The interiors of the Ertiga see extensive use of light beige that gives it an airy feel. The dual tone dashboard design (grey above and beige below) is very similar to the new Swift with the waterfall layout of the central console, the chunky steering wheel and the golf ball like gear knob. The three rows of seats are arranged in 2+3+2 pattern.

The middle row has a central arm rest and for tall passengers and can be pushed back to create more legroom. The third row has adequate legroom and headroom for average sized passengers. With all seats folded up, the Ertiga offers 135 litres of boot but folding the third seat will create 480 litres of luggage space.

Engine and Mileage

The Ertiga diesel will have the same 1.3-litre DDiS super turbo engine that powers the SX4 diesel sedan. This engine puts out 90 bhp of power and 200 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The ARAI-certified mileage of the Ertiga diesel is 20.77 kmpl.

The 1.4-litre K-Series petrol engine will debut in the Ertiga. This engine churns out an impressive 98 bhp of power and 130 Nm of torque. As per ARAI, the Ertiga has a fuel economy of 16.02 kmpl. With decent engine specifications and compact dimensions (light kerb weight), the Ertiga can be expected to perform better than other MPVs such as the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo.

Features

The Ertiga will have comfort features such as power steering, roof mounted AC with independent AC controls and rear wiper as standard across all variants. The top-end variant of the Ertiga will have safety features such as dual front airbags and ABS. Comfort features may include steering mounted audio controls, driver seat height adjust, seat belt height adjust and rear defogger. In terms of looks, the Ertiga will get alloy wheels, turn indicators on outside mirrors, blacked out B and C pillars, front fog lamps, interior chrome door handles. In all, expect six variants, three for petrol version (LXI, VXI, ZXI) and three for diesel version (LDI, VDI, ZDI), similar to the Swift and the Swift Dzire variants.

Summary

The Ertiga will initially have no competition until Chevrolet launches the Enjoy and Nissan launches the Evalia during the second half of this year. If priced in the Rs. 7 lakh – 9 lakh range, the Ertiga may not only attract buyers looking for compact MPVs, but also pose as a practical option to entry-level sedan buyers.

*Figures mentioned are estimates and may vary