Weeks after Mahindra & Mahindra announced the Marazzo, Maruti Suzuki has announced a total revamp of its affordable utility vehicle, Ertiga, at a cost of Rs 900 cr.
The company said the vehicle, which has an image of being rather boringly utilitarian due to its plain looks, has been totally rebuilt using its parent Suzuki’s 5th generation Heartect platform.
“Built afresh, it uses high tensile steel that ensures stronger, safer and sturdier structure with effective absorption and dispersion of crash energy,” it said.
The 2018 model is 4 cm wider and 10 cm longer, but largely of the same height.
It comes with a lighter lithium ion battery that also delivers some power to the engine to reduce fuel consumption.
As a result, the Ertiga 2018 has 13 % more power, 6 % more torque and 10% more mileage per liter.
Fuel efficiency is 25.47 km per liter of diesel, 19.34 km per liter of petrol and 18.69 km per liter for the automatic version — far more than any of its people carrier competitors.
At the core of the new Ertiga is a new K15 Petrol engine with Maruti Suzuki’s Progressive Smart Hybrid technology.
The new model has been priced at Rs 8.84 lakh ex-showroom for the starting diesel version, compared to Rs 10.3 lakh for Mahindra Marazzo, which is also powered by a 1.5 liter diesel engine. Prices for petrol variants start at Rs 7.44 lakh.
In terms of power, the Marazzo continues to outshine the Ertiga.
The maximum power rating for the diesel Ertiga is 66 kW at 4,000 rotations, while it is 90 kW at 3,500 rotations for Marazzo. The petrol engine, however, outputs 77 kW at 6000 rpm.
On the other hand, the M&M model does come with a significantly lower fuel efficiency of just 17.3 km per liter, compared to 25.47 km per liter for Ertiga, which would make a difference for cost conscious consumers.
The high fuel efficiency also means that the Ertiga will continue to be the No.1 choice for people looking for the most affordable big family carrier in the market.
Boot space is 209 liters, which can be expanded by folding the back seats. This is also slightly higher than the 190 liters on Marazzo.
It also comes with ABS with EBD and brake assist and reverse parking sensors as standard fitment across all variants.
It has introduced a reclining mechanism for the third row, and a “one-touch fold and slide system” for the second row for access to the third.
“The roomier third row seats are extremely versatile with 50:50 split and fold and recline function,” it said.
It also features features such as air-cooled cup holders, bottle holders and accessory socket in each row, a hi-definition coloured LCD screen that displays information including average fuel consumption, a trip meter, driving range, gear shift indicator, power, torque and doors open display, clock, idle stop time etc.