Maruti Suzuki's People Carrier: The Ertiga

This is it. The Ertiga. Maruti Suzuki's 3rd try at a people carrier - after the Omni, as well as the Versa. Maruti seems to be having high hopes with the Ertiga - and they should. It's amazing that they've been able to offer a Surprisingly Good Looking 7 seater car (compared to their previous attempts - the Omni and The Versa). Further on, the price point too is something which sounds really nice - the base Lxi variant costs 6.3 lakhs EX SHOWROOM MUMBAI. That's close to the pricing of hatchbacks like the i20 and the Polo. At the price point, Maruti seems to be offering a much larger and more spacious car than the competition ! 

The Ertiga is a compact people carrier which has the capability to give cars like the Innova and Tavera a run for their money ! The Ertiga comes with petrol as well as diesel variants which is a smart move on Maruti Suzuki's side.

The "+" ve's:

- A compact people carrier which seats 7.
- Handles like a car, owing to it's Maruti Suzuki Swift underpinnings.
- An excellent package for a starting ex showroom Mumbai price of 6.3 lakhs.
- Best styling ever seen on a Maruti people's carrier in India.
- ABS standard on all variants (except base petrol Lxi).

The "-" ve's:

- A tad too tiny (compared to the competition like the Innova and the Tavera)
- Equipment list on the base petrol could be better.
- With all three rows up, there's nearly no luggage space.

The Interiors:

Step inside the Ertiga, and there's a sudden feeling of Deja Vu... I've seen this before ! But Where ? If you feel so, you're feeling is justified - the dashboard is the same dashboard as the one available in the Swift Dzire, but the Dzire's black steering has been replaced with a Beige one in the Ertiga. Along with this, the wood inserts on the Dzire's dashboard have been replaced with sleek aluminium inserts. But, the fact that there's part sharing going on between the Dzire and the Ertiga isn't bad. Instead, this actually seems nice. That's because this particular Dashboard design is well sorted - it looks good as well as feels good. Maruti's done a good job with the Dashboard.

The steering looks impressive in beige, especially with the exposed aluminium. It somehow adds a premium look to the dashboard. But, I'm really not sure how the beige interiors will last over time - because they're light colored and may get stained very easily.

 A look at the Ertiga's dashboard. Maruti Suzuki's done a fantastic job with the interiors this time. The black and beige interiors with the aluminium inserts look elegant.

The audio controls are located on the left of the steering. They don't seem amazingly coordinated with the steering wheel finish. But, they fit in.

The dials too are well placed, with clear, readable text.

The centre console has a slight water fall like design to it. There's the Air con vents followed by the music system below it, followed by the air conditioner controls. Unfortunately  none of the Ertiga variants come with climate control. This is something which Maruti Suzuki could've easily added to the Ertiga because, even the Swift which has a similar dashboard and is the platform on which the Ertiga is based has climate control.

This seems to be Suzuki's stock music player unit for cars in this segment - In India, this system is used in the Swift, the Swift Dzire as well as the Ertiga now. Further, this system is used by Suzuki in Australia in the Swift and the Swift Sport too ! This music system sounds good in the Swift and the Swift Dzire which are smaller cars, but on the Ertiga, it doesn't sound really amazing. But still, this system is worth praise.

Here's a list of the audio system configurations on the various Ertiga variants:

The gear knob feels nice to grip and is decently sized causing it to easily nestle in one's palm. The beige color scheme continues here too and adds to the elegance of the Ertiga's cabin.

  This is a clever addition on Maruti Suzuki's side. The cup holder close to the aircon vents keeps your coke can cool during long drives. It just adds to "the feel nice" experience of the cabin.

The 2nd row comes with it's own air conditioner vents. That's real value for money in a vehicle costing around 7 lakhs.

On the right, the driver's seat is pushed all the way back, whereas, on the left, the passenger's seat is pushed all the way ahead. 

The 2nd row can be slid  to the front or rear by 240 mm. When pushed all the way back, they free up alot of space for the passengers of the 2nd row and leg room too increases.

The last row of seats is just for children, or really short people, or people who you hate. Trust me, they're cramped and tough to sit in, especially if the 2nd row has been pushed all the way behind. They're good when you occasionally need to carry 7 passengers. But otherwise, they're better folded down - they free up alot of luggage space in this way. Without them folded down, the boot space is a paltry 135 liters. With the second and third rows of seats folded down, you get an expansive 735 liters of boot space ! That's not upto mark with the Innova or Tavera's boot space, but then, getting this kind of boot space in a car slightly longer than a hatchback is just excellent. 

Neither is the Ertiga too low slung, nor is it too high. It's just perfect. Ingress and Egress are easy for elders too.

The Exteriors:

                  When looked at just from the front, the Ertiga can easily be mistaken for a hatchback. But, it's front looks well styled. The long, wrap around headlamps add a nice look to the car. Then come the foglamps which are cocooned in those "Saber tooth fang" like plastic claddings. The front grilles, both upper as well as lower play an essential role in making the car look compact.

 It's only as you move to the side of the car that you can make out that this isn't a hatchback, it's something longer- it's what Maruti likes to call "LUV", standing for Life Utility Vehicle. But despite all this stuff said about how compact the Ertiga is, you actually need to see the Ertiga inorder to actually make out how compact yet amazing a car Maruti's made.

The side profile of the Ertiga. It's kind of an elongated Swift. But, it's around 40 centimeters longer than the Swift. This exactly how it can act like a "Swift with 2 seats in the boot". The windows on the car are large and the inclusion of a fixed windows behind the C pillars makes it airy for the passengers sitting in the third row.

In all variants, except the base petrol and diesel, the Ertiga comes with body colored, electrically controlled OVRM's which come with inbuilt turn indicators.

The Ertiga's rear design is a no frills design. It's a simple design which will not seem amazing to many, nor will it be hated. It fits just right on the Ertiga. This too seems like the back of a hatchback. But, it's not. One negative in the rear design is that the rear wiper as well as the rear defogger are only available in the top of the end Ertiga Zxi and Zdi.

The rear hatch door opens pretty high. That's appreciated and is a boon when you're in the open. But, when you're in a basement, depending on the height of your basement ceiling, it may just hit the ceiling. I've not occurred any such problems yet. This is just a "maybe" situation depending on your parking area's ceiling height.

Under the hood:

This is the Ertiga's 1.4 L petrol engine. It's a 4 cylinder K series unit and cranks out 95 Bhp @ 6000 RPM and 13 kgm of torque at 4000 RPM. It's smooth, refined and drives much better than the competition - the Innova and the Tavera.

 And, this is the Ertiga's 1.3 L Diesel 4 cylinder engine. It produces 90 Bhp @ 4000 RPM and 20 kgm of torque at 1750 RPM. With the forever rising price of petrol in India, I feel that if a prospective Ertiga buyer travels around 20 to 30 kilometers per day, the 1.5 to 2 lakh premium of the Diesel Ertiga over the petrol Ertiga is justified. But, if the Ertiga's going to be used for city drives, then the petrol is a better option.

All Ertigas come with 45 liter fuel tanks.

Final Verdict:

                 The Ertiga is an excellent, well priced car and is the car for you if you're looking for a 5 seater with more luggage space than a hatchback like an i20 or a Swift and need 7 seats occasionally. BUT, if you've got a family of 7 and are always going to be needing the 7 seats, the Ertiga isn't a practical option. I'd recommend looking at the Tavera or the Innova in that case. I'd recommend the Ertiga over buying a sedan like the SX4 too. 

- Naayl Humza,

   14 year old car enthusiast.