Maruti to start selling Ertiga in April

Maruti Suzuki Ltd, India’s biggest carmaker, will take on Toyota Kirloskar’s bestselling Innova this April when it launches the Ertiga multipurpose vehicle (MPV).

With a wheelbase that’s just 10 mm short of the Innova, it will seat seven people, with the second and third rows having foldable seats that afford various configurations.

Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki, promised to make Ertiga “attractively priced”. Experts expect it to be priced around Rs 10-11 lakh.

While the claimed mileage of the diesel engine is around 20 kmpl, it may return 14-15 kms per litre in city driving conditions. The petrol variant, on the other hand, is said to offer 16 km per litre in ideal test conditions and could deliver 10-12 km on city roads.
Looks wise, it’s unlike any vehicle in the Maruti portfolio. The front of the car is all Ritz, with touches of the new Swift on the wheel arches, while the tailgate is very prosaic. The dashboard is like that on the Swift, but in beige tint.

“The Ertiga brings space and compactness to utility vehicle customers in India. It will create a new compact MPV segment in India,” Nakanishi said.

The diesel variant  will have Fiat’s tried and tested 1,300 cc multi-jet (DDiS super turbo) engine that will unleash 88PS of power at 4000 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 1750 rpm, while the company will debut its new K14B engine in the petrol version which will unleash 94 horses at 6,000 rpm with 13.25 kgm of power at 4,000 rpm.

Interestingly, Japanese rival Nissan is also lining up the launch of a similar 7-seater, called the Evalia abroad, which will also be “aggressively priced”, according to people familiar with the development. The launch is expected in August-September, and it will be a five-speed gearbox mated to a 1500 cc dCi diesel engine, just like the Nissan Sunny.

The Evalia, too, has foldable middle row and back row seats, with a ground clearance of around 190 mm.