Re: Honda Mobilio vs Maruti Ertiga Went for a test drive of the Mobilio today @ Crystal Honda, on Mumbai-Bangalore highway, Pune, and here is what I thought:
Before I start - I test drove the iDtec Mobilio, and I have an Ertiga VDi which I bought in June last week. I naturally compared it with Ertiga and I will only put my experience, and points that I felt strongly about or those I didn't already read in this forum. Although, after the very detailed review, there is very little left to be said First impressions: It looks good. Not to my tastes, but it does look good. My apprehensions about the disproportionate design, and stubby bonnet were slightly misplaced, and its not that bad after all. Rear is a stunner by MPV standards Exteriors:- Its not very tall
- Front overhang is less than the rear one
- Lots of asymmetrical creases on the side
- very similar to Brio/Amaze till half of the rear door
Build- Doors close with a clunk, not a thud. Seems thinly built compared to Ertiga, nowhere near as solid as a Vento (two cars we have)
- The plastic rear bumper is extremely thin. Even gently pressing it with your finger, and it goes inside
- Some of the plastics on the demo car were already loose (and this was not the TD vehicle). The plastic around rails of the middle bench were shaking badly
- The fabric seat cover of the middle seat's base, when viewed from behind (from 3rd row) was rough, and looked unfinished, compared to the front part
- The cladding on the inside part of the boot lid was coming off
Interiors- You have to sit down while getting in. Driving position is lower than other MUVs
- From the driver's seat its a Brio with a tall and thin gear stick
- It is airy inside
- Legroom/knee-room in all rows is generous, but all seats are closer to the floor, compared to their respective counterparts in Ertiga
- front seats not as comfortable as Ertiga's
- middle bench is lower compared to Ertiga's and under thigh support is not as generous. But the extra legroom kind of makes up for it
- Last row is very low, and the seat base has very less depth. You sit on your bums, with thighs in the air and knees pointing at the ceiling (I am 5.8' tall)
- Moving the middle row forward makes it slightly better (but this is only available in top end V)
TD Experience (It was a short one but here is what I thought) - I found the engine noise intrudes inside more than Ertiga's and its not as free revving
- Turbo lag is lower than Ertiga's and I thought the car has sufficient torque from 1500 RPM. I could easily touch 100 fairly quickly
- Steering not very confidence inspiring at high speeds, I prefer the Ertiga's steering here
- The ride quality is on the firmer side. I also sat on the last row for some time and found that its more noticeable over there (we were only three in the car. Maybe when loaded, it gets better)
- It seemed that, with full load, the car will remain stable, and the rear will not bounce on road undulations (Ertiga's 3rd row bouncier than the middle and front, but ride is more absorbent, overall)
Prices
I was interested in the S variant and I was comparing it with the VDi variant of the Ertiga. There is a whopping 1 LAKH rupee difference between Ertiga VDi (including discount of 18000) and Mobilio iDtec S
Here are on road prices for Mobilio, all variants, for Pune and PCMC region, Maharashtra Other observations- There was a huge crowd, everyone had come to see the Mobilio
- There were two demo cars and two TD cars, one each of pertol and diesel, all in top end V trim
- This was the first time when I had to wait in queue to test drive a car (I was fourth in line for the diesel)
- SE said they already received 110 bookings before the official launch
- When I asked him about why I should go for the Mobilio, instead of the Ertiga when there is a lakh rupee difference, he said this (which I think sums up the extent of thought Honda put in before deciding the prices) - Honda is Honda sir, its prestigious.
- He did talk about bigger engines, more legroom, more boot space, better quality, better reliability, better safety, better fuel economy etc. when giving the test drive and comparing his product with the Ertiga. But all this was before we discussed the prices
- He also said that they are in direct competition with Ertiga. He also mentioned the Innova once
- SE presented it as a seven seater, not a 5 + 2. Even the brochure declares it as a 7 seater
- The deliveries are supposed to start from next month, but he wasn't sure how the waiting periods are going to be
- They were already out of brochures that contained specifications and were handing out xerox copies
- He said he morning was a mad rush (I went in the afternoon)
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