[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by vinair

Are there changes made to the brakes on the Ertiga? For the auto variant at least? If it's the same set up as on the Ciaz auto, then I wouldn't say its very confidence inspiring on a people mover. With full load (though there is EBD), discs all around should be mandatory.

The XL6's brakes are entirely adequate. In what manner do you consider them not to be confidence-inspiring? Why should disc brakes be mandatory? Do drum brakes lack in stopping power in any way? Kindly explain.

[landcruiser123]

Great review, rating it 5 stars. Looks like the XL6 is just a poor man's 7-seater Innova. No offence meant to prospective owners. No disrespect to the TBHP team (and the automotive media group in general) who reviewed it, but recent 'launches' like Toyota Glaza and the XL6 have made life easier for the reviewers. There's nothing that is all-new.

Lack of Innovation one of the reasons why the market is stagnant. No manufacturer is making any car with technological breakthroughs. Above that, the prices of cars have gone through the roof. Why would somebody replace a perfectly running 2011 Hyundai i20 or Honda City with a new one? Even the 'new' Ertiga is doing nothing new. Slightly more space and new engines with slightly more power make for a boring upgrade. We need some 250-300 km range EVs or Hybrids delivering 25 kmpl to revive the market.

[vinair]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The XL6's brakes are entirely adequate. In what manner do you consider them not to be confidence-inspiring? Why should disc brakes be mandatory? Do drum brakes lack in stopping power in any way? Kindly explain.

Adequate in what sense? I said for a people mover, hope the brakes are calibrated properly, especially in a automatic. With very minimum engine braking, reliance on the brakes is more (would say more significant for a big vehicle) and with a drum set up, heat dissipation is lesser compared to a disc configuration. Having experienced this in my car, I strongly recommend anyone planning for an auto to check if the brake specs differ with that of a manual.

[sam_sant2005]

SURPRISE!, Oct 10th yesterday same day while this review was being published, I booked my XL6 Alpha Automatic in Bangalore

Thanks for the review, it covers in and out of the vehicle. XL6 is definitely an old wine in new bottle but works for some people like me who want some 'exclusivity'. I hope to write a detailed ownership review soon.

Reasons for my choice of XL6 :-

1) I have owned Ertiga for 4.5 yrs earlier between 2013 to 2017. Later on for short stints moved to a used Corolla Altis Manual (TO-YO-TA brilliant), 2018 Brand new XUV500 W7 AT (cant get worse) and used Duster AMT and now back to Maruti! I know the Ertiga's versatility, and thats exactly the reason I bought it again in the form of XL6.

2) BS6 of course. No matter what Govt says or what people say, in few yrs, people will prefer BS6 vehicles in resale market even if BS4 fuel is still available. But I feel gradually BS4 fuel availability will reduce and die over the period of next 5yrs. Which petrol bunk owner would keep additional tank for a fuel whose usage is coming down (talking about 2022-23) because Govt will mandate BS6 fuel in major cities from Apr 2020.

3) I have requirement for 6 or 7 seater say once or twice a year for longer trips and may be once a month for short trips. So a sedan is actually livable but need to "zoom car" a 7 seater for such rare occassions. I am the typical Indian family man who has stuffed 7 adults and 4 kids in the old Ertiga, so with wider XL6 it wont be tough to stuff three (kids adults combination) in 3rd row which meets most requirements (I am just talking about a missing seat in XL6 over Ertiga)!

4) Talk of the town Seltos rejected because of the price. To me, at that price, rather it is the Crysta since I am a person with 7 seater inclination.

5) I was looking at a few Altis CVT's as well in used car market but market was asking 11 to 13 lacs for 2015-16 models. So a 14 lacs XL6 with an SBI loan fits the bill perfectly with lower interest and part payment option.

6) People are crying fowl over the 4 speed AT. (Note: Don't go by reviews, have a drive yourself and then decide based on your requirements, reviews compare it with superior DSG's and 6 speed TC's most time.) How I landed on XL6 Automatic is because of a test drive I did on a Ciaz AT with same gearbox. XL6 is not a vehicle you are gonna do spirited driving (I mean this is no quick shifter or perf box). For me, this 4 speed AT box "does the job" really well. It is peppy in lower gears and overall very smooth integration with the K15 engine. Vehicle as such rides so 'soft'. No complaints. Remember I am coming from a Duster AMT, a XUV AT, Alto AMT (wife's car) and also a fan of Corolla 7 step CVT. XL6 4 speed is GOOD to me.

7) I am a person who has used several cars over the past 7-8 yrs. Count more than 7 from hatchback to sedan to muv to suvs. An Ertiga is a common mans proposition, price and 7-8 seater. So an XL6 as per my guess will not be bought by masses hence will keep it slightly exclusive to the "upper" crest.

And yes I dont deny tyres are punny on the XL6, will upsize them in due course!

[PrasannaDhana]

I have checked this car out at Nexa. It feels tacky inside in comparison to Scross and even the Ciaz.

The only plus point I see is those very comfortable, accommodating seats, and even there, Maruti has managed to mess things up, by providing that poor excuse of an armrest. It felt like the one from my ex Sumo Gold, - cheap and fragile.

If I were out for a van, I would either go with the very practical and good looking Ertiga or the famous Crysta, depending on my budget. In my eyes, XL6 is an average looking actress getting more hideous by a plastic surgery gone wrong. No offence to the owners, after all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!

And flagship product? Gosh! Nexa had some credibility by having their one decent product S-Cross as the flagship, now, I feel they just lost it.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by vinair

Adequate in what sense?

More than sufficient stopping power, and no tendency to fade.

Originally Posted by vinair

...with a drum set up, heat dissipation is lesser compared to a disc configuration. Having experienced this in my car...

Have you experienced brake fade in your Ciaz AT? Would like to know more about it.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The XL6's brakes are entirely adequate. In what manner do you consider them not to be confidence-inspiring? Why should disc brakes be mandatory? Do drum brakes lack in stopping power in any way? Kindly explain.

On what basis? If you do not use a fully automatic car, you may not understand the need of better braking in automatics:
- Engine braking is minimal
- Brake pads wear out faster in automatics since they are continuously used. All round disc will give a relatively longer interval between replacements
- Additional safety features like ABS, EBD, Hill hold and hill descent et. al. are better optimized with all disc setup

Automatics thus need better braking capabilities compared to their manual counterparts; and more so, its an additional safety ask by fellow bhpian - I see nothing wrong in it.

Drum setup has poor braking power because of lower area of contact for generating friction, thereby resulting in poor retardation of vehicle. Tata Nano has an all drum setup, which is a weak link in case of emergency.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by i74js

Drum setup has poor braking power because of lower area of contact for generating friction, thereby resulting in poor retardation of vehicle.

This is an entirely fallacious presumption among most members here. This post is for this thread, & should require a separate thread of its own to fully explain; however, rest assured, drum brakes have equal and better stopping power compared to discs, and need lot less pedal pressure / boosting to work effectively compared to discs.

The only disadvantage of drums is that of brake fade.

How many heavy vehicles (goods carriers) do you see on our roads, with disc brakes? The drum brakes on trucks are capable of locking up wheels from high speeds while carrying a full load of quite a few tonnes, and here you folks think drum brakes are incapable of confidently stopping a 1.2-tonne automatic transmission car?

Originally Posted by i74js

- Engine braking is minimal

If you do drive an AT, you should also have learnt how to use engine braking on a downhill road...

[i74js]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This is an entirely fallacious presumption among most members here. This post is for this thread, & should require a separate thread of its own to fully explain; however, rest assured, drum brakes have equal and better stopping power compared to discs, and need lot less pedal pressure / boosting to work effectively compared to discs.

The only disadvantage of drums is that of brake fade.

How many heavy vehicles (goods carriers) do you see on our roads, with disc brakes? The drum brakes on trucks are capable of locking up wheels from high speeds while carrying a full load of quite a few tonnes, and here you folks think drum brakes are incapable of confidently stopping a 1.2-tonne automatic transmission car?

If you do drive an AT, you should also have learnt how to use engine braking on a downhill road...

A. I will continue with my opinion and your logic about trucks using drum brakes is absolutely incorrect.

Please read this small article, I am open to have a separate discussion thread.

https://www.truckandbusaccidentlawye...ases%20profits.

B. I am not talking about "L" ratio in ATs for descent control instead I am talking engine braking in general, when we are in plains. It is less / negligible compared to manual transmission

[blorebuddy]

I felt brakes were spongy during the initial days of my New Ertiga. I had Swift VDi earlier which was having more bite and felt more assuring. During the 2nd service 5k kms I have given the feedback to SA also. He has also mentioned he did something but I think I got used to this now. However I am more confident now because I had a near miss experience last week. I was overtaking a tractor with trailer in a curvy 2 lane road in the night. Suddenly there was a Polo in the opp. direction and the tractor was pulling not 1 but 2 trailers loaded with sugarcane. I was doing around 90 and applied brakes in a panic mode. My wife and 2 kids were with me and car stopped beautifully without any fuss just in front of the Polo. Thanks to the Polo driver who had also controlled it well. Thank god otherwise it would have been my first head on in my 20+ years of driving. Though I have averted it was bothering me next whole day. It’s scary. Thanks to ABS and it’s working. I am sure tyres would have locked and vehicle would have changed direct if it was non ABS.

[vinair]

Originally Posted by i74js

A. I will continue with my opinion and your logic about trucks using drum brakes is absolutely incorrect.

Please read this small article, I am open to have a separate discussion thread.

B. I am not talking about "L" ratio in ATs for descent control instead I am talking engine braking in general, when we are in plains. It is less / negligible compared to manual transmission

Right there! yes, happy to discuss this on a seperate thread, but this being the same engine, gearbox combination with the Ciaz (applicable to both old and new models), will conclude with the below.

Absolutely, apart from downshifting or taking your foot off the accelerator, I do not think there is any other way to really take advantage of the engine braking (unless there are gizmos such as hill descent or something).

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This is an entirely fallacious presumption among most members here. This post is for this thread, & should require a separate thread of its own to fully explain; however, rest assured, drum brakes have equal and better stopping power compared to discs, and need lot less pedal pressure / boosting to work effectively compared to discs.

The only disadvantage of drums is that of brake fade.

How many heavy vehicles (goods carriers) do you see on our roads, with disc brakes? The drum brakes on trucks are capable of locking up wheels from high speeds while carrying a full load of quite a few tonnes, and here you folks think drum brakes are incapable of confidently stopping a 1.2-tonne automatic transmission car?

Yes, brake fade is evident on my car at least. Have witnessed this on highways when traffic is unusually thick and requires shedding speed quite often. Also, while coming downhill, brake fade is indeed profound.

[fastturtle10]

Thanks for the excellent review! I was excited for the XL6 to launch as I often wondered about its potential in the market. Hopefully it becomes a success and hope to see more of them on the road.

[Time_Machine]

Originally Posted by sayoojl

Any idea whether it is feasible to replace the middle row captain seats in XL6 with the bench type seats in ertiga?

I have been wondering about the same. Not interested in the extra bling of XL6 but don't want to miss out on the extra useful features like cruise control. Also, the black interiors of the XL6 should be relatively easier to maintain than the beige of the Ertiga. I wish Maruti hadn't taken the captain seats feature to heart and launched both- the premium and the regular- Ertigas in multiple seating configurations like most other MPVs. Heck! The age-old Renault Lodgy not only gave you the option to choose between bench and captain seats but also to remove both the second and third row seats to create a flat bed area for loading, sleeping or any other purpose you like. Suzuki, with their added Japanese experience in Kei car design, should have been even more innovative in interior space management and design. Why hold back on these uncomplicated effortless modifications that can give more choices to customers?

[avjinder]

Excellent review. Gives very good understanding of the vehicle who are planning to buy. I am planning to to buys XL6 in its current avatar i.e. Petrol which as per test drive was adequate but not enthusiastic. The new diesel engine on Ertiga looks promising, so the doubt is if it would be offered in near future. Any suggestions or thoughts?

[haljosgeo]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The remote key looks el cheapo compared to the Ciaz's key. It doesn't have a remote boot release or sensor-based button release unlike the Ciaz, so effectively we need to unlock the whole car before the boot can be released.

The Li-ion battery does not receive charge unless the engine is in deceleration mode (foot off the accelerator), but only above 1500 rpm. In a manual transmission car, e.g. my Ciaz, downshifting to slow down helps this charging greatly. Haven't figured out how it responds in the XL6 (or Ciaz) with AT.

Two points I'd like to clarify based on using the car for the last 1000 kms. The boot can be opened without having to unlatch all other doors. There's a button you can press to the right of the unlatch level if you have the key fob on you.

The Li-ion battery might be a bummer on this car. It charges pretty quickly when going downhill. Discharges pretty quickly too, mostly doing the torque assist function when you are driving on a highway.

The car could have come with a better tyre. Feels slippery in rains and while negotiating curves at high speeds.

Mileage remains something to be discovered. Does about 12 kmpl in city drives and 15 on highways. Managed to see 17.1 once on a 200 kms drive, had to keep it below 90 kmph to see that number.