[S2!!!]

An inevitable question: Which is better - the Honda Mobilio or the Maruti Ertiga?





Table showing the pricing of the two Japanese rivals:


Here are the highlights of the 2 cars:

Honda Mobilio



What you'll like:
• Great choice of engines. Both - the diesel & petrol - are fast and fuel-efficient
• Suspension offers compliant ride quality & neutral handling. 189 mm of ground clearance is a big plus
• Light controls, slick gearshift and easy maneuverability for the city. Effortless to drive
• 1st & 2nd row of seats have ample leg & headroom. Middle row beats most C2 segment sedans
• 3rd-row access is easier than in the Ertiga. 3rd row fold-down doesn't affect 2nd row space (like the Ertiga)
• Practical 223 liter boot with all seats up. 521 liters of capacity with the last row folded away
• Honda's reliability & fuss-free ownership experiences

What you won't:
• Low 3rd-row seat is best for kids or occasional usage only. This isn't a full time 7-seater
• Noticeably more expensive than the Maruti Ertiga
• The Brio's unconventional dashboard & interior design are too basic for this class of car
• Front styling is identical to its smaller siblings. Face should have been differentiated
• i-DTEC isn't as refined or high-rpm friendly as the Ertiga diesel. Also, overall NVH insulation is poor
• Brio-level cost cutting doesn't work at this price (thin sheet metal, slim seats, uneven shut lines, missing insulation & cladding)
• Many practical features missing (seatbelt height adjustment, adjustable front neck restraints, auto-locking doors, bluetooth connectivity, full MID etc.)

Link to Official Review

Maruti Ertiga



What you’ll like:
• A 7-seater MPV at the price of a C segment sedan. The petrol variant, especially, is very well priced
• Car-like ride, handling & driving experience. Effortless to drive in the city and on highways
• Flexible seating & luggage options. Cargo capacity runs as high as 735 liters
• Competent petrol & diesel engines. The latter offers outstanding fuel economy
• ABS available on all variants, except the base petrol. Bigger brakes than the Swift & Dzire
• Maruti’s excellent after-sales service & wide dealer network

What you won’t:
• Not a spacious 5 seater if you fold down the 3rd seat row for luggage. Limited width for the 2nd row too
• 3rd row is best suited to adults for short trips, or kids over long trips. Not really a full-size 7 seater car
• Minimal 135 liter luggage capacity with all 3 rows of seats in place
• Diesel engine carries a hefty Rs. ~1.3 lakh premium over the petrol. On-road difference is ~1.5 lakh rupees
• Even the top-end ZXi / ZDi variants don't get climate control

Link to Official Review

[paragsachania]

Alright, here's something I tried that I assume would give a quick pictorial comparison between the Mobilio and the Ertiga. Note that all the pictures of the Mobilio are from this very review and those of the Ertiga are captured by me either today or when I drafted a review for my Ertiga. Also, since mine is a VDi, a few features like Rear Defogger, Steering mounted controls, seat height adjustment will be missing:

The 2nd Row AC Controls and Vents



2nd Row Arm Rest

3rd Row 3 Point Seat Belts

How does the 3rd row height look in both

AC Control Buttons

The Suction grills for rear AC

Recommended Air pressure (Notice what Maruti suggests as highest)

How Tall does the boot door open?

Ertiga uses a plastic moulding for the boot door:

The center cup holder console:

Dashboard:

Door open lever (The picture below with exposed screw is when I removed the small plastic cover in the Ertiga)

Door thickness:

The Mobilio has a shield in between, the Ertiga does not. However, I feel the exhaust is placed more further in case of the latter.

Floor hump is almost identical, rather Ertiga has lesser:

Fog light switch:

Gear Knob:

Glovebox:

Ertiga gets fold back (spring) grab handles for 1st and 2nd row. Gets a regular type for the 3rd row passengers:

All 3 rows get adjustable head restraints:

The Handrest and storage area for 3rd row passengers:

Instrument Console

Jack & tools placement

Master control (Although Ertiga VDi and above autolocks after 20kmph)

Ertiga V and Z get integrated indicator lights on the mirrors

ICE (Note that this one is from my VDi)

Bottle Holder and door pocket for passenger door

Pedals (Notice the area to rest your left foot in the Ertiga. Even after market mat manufacturers are aware of that)

The way Honda and Maruti has managed to conceal the seat belt warning wires:

[paragsachania]

The limitation with the number of attachments in a single post ensured that I created this back to back post. Apologies!
Here are a few more pictures comparing the rest:

How thick are the seats?

V and Z Variants in Ertiga get seat belt height adjustment:

Stalks are relatively of similar quality:

Steering (Mine's a VDi & Zdi gets steering Audio controls)

Ertiga gives small little places to store like these:

3 Point Dual wiper jets for the Ertiga

[GTO]

The Brio is 40K cheaper than the Swift, while the Amaze was launched at a price square at the Dzire level. Naturally, everyone expected the Mobilio to be positioned at the Ertiga's price point.

Even if the Mobilio's pricing was the same as that of the Ertiga, it would be a tough choice between the two. The Mobilio has more space, superior engines, better handling and a usable boot (with all seats up). The Ertiga fights back with a significantly nicer interior ambience, cushion'y seats, a last-row that sits higher and more equipment. With the Ertiga, cost cutting isn't in your face (as it is with the Mobilio) and the build feels a little more solid too. If the pricing was on par, I'd probably pick the Mobilio at the end because of the engines.

However, after seeing the Mobilio's higher price, it's a no-brainer. During the course of my review, I studied both MPVs inside out and can confidently state that the Mobilio's premium is not at all justified. The Mobilio is nearly as expensive as the far more premium Honda City and the EcoSport (superior build with all the bells & whistles). If I was choosing between the two today, it would be the Ertiga hands down. Buying the top-end diesel, I'd save nearly 1.5 lakhs on the road and end up with a car that's an equal.

Thumbs down to Honda's pricing strategy. They well & truly botched it up this time.

[dass]

Couldn't agree more with GTO when he says they got the pricing wrong. They have already had to take a bitter pill with their Jazz not so long ago, and then come back and do this. I mean, when you don't offer a premium product (to be fair to Jazz, it was far too premium for its time) like mobilio, expecting customers to plonk their money for just the Honda badge may not help them in the long run.

[arnabchak]

Ertiga wins hands down!!

Price -VFM
Interiors-Superior in Ertiga
A.S.S- Better than Honda
Brand Image: Maybe Honda but the have lost serious image by offering partly baked products lke Amaze, Brio and now Mobilio
Cost of Ownership: Any day Ertiga

Overall value for money----Ertiga wins Hands down.

Honda just killed its new baby at child birth!!

[ToyotaFan]

The Mobilo is a more comfortable 5 seater (sliding middle row) and it has more boot space with all 3 rows up. The Innova has these 2 things from day 1 and play a significant role in people going from Ertiga to Innova. The lack of turbo lag in the Mobilio is just like the Innova, but unlike the Ertiga which makes it a pain on inclines.

Don't these factors justify the pricing of the lower end where the difference is significantly lower? I agree the top model has been absurdly priced by Honda. Just my thoughts.

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[roy_libran]

Oops! I think I just opened the account for Mobilio, against 20+ people who had voted for Ertiga.

So, I did some Math, and the Mobilio stacks up pretty badly on the numbers (Excel).
Not only is every model of the Mobilio more expensive than it's positional counterpart in the Ertiga line, even the step up between variants is steeper!

But, beyond the all important numbers, are the relatively unnecessary things such as ride quality, handling, interior space management and to an extent, even the exterior looks, and those, to me, are of a lot more importance.

But seriously, what was Honda smoking, especially with that kind of Build Quality and Refinement!!!
At least 2 people in my friend circle, have now decided to cancel and withdraw their pre-booking deposits!

[Adi22]

Went for the mobilio.

Bigger engine (power & efficient), better handling/ride, better styling in favour for me, rather than plain jade interiors or music player quality (aftermarket always there). the i-dtec seems to be returning consistent mileage figures on the city & amaze.

Only downside being optimistic pricing from honda. Expecting it to get a correction sooner :-)

[dZired]

Ertiga it is.

I have already bashed Honda a lot in the Mobilio thread about the way they have literally just stretched the Brio and are now demanding such a high premium for what appears to be an unfinished product. I am not a Maruti fanboy but we all have to agree that any other manufacturer might need an extraordinary product and highly competitive pricing to attract customers to their showroom, especially in cases of direct competition (like the Ertiga and Mobilio). Honda nailed it with the Amaze, but axed it with the Mobilio.

[vishnu-man]

This one goes to Ertiga!
Most importantly, the body build.
Realized recently how bad the Honda's builds have been these days.
We read about a BHPian's Alto being rear-ended by an Amaze recently:

Source on forum: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...e-results.html

The results were so obvious with Amaze's bonnet almost torn apart.

[rnidumolu]

I have voted for MS Ertiga. The obvious reasons are -

1. VFM
2. Large A.S.S network
3. Safety features like ABS+EBD are available across all variants (except for Petrol base variant)
4. Looks (though subjective)

[lal79]

There is no justification for the Mobilio pricing. Cost cutting is more evident. Cheap interiors and the integrated headrest for the first row! IMHO Ertiga is more practical choice than Mobilio on any day.

[9thsphinx]

Voted for the Ertiga, because the Mobilio in terms of overall package isn't Honda material. Honda has given us far better cars to believe they could come up with such a sub par product at prices that surpass competition and fall below buyer expectations.

[Cartman]

The Ertiga wins hands down. The only thing the Mobilio has going for it, is the H insignia it wears. The styling on the Mobilio is a bit too quirky and sort of disproportionate. The Ertiga on the other hand is a handsome looking MPV. Won't win any design awards, but wouldn't want you to gouge your eyes out either. Also, the interiors look much better.

I remember how a colleague said that the Amaze was the most "un-Honda" Honda ever. The Mobilio isn't any different IMHO.

Cheers!
Cartman.