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2021 Maruti Ertiga ownership review: My 3rd Maruti car in 12 years

5th September 2022, 11:32 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

The 1.5L engine is really good. It's smooth till 3000 rpm & gets a little noisy after that but nothing to complain about.

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This is my short review of my Ertiga which I bought 1 year ago. This is not going to be a long review with all details and loads of photos as we already have a T-BHP review for that. I am going to focus on a short and crisp review along with why I love Maruti cars and buy them again and again.

This is my 3rd new Maruti in the last 12 years. First was Dzire Vxi which I bought in June 2009, it's still in the family with more than 75K kms and running absolutely fine. In October 2016, I got Ertiga Vdi (1 gen but new model). After using it for more than 4.5 years & 51K kms, I sold it last year for a great deal to Cars24.

I had bought it for 9.8 Lakhs OTR and when I sold it after 4.5 years, it was due for tire change, battery change, wiper change & a couple of small things. Please note that it was running absolutely fine and had no issues. I never spent more than 7-8 K per year (around 30 K max I spent on service bills in 4.5 years) on that and used to get great mileage with the diesel motor. I was expecting around 6.5 Lakhs but Cars24 offered me 7.5 Lakhs. I was very much surprised and happily gave it. I was very happy with it but sold it for some personal reason.

After 4 months, I was looking for a new car & checked cars like Honda City, Creta, Seltos, Innova, Harrier, Safari etc. City was good but quite low and mainly has the capacity of 4+1 people. Frankly, I didn't like the 5th gen much and I find the 4th gen better, strictly my personal view so don't jump on me. New Creta's looks I didn't like at all, Hyundai designs have been crazy for the last few years for sure. Again my personal opinion.

Seltos was good but I found it to be costly for what it offers for that kind of money. I was not interested in Nexon, Brezza, Kiger, Sonet, etc. after using Ertiga which is a very spacious car for 5 people & carries more in case of need for short distances. I liked Safari and Harrier both but the price was 23+ lakhs for the models I was looking for. Safari is good but not a proper 7-seater after giving so much money. So we kept it on hold.

I also checked Innova. Test drive was done and it was good. When asked about prices, I was blown away completely as the base diesel model was 23 Lakhs, mid-model for 27 Lakhs and the top end was almost 30 Lakhs for manual OTR. Also with all rows up, there is no space for luggage. Plus when you drive Innova, you get the feeling that you are driving an MPV and not a car. Gear lever shakes like old Jeeps when you start the car which is very surprising. It's a little big for city use as well and has a cab-like image too.

So I was not going anywhere for a new car. I always wanted the car to be flexible for my needs. Checked new Ertiga with 2 dealers in Pune. Test drove from both dealers and was very surprised with the super smooth engine and very good suspension. Price was 11.5 Lakhs on road for the top end which is around 45% of the Innova mid variant and less than 40% of the top variant. It does 90% of the things which Innova can do for you and do some things better than Innova.

I checked for delivery and everyone told me minimum waiting of 3-4 months for the top model. Fortunately I checked with Sehgal Motors and they were having one extra car delivered just in time. Fortunately, it was the top-end model and in Grey color which I was looking for. I immediately booked the car by paying 10 K. Got delivery in just 10 days with all formalities done and the car was delivered to me with number plates and Fastag as well. I bargained well with them and got the car for around 11.3 Lakhs on road after negotiating on Insurance and ICICI for a loan (Got 3 k additional discount). Also, got a discount on accessories from MGA like seat covers, spoiler etc.

Now I have used the old Ertiga for almost 5 years and I am using this new one for 1 year. So I am in a good position to tell you the differences and what is good or what is bad. To be honest, Maruti has improved this in every aspect and made it better. The earlier one was good but this is better, in fact much better.

I will list it down point-wise

Space - Earlier was a tight fit as a 7-seater. This one is much better and they have improved space everywhere. Space for the middle row and last row is better now. If you adjust the first 2 rows properly, you can actually sit 3 adults (Average height), one behind each other in 3 rows. Last row is much better now and 3 kids or 2 adults can easily fit in for a couple of hours. It has a better boot too. With all seats up, you can actually fit in 3 small bags. Under tray also you get lots of space to keep small things.
Suspension - This is vastly improved. Earlier one was average but this one is really good. You hardly feel any potholes or bad road inside. My friend who is a BMW and Honda CRV user also appreciated that this car has a very good suspension. That says it all I guess.
Engine - My last one was diesel and this one is petrol, so can't compare. But this 1.5 L engine is really good. It's smooth till 3k rpm, gets a little noisy after that but nothing to complain about. It has sufficient power to carry 5 people + lots of luggage or 7-8 people.
Mileage - I was a little worried but it's giving a very good average. In the city, I get around 14 kmpl and on highways, it easily achieves 19-20 with a light foot. With a heavy foot, it comes down to 17-18. For a 1.5 L engine and 7-seat capacity car, I guess this is really good.
Build quality - Good. I will say it's much better than the previous version and the car felt nicely built. Obviously, it's not a competition with Germans or Europeans, but it's sufficiently good. No rattling issues at all. It scored 3-star safety ratings I guess.
Interiors - This is vastly improved. It's simple yet very elegant. Whoever sat in my car appreciates its simple yet pleasing interiors. Beige Grey color combo actually makes it feel much much better than black. The wooden finish on the dashboard looks really classy and gives it a rich look.
ACC - Till I got this, I was under impression that this is just a marketing gimmick and hardly a useful feature. But ACC in this car works like a charm and I am really happy with it. Currently, I am setting it to 24 degrees and it cools the cabin pretty well. In summers, I set it to 21-22 and it makes the car cool quickly. Dual AC makes things better for rear passengers too. No complaints at all.
Wipers - Really? Yes. Wipers in this new car are really cool and work so silently that you can't hear them at all when they are in use. I just love them. The rear wiper also works well and is easy to use. Could have been a little bigger though.
Looks - Did I miss this? No. This new model looks much much better than earlier. From the front, it looks much better and has some SUV-like elements which make it look good. From the side it's clearly an MPV style but not bad too. Rear could have been a little better actually.

Overall Maruti has done a tremendous job over the old model and they have improved it in all areas. Till now I have not faced a single issue in the last 1 year, not even a small one.

I just love the flexibility this car offers. It's way too flexible for family needs.

My use cases

4 people - Me, wife and 2 kids + lots of luggage. Extremely comfortable. Kids open up hand rest in the rear seat and enjoy it a lot. Lots of leg space for all.
5 people - Above 4 plus my mom + lots of luggage. Very comfortable. No one is complaining.
6 people + Luggage - 5 Adults + 1 kid & luggage is also quite comfortable. Fold down 1 seat from the 3rd row to make space for luggage and you get enough space to carry luggage for 6 people for 5-6 days easily. We have done a Goa trip like this (1100 kms) with good comfort.
My family of 5 + wife's parents - 7 people on board, kids sit on 3rd row. Easily doable for city use for 30-40 mins and saves you from taking another car or 2-wheeler.
8 people including 3 kids have also been done a few times in relatively good comfort. As I said before, you have to adjust the seats properly, that's it.
4-5 people + Airport luggage - With 4-5 people on board and the 3rd row folded, you can carry loads of luggage. You can carry 4 big ones along with 4 small ones.

Maintenance costs

Till now I am done with the first 3 services and one will be shocked to see the costs. The first 2 services were absolutely free and the actual bill was 0. Pick up and drop off was also free.

3rd service was done recently and oil change, filter change & top-ups done for other oils along with other things like tire rotation, multiple checks, cleaning etc. I was expecting a bill of around 5 k but the bill was only 1570 Rs. I was shocked and super happy at the same time, Really happy with my decision to buy Maruti again, and again!

When Maruti launched Ertiga they gave it the name, "LUV". For me, it is "FUV". Here "F" stands for Flexible, Family and Fun. It's really a flexible, true family car and I have fun driving it. I am just loving it.