When Maruti first launched Ertiga, it had more than one factor in its favour for it to be a success. For starters, it was priced below an entry point of Rs. 6 lakh mark for petrol variants and the diesel variants undercut the segment leader, Innova by a huge difference.
Innova’s pricing started around Rs.10 lakh and Ertiga’s diesel engines were priced starting from Rs.7.43 lakhs. It won not only on the price front but also had a neatly packaged compartment. It offered three rows for seating, which was more than your regular hatch and the third row could seat decent sized adults. All this when it was way smaller in size than an Innova.
It was compactness combined with a spacious cabin all packaged in a neat deal. The car was a runaway success and within a few days of its launch, started commanding waiting periods of over 6 months.
Today, Ertiga is the number 1 MUV in India and sells more than other similar cars including the Innova. Ertiga has been awarded “Family Car Of The Year 2012” by Top Gear India. The magazine appreciates the car for creating an altogether a new segment of Compact Utility vehicles .
The car drives like a hatch (well almost), has the compactness of a hatch and has a kerb weight quite similar to a small car and provides an almost similar fuel efficiency. Ertiga is promoted by Maruti as LUV, which full forms to Life Utility Vehicle. Ertiga has sure managed to catch fancy of urban families looking for that extra third row combined with the drivability and suspension of a hatchback, making it a breeze to be used in and around the city.
The Family Car Of The Year 2012 award was received by Mr. CV Raman, Executive Director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki from Mr S Sandilya, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) at the award ceremony. Ertiga has sold over 55,000 units within just months of its launch and has been a roaring success for the company.
Also, it was never made as a taxi like the Innova or the Xylo, hence the image of the car remained in-tact and the buyers do not hesitate in choosing this car over a few others. It never became a commercial vehicle and maintained its appeal as a family car.
Ertiga is available with a 1.3 litre Fiat Multijet diesel avatar or a 1.4 litre K-Series petrol engine which made its debut in India. The third row can be folded down to make space for rear passengers. What remains to be seen is for how long can they maintain this lead, since we have many manufacturers gunning for this segment, Chevrolet with the upcoming Enjoy for one!
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Richie Rich
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