Maruti Suzuki’s people mover Ertiga, the only MPV in its line-up, is at present powered by the 1.3L DDiS diesel mill sourced from Fiat, just like all the other diesel powered cars in the portfolio. This engine does duty not just in Maruti cars but also on a host of other manufacturer cars.
The amalgamation of a common rail fuel injection with an intercooled turbo charger helps in churning out a handsome amount of torque without losing out much on fuel efficiency. This 1.3L DDIS motor returns a mileage of 20.77 kmpl while in the Ciaz it gives an industry leading 26.21 kmpl.
The best part of this tried and tested engine has been its reliability but one place where it falls short is its not-so-impressive performance on the 7-seater Ertiga. Clearly the lack of power and torque owing to a smaller engine becomes evident big time when you are fully loaded specially on an incline….
Just yesterday, we have talked about Suzuki’s new 1.5L diesel engine being in its advanced stages of development and the same report on Economic Times also reports that the first car getting this new engine may be the updated Ertiga.
Considering that the major emphasis will be on the Indian market, we believe Suzuki may be benchmarking Honda’s 1.5L i-DTEC, not because it is an ideal engine (is is not!) but the way it has been tuned for our markets. Taking this into mind, this 4 cylinder engine (an offshoot of a new 1.6L motor for Europe) may produce power between 110-120 bhp and a torque output of about 220-240Nm on the Ertiga.
This would mean a more powerful, torquey Ertiga along with a more justifying motor for the people mover. The next question which I am sure will be bugging your mind – When is the updated Ertiga with this new engine launching…?
The simple answer is ‘Not Soon’! The mass production of this engine is still sometime away and hence, we can expect the Ertiga update with this 1.5L indigenous diesel engine launching sometime in 2016. This same engine will also find application on other Maruti Suzuki cars, possibly the updated Ciaz, S-Cross and XA-Alpha, depending upon how it pans out…
Related: Maruti Ciaz Launched at Rs 6.99 lakhs; Variants, Pics & All Details
