Maruti Ertiga : In India, where dense traffic makes road space a precious commodity in cities and in parking lots, it almost seems a bit too much to ask for a vehicle that can accommodate a full joint family without, at the same time, being easy to maneuver.
But, silently, it’s the Maruti Ertiga that has been the game changer in this space, and for many the epitome of space, affordability and the in-between.
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The Changing Way We Get Around Town With Our Families
I know, I know: Those summer vacations when the whole extended family somehow piled into a single car? Squashed uncles with knees against their chests, cousins more or less stacked on top of one another and family luggage precariously lashed to the roof rack? We have the good fortune not to live inthose days anymore.”
The idea of family transport in India has evolved drastically over a decade.
The traditional sedan, a Midas touchstone of middle-class success, it proved impractical to a family on the rise.
The pendulum swinging back to a love of multigenerational family home has seen the rise of vehicles that can take grandparent, parent and kids and still fit through packed urban roads.
Maruti Suzuki with its ear to the ground in terms of Indian consumer aspirations, was quick to realize the trend.
The Ertiga was not just another cookie cutter addition to their line-up; it was a well considered answer to evolving family ecosystems.
Beyond seating: what is real space efficiency?
There are plenty of seven-seaters on the market, however most of them are too cramped in the back for anyone unfortunate enough to draw the short straw. The Ertiga goes about this in a different way.
Upon first pushing the middle row forward and stepping into the third row of the Ertiga during a test drive in Gurgaon’s blistering summers, I presumed it would be the standard squeeze.
To my surprise, they fit quite well on my 5’10” frame! It wasn’t anywhere near business-class comfortable, but it was about as good as many adults are likely to get in this price range on short trips — which is to say, not bad.
The magic is in the Ertiga’s smart packaging. The external size of the car is small (4,395mm long), however volume was maximised through the intelligent design to make it roomy.
Thanks to the flat floor in the second row, the middle passenger isn’t forced to straddle an uncomfortable hump. Stadium-style seating helps even third-row passengers feel less cramped, too.
But seat space is only part of the equation. Family travels come with luggage — lots of it.
Boot space with all seats in use is 209 litres – good for a weekend’s worth of soft bags. Fold the third row, and it expands to an enormous 550 litres, putting to shame cars that are much bigger.
Recently, a neighbor loaded his daughter’s dormitory contents — bedding, books, clothes and even a mini fridge — after college let out, and it all fit with surprising room to spare with the second and third rows folded down.
The Equation of the Everyday Economy
This car, the Ertiga, is a genius not just for being cheap on paper, but for being economical in the long run.
Rajesh Sharma, a Pune-based IT professional, 42, replaced his premium hatchback with the Ertiga CNG variant in 2021.
“My fuel cost budget was going through the roof with petrol prices that keep going up and up,” he says. “The Ertiga’s CNG brought it down by almost 60 per cent.”
Forced migration is a phenomenally cryptic. And the numbers tell an amazing story.
The S-CNG version of the car comes with a certified fuel efficiency of 26.08 km/kg and is currently one of the most fuel-efficient CNG-powered cars in its segment. Even the petrol trims with K15C Smart Hybrid engine deliver decent figures at about 20.51 km/l, as certified by ARAI.
But economy involves more than just fuel consumption. The Ertiga benefits from Maruti’s huge service network — with 4000+ service centres across the country, maintenance is hardly ever a pain.
Spare parts are easily available and affordable. Several owners have stated that costs of servicing are around the ₹4,000-6,000 for a standard servicing (much lower than machines from other manufacturers)
Meena Kapoor, a school principal from Jaipur, sums it up, “I have done 3 years and 45,000 km in my Ertiga.”
“I’d say my total upkeep spend till now has been less than ₹25,000, which also includes a major service. “It’s amazing for a car this big.”
Every Day Usability The Little Things Add Up
Family cars get stuck with spills, crumbs, left-behind toys and crayon art on upholstery. The Ertiga’s cabin feels like its been designed with such facts in mind.
The beige interior, which is streaked with dirt more easily than darker hues, makes everything feel open and roomy.
Cloth seats offer a good blend of comfort and functionality due to being less susceptible to spills than many of the more premium alternatives such as leatherette, which can also be uncomfortably hot during Indian summers.
Everywhere you look inside the cabin, thoughtful touches abound. With 12 pone holders and bottle spaces, everyone’s beverages are covered.
And when the going gets wilting, the roof-mounted second-row air conditioning with its very own rotary control keeps even the back and beyond cooing. Front and rear passengers will appreciate the USB charging ports that accept the fact that digital devices have taken over our lives.
One particularly smart design detail is the driver’s left armrest which does not interfere with using the gear lever; a small point but one that subtly improves comfort on long highway drives, for example.
Tech That Serves (Without Surveilling You)
And in an age of dashboard touchscreens that look cool more than they work, the Ertiga is a breath of fresh air.
On the 7-inch SmartPlay Studio infotainment system, you get the basics—smartphone connectivity – including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth streaming and maps.
The screen is responsive and located high up on the dashboard so the driver doesn’t have to take their eyes too far off the road.
But critical functions like climate control do have physical controls, which is important. This is a very realistic’ nod to the days when you had to tap on a touchscreen repeatedly if you wanted faster fan speed while driving.
“When I first sat in the Ertiga, my disappointment was that it did not have all the bells and whistles some of the competition had,” says Vikram Desai, a pharmaceutical rep from Ahmedabad who drives more than 2,000 kilometers a month.
“But after owning it for a year, I’ve come to love the simplicity. Everything is very reliable and I’m not messing around with complicated menus while I’m driving.”
Safety: The One Non-Negotiable If you don’t read any other section here–pay attention to this before anything else: no amount of tips you learn about becoming safe, makes up for a lack of common sense!
Safety should be the priority when it comes to family cars, an attribute at which the Ertiga excels without crossing the premium pricing border.
The basic safety kit comprises of dual airbags and ABS with EBD, while higher variants will get features like electronic stability program, hill hold assist (in automatic options) ISOFIX anchor for the child seat.
The rigid HEARTECT platform ensures stability and strength, which results in low mass for better fuel efficiency.
Additional airbags would be a next step we’d love to see in future versions, but what’s included here is enough to do the job on a fundamental level at this asking price.
The reverse parking camera adds to the confidence and guides in parking in congested parking spots, a common scene on Indian roads. Censure The BBS–warning system is stable and offers an optimal visual and audible alarm.
Driving Dynamics: Remarkably Car-Like
One of the Ertiga’s biggest selling points is just how much it does to make itself feel smaller around the driver — putting the focus on what you see and touch in the cabin rather than the practical aspects of a three-row MPV.
Light steerage makes darting around the city a cinch, but it even returns reasonable feel on the freeway.
With a turning circle of only 5.2 meters (it doesn’t even feel that much bigger than many smaller hatchbacks) negotiating U-turns or small car-packed car parks is a boon.
Down the order, you get the 1.5-litre K15C motor which makes 103PS and 137Nm of torque and doesn’t have you winning drag races, but still offers sufficient grunt for the given situation.
The mild hybrid system pulls harder on acceleration, offering some welcome torque when the van is loaded to the gills.
It comes very handy to it, a 5-speed manual transmission, too, that does exacting shifts, at the same time, holding some in stop-and-go traffic under notice than usual.
For mostly city driving, the 6-speed auto with paddle shifters deserves a look, with smooth shifts and adequate reactions.
Ownership Experience – Beyond The Spec sheet
Specs and features only tell you so much. It is after all, how well a family vehicle proves itself through ownership that matters most.
Deepak Agarwal, a Lucknow-based small business owner, recently surpassed 70,000 kms in his 2019 Ertiga. “[I appreciate it most for] its reliability,” he says.
“Whether it’s a short trip to the market or a 700-kilometer drive to Delhi with my old parents, I never think my car will disappoint me.”
This is a popular sentiment across owner forums and social media groups. The Ertiga is simple mechanically which adds to its reliability- less complicated systems result in less places that it can fail.
Naturally, the experience of getting your car (& servicing it) from a Maruti dealer, taking advantage of it’s widespread reach, is usually a pleasant one.
Servicing wait times are typically short and for popular loan amount and loan tenure options, those who qualify can actually expect very competitive rates from Maruti Suzuki Financial Services.
Room for Improvement
No car is without a few flaws, and recognising the Ertiga’s limitations gives us a balanced view.
NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) characteristics, though better compared to the earlier generations, allow some road and engine noise to invade the cabin on higher speeds. More insulation to keep out the noise would add to the luxury ambiance.
A few plastics touch points, mainly in lower trims, are utilitarian rather than upmarket. The interior atmosphere would feel more upper crust if there were additional soft-touch materials.
The third row is usable, but it doesn’t offer under-thigh support for adults on longer rides — something that’s not uncommon in this segment but one future redesigns could fix with different-seat padding and angles.
Is Treadquieter Worth It?
Even compared to more expensive rivals in the segment, the Ertiga makes a strong case for itself because space in this class tends to come at a premium.
It begins at around ₹8.35 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes all the way up to ₹13.40 lakh for top-end trims, offering essential family-oriented amenities without getting premium at the pocket.
The Ertiga is not only a value for money proposition when you buy it but over its life including fuel efficiency, maintenance and residual values all help in making it a good total cost of ownership story.
And in the sense of being a practical mode of transport that won’t break the bank for growing families, the Ertiga still makes a strong case.
It’s not the sexiest thing on the road, but it does a heck of a job at what it’s supposed to do, which is to get everyone together in a comfortable, reliable, economical manner.
Ultimately the Maruti Ertiga is not just a family mover, it is a family emancipator. And now and then, that is the most meaningful luxury of all.
