The Common Man's MUV

The Common Man's MUV

Describing itself as LUV, the Ertiga definitely made the owners fall in love with it. Considering the price at which it is on sale and features of the car, it can be named as the Common Man's MUV. Now, coming to the model I own that is the base variant - LXi. We purchased the car from Vitesse showroom at Worli, Mumbai and also got some accessories which basically upgraded the variant to the next one, considering few exclusions. Lets start with the colour options. The car is available in various color options. We chose the one that suits it the best - Pearl Blue. Interiors include good plastic parts which match with the color of your car. The car is not that huge that it can be compared to a proper SUV. The point is it is a MUV. But still very spacious. It can easily accomodate 6 to 7 people and even 8 people if there are kids. in the front row, immense legroom for the driver and the passenger. It also has a good head room which many of the cars in the same segment and price range miss out. In the front, there are lots of spaces to keep your things and that is the most convenient part of the car. There is space to keep your coffee, retractable glass/cold drink holder, a special long and slim shelf in front of the passenger seat for keeping your cell phone, space to keep your sunglasses and valet coupons too! The second row is as spacious as the first row with good head room. The third row however, is a little compact as compared to the first two. But it is perfect for kids or even if you have luggage, the seats come down and thereby giving you all the space needed. The power steering is effective and sharp. The air-conditioning is very good. I have been using the car since three years and never any problem has come with regards to the AC.In the higher variants, you get rear AC vents for even better cooling. The boot with third row seats up is small but it can fit 1-2 luggage bags standing upright. Power windows and mirrors work perfectly even after three years. The rear window/windscreen is big and wide enough to get a clear view. The 1400cc engine churns out about 91 bhp and the power comes in at a very low rpm, especially i the petrol variant. This makes the car accelerate very quickly and making you feel the inertia. I have taken the car to speeds upto 160 kmph after which you feel the vibrations. But for a MUV it is quite decent.The mileage in city is lower than expected. However, on highways you can easily get between 14-18 kmpl in the petrol variant. the ground clearance is superb! I have not had any nasty bumps till date. Which brings me to the suspension, which is very smartly designed and helps the car jump potholes and speed breakers with ease. The breaking is also very good without ABS. The higher variants come with ABS and Airbags. On the exterior, it has the curvy looks with nice edges, good head lamps and fog lamps and a flatback making it a proper wagon. The only drawbacks I feel about the Ertiga are: 1. The metal quality. It is not very cheap but not good either. 2. The vibrations on high speeds and lot of body roll. But for the price that it bears, it is definitely a good buy. I would suggest new buyers to look for the CNG variant. It is similar to the normal plus extremely economical.