Maruti Ertiga pros & cons — What makes this MPV the best selling car in its class?

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the best selling 7 seater car in India, and has been so for years now. Maruti sells an average over 16,700 units of the Ertiga every month, considering the data of the past six months. What makes the Ertiga so popular? Here are some of the Maruti Ertiga pros & cons.

Maruti Ertiga pros

Only CNG 7-seater MPV

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the only car in its segment that gets the option of a factory-fitted CNG kit, apart from the Toyota Rumion, obviously, but they are basically the same cars. The Maruti XL6 does get a CNG option, but it can be specced as a six-seater only. The Ertiga CNG brings in huge sales numbers for Maruti, especially from commercial buyers.

Fuel efficiency

Being a Maruti Suzuki, the Ertiga is naturally a very fuel efficient car, with claimed fuel efficiency figures of 20.51kmpl with petrol manual variants, 20.30kmpl with petrol automatic variants, and 26.11km/kg with Ertiga CNG variants. 

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Practicality

The Maruti Ertiga aces the practicality quotient with seven seats, a fairly spacious boot, and ground clearance of 185 millimetres (Maruti could even market it as an SUV if it wanted to). This makes it suitable for both commercial and private users, along with providing it the capability to take on rough roads with ease. There’s tons of space inside the cabin, too.

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Comfortable ride

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga isn’t just a people mover, but also a comfortable one at that. The seats provide good cushioning, the suspension complements this, and amenities like roof-mounted air-conditioning vents add to the comfort factor. You can have a look through some used Maruti Ertiga cars in India if you're looking to buy one.

Maruti Ertiga cons

No turbo-petrol or diesel engine

This is a common problem among most Maruti cars in India; the lack of a turbo-petrol or a diesel engine. While rivals like the Kia Carens offer multiple powertrain options with various engine and gearbox combinations, the Ertiga has a single petrol engine that comes paired to either a manual transmission or a torque converter. 

Missing features

The Ertiga misses out on quite some features, especially the base LXi variant, which is among the top selling Maruti Ertiga variants. The said variants does not get rear AC vents (in a seven-seater!), height adjustment for the driver’s seat, front armrest, turn indicators on ORVMs, rear defogger, and more such features that are must-haves today.

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Wide usage as taxis

The widespread utilisation of Ertigas as cabs and taxis has resulted in prospective private buyers moving away from the MPV and shifting to competitors that are less common in the commercial sector. While the XL6 can emerge as an alternative in this case, it does not come with the option of a seven-seater.