Maruti Suzuki India Limited has named its upcoming MPV as Ertiga, as per Autocar India Editor Hormazd Sorabjee. The Ertiga has been developed on the Maruti R3 concept which was first displayed at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi India. The Maruti Ertiga is a seven seater MPV designed and developed in India by Maruti Research and Development department and has been undergoing testing for quite some time now.
All-new K14 petrol engine will make its debut in the Ertiga. This is the largest version of the K-series yet and as a result, the power and torque figures are much higher. The 1372cc VVT motor makes a decent 95bhp and torque should be as high as 13kgm. Also on the cards is a diesel engine, the same Fiat-designed, 1.3-litre Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT)-equipped 89bhp DDiS motor from the SX4.
The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is a front-wheel drive vehicle and has been designed to drive like a car. The wheelbase and ground clearance both have been kept amply high for good ride quality even on bad roads of India with fully loaded car. The interiors are similar to the new Swift and are given the beige treatment to induce a feeling of premium. However, there is no electronic climate control in the Ertiga, not even on the top-end ZDi and ZXi variants. Nonetheless, there is a roof-mounted blower to cool the second and third rows.
Maruti’s first ever diesel engined MPV model will be priced within a Rs 6-9 lakh range which will make it an attractive buy for most of the MPV buyers along with the reliable Maruti technology and service network. Maruti Ertiga MPV will be directly competing agianst Mahindra Xylo, Sumo Grande and the Toyota Innova.
While Maruti hasn’t revealed anything more about the Ertiga MPV, the MPV will be launched sometime in the middle of 2012 with an unveiling scheduled to happen most probably at the upcoming 2012 Indian Auto Expo.
Also see – Spied – Maruti Suzuki R3 dropped camouflage
Source – AutoCarIndia
