2019 Maruti Ertiga: 3 years & 30,000 km ownership experience

People say that the car’s automatic transmission is slow but I have no complaints about it.

BHPian Zeek recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My 2019 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Auburn Red Ertiga ZXI AT completes 30000 km in ~3.5 years, and it’s been a pleasure driving and owning the car.

The intention of buying a 7 seater was present from 2015. While I had saved up some money for Innova, this money, however, was used as a down payment to purchase a flat! So I had to postpone the car purchase decision by a few years.

Fast forward to 2019, the requirements for a 7 seater were made clear.

Absolute must-haves

• 7 seater with usable 3rd row
• Automatic
• ESP

Cars considered

• Toyota Innova: Costs ~28+ Lakhs OTR
• Tata Hexa: Ticked most boxes except for AT + ESP, Hexa has ESP only for the manual
• Mahindra XUV 500: Love at first sight, 20L+ OTR
• Mahindra Marazzo: No AT
• Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

Given that other cars were expensive, it was decided that it would be either Ertiga or the decision would be postponed. I was ready to do full advance payment to get the car delivered at the earliest.

Showroom & test drive experience

As our first car Alto, was purchased from RNS, Hubli, the first preference was given to RNS, Yeshwantpur, Bangalore. While it was made clear that I would do the full payment in advance, the folks at RNS were least bothered to answer any queries, and kept insisting that I take a loan and they even started to ask questions on my salary, etc. I was told that the waiting period would be 4+ months. With a poor experience, we left the showroom.

Next, we went to Kalyani Motors, Bannerghatta road. We drove the manual Ertiga, I sat in the last row while my father drove the car. First impressions were positive. The showroom folks agreed to deliver the car at the earliest, with the assurance, I wrote a cheque for the full amount and left. After this, the showroom folks went silent, days passed by and there was zero communication, I didn’t even get the printed invoice, no confirmation on the booking / processing etc. The irresponsibility bothered us, we went back to the showroom and collected the cheque back.

Next, I called up Mandovi motors, Basaveshwar Nagar. I didn’t negotiate on the price or on the accessories, and it was made clear that there is no preference for color. None of the showrooms had AT for the test drive, took a leap of faith and went ahead with the full advance payment for ZXI AT. As the car would be driven by multiple folks, the height-adjustable driver seat would be a blessing. Within a couple of days of booking, I did the PDI and gave a nod for registration. The good folks agreed to deliver the car in a week and they did!

BS4 Auburn Red Ertiga ZXI AT was home.

Price break up

• Ex-Showroom: Rs 995689
• Road tax: Rs 154732
• Registration: Rs 1811
• Insurance: Rs 38932 (Dealer quoted, 1+3 Years)
• Extended warranty: Rs 16909
• Fastag: Rs 500
• Final price: Rs 1208573

Good things

• Easy on the pocket, 12L OTR Bangalore.

Engine, transmission & drive

• Peppy 1.5L engine and feels like a car to drive.
• Reliable 4 speed TC AT, while a lot of reviews are of the opinion that it’s dated and slow. Practically, I have zero complaints about the AT box.
• Having driven with 7 adults + luggage over Bangalore – Mangalore – Karwar – Dharwad over highways, twisties, bad roads etc, the Torque converter AT box copes up well.
• The AT box is a smooth-shifting one, and tall gearing ratios ensure adequate power delivery.
• When the accelerator pedal is pressed hard, the car would downshift if necessary.
• Superb mile muncher and a highway cruiser. We generally use the car for most of our outstation trips.
• The relaxed mannerisms of the car allow for effortless cruising. On multiple occasions, I have driven over these routes with zero fatigue.
• ~600kms of Ghats and 4 lane highways of Gokarna – Udupi – Mangalore – Sakleshpur – Bangalore covered in a one day.
• Height adjustable seats for the driver and rake adjustment for the steering supports multiple driving and seating preferences.
• Ample ground clearance, passes over notorious humps with ease.

Interiors

• Spacious cabin with usable 3rd row, after folding 2nd and 3rd seats, the car easily swallows enormous amounts of luggage.
• Adjustable 2nd row seats, if folks on 3rd row complain about space, just slide the second row seats forward!
• Easy ingress and egress, grandparents find it very easy to get in and out.
• Beige interiors add to the roomy feel.
• Stock seat fabric is comfortable and offers good cushioning and support, I haven’t added any seat covers.
• Large bottle holders on the doors.
• 12V power socket available at all rows.

Things that could have been better

• 45-litre fuel tank is small, a 60 litre would have been better.
• With AT, the fuel efficiency is around 12kmpl, I always end up refuelling the car ~400kms mark.
• Better sound insulation, the road noise at highway speeds creep into the cabin.
• No reverse camera for the ZXI AT. Manual ZXI+ gets it.
• Option of a touch screen HU, ZXI AT gets an age-old HU.
• Removing the spare tyre is a pain.
• Option of getting wrapped steering wheel.
• Option of UV cut glasses for the window panes.
• Option of adding speakers to 3rd row.

Things I absolutely hate

• The second row AC is a cooler unit, as a family, we like to keep the AC at 24deg+, with just the cooling function, the second-row occupants keep complaining about the chilled air.

Additions & accessories

• Nomad Noodles mat from 3M JP Nagar: This cost ~11k. The mats trap small stones and dust quite well. While the local shops quoted less for similar kinds of mats, I wasn’t sure about the fungal growth. The 3M website said it inhibits fungal growth, so blindly went ahead and I am happy with the purchase.
• Reverse camera and display: The preference was to get the camera under the number plate, none of the showroom / service centre folks was ready to procure and install. The touch screen HU from Sony wasn’t up to my requirements, and I didn’t want to go for unbranded after-market accessories for display. With these constraints, during the first service, installed a Maruti accessory for ~8K. The bumper was drilled and the camera was installed. The camera had poor wide-angle coverage and it only started to cover the area after a meter. This was a poor purchase and didn’t serve the purpose. After lots of searching, Blaupunkt had the camera I was looking for. Replaced the Maruti camera with it. Thanks to Procrj posts. Learnt about Mr. Suresh from The Bass club, Devegowda petrol bunk, Bangalore. Mr. Suresh helped install the camera. The camera didn’t fit in the slot provided, so an adjacent hole was made and the camera was installed. As the wiring harness was all installed, swapping the camera was quite easy.
• Upgraded Second row speakers to Polk DB 652 Coaxials from The Bass club: These sound ok, the front row OEM pack a better punch, I won’t recommend these to folks who prefer bass.

Planned upgrades

• Damping and Sound insulation: Having seen Leoshashi’s post on Sound insulation and Damping, I am tempted to do this, however, I am searching for trustworthy folks who can do this in Bangalore.
• Steering wheel wrap
• HU with Android auto / Apple car play
• 360 deg cam setup

Parts replaced under warranty

• ISG motor
• Engine bedding (RH)

All in all, Ertiga ZXI AT is a good machine.

Few pictures of The Mile Muncher.

At the Shell petrol Bunk, Outside Hubli, Karnataka

On the scenic Kanakapura road

Keyword: 2019 Maruti Ertiga: 3 years & 30,000 km ownership experience