MPV replacement for my Honda WR-V: Buy the Maruti Ertiga or XL6?

• The Ertiga can be used as a spacious 5-seater, while the same isn’t possible with the XL6.
• Ertiga ZXI+
• Xl6 Zeta

The Ertiga can be used as a spacious 5-seater, while the same isn’t possible with the XL6.

BHPian SuperGirl_Dad recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I’ve been a silent reader for more than a decade of this wonderful forum. Happy to be part of it. This will be my intro & upgrade thread to keep things short and simple. So here goes.

Choosing between Ertiga ZXi+ AT vs XL6 Zeta AT for a family of 5.

These two are models with similar ex showroom price.

• Background: Need to replace a flawless Honda diesel WRV. 5 years, 75k run and only replaced due to need for bigger car as travelling with family is increasing.
• History: Premier Padmini (sold), Fiat Palio (sold), Preowned Brio AT (Sold), WRV, City AT. We keep cars for long, both the fiats were with us for 9 years. Brio for 7 years.
• Usage: 60% city and 40% highway
• Occupancy: 75% max 5 and 25% full house (7 including children).
• Need: 1000kms+ road trip are becoming more frequent. Driving in 2 cars is taking fun out. Usual suspects Munnar, Kodai and Valparai.
• Boot: Must accommodate 2 carry on size suitcases, 2 duffle bags and a 25 L thermos watercan on road trips. 2 check in and 2 carry on size luggages for airport dropoffs with last row folded.
• Budget: Max 20L (including exchange of WRV). The more we save better. Will use for international vacation rather than spend on a depreciating asset. Already had 2 vacation this year from money saved from no travel for last 2 years .

Family says should be easy to drive for 60+ youngster – AT is mandatory, period. Diesel not considered this time due to BS6 mess. Will be primarily driven by 60+ youngster. Will be replacement for both WRV manual and Brio AT (sold), so for city and highway usage.

Should have got the BRV auto back in the day, but so much for auto box with low FE those days. Atleast BRV is 3*** with stable body structure, sigh. Diesel WRV was tantalizing with mileage. It does give 16 in city traffic and 23 highway.

Others options considered:

Forced to choose between these two as Marazzo (4****) doesn’t come with automatic. If only this came with TC AT box and petrol options, it would be straight pick, another sigh. This travelogue kindled our memories from 2014 family road trip we had on a rented innova, hence the need to upgrade. Thank you kbishwa for sharing this wonderful log!

Almost lateral upgraded to Marazzo in 2021, thanks to member hserus. One test drive out of the showroom, all turned sour:

Too many complaints:

• Left leg started complaining
• 60+ youngster complained post driving
• Random autowalla trailing us complained for stalling the car in narrow road city traffic

That was that, no more manuals. Especially when we want to replace a manual. The clutch was different and we couldn’t adjust in the short city drive. No ESP, step motherly treatment from manufacturer.

Carens – almost perfect car, but sadly not considered as same 3*** as Ertiga twins but want to stick to clock work service.

Servicing is important:

Incident 1: Chose Palio over Swift for the superior drive and European build at that time. Serviced fiat in TATA more than at Fiat service center. Fifth year into owing Fiat, no dealers started accepting this car due to unavailability/long wait time of spares. Was best man for a cousin wedding, so had to drive him to the wedding hall. Prepped car, ordered online parts and serviced at FNG, wash and polished. This car came with a notorious reverse gear lock which had to be lifted to prevent accidental reverse engagement. Had changed this very part during service. D-day, drove to the hall with the groom and I over shot the wedding hall entrance by 20 ms. No biggie right, one can reverse 20 m. Nope, car had other plans. This supposedly superior build car reverse gear would not engage . Now I’m stuck with the bridegroom and everyone is signaling me to reverse. I hit the gas and zoomed fast forward, drove across the entire block took three rights and dropped him safely back at the entrance to a sea of bewildered and angry faces. I reasoned we shouldnt reverse into a marriage hall to avoid the angry faces greeting us.

Incident 2: 2015 Chennai floods. Gave car for service at FNG. Couldn’t get car back in time, with water level rising had to drive brio in more than knee deep water to escape city. Also showed importance of higher GC, Hence replaced Fiat with WRV rather than Jazz.

These showed the importance of a manufacturer who could support and service cars through its expected life span (atleast 10 years). No more falling to perceived superior tech/build and not able to service 5 years down the line.

Have experienced Fiesta hatch DCT for 3 years. Fast and slick gear shifts is nice, but had experienced juddering (1st to 2nd and back) in long slow traffic and gear selection confusion at particular instances. Reliability or the lack of it was always running at back of your mind.

• DCT on a turbo petrol vs vanilla TC Ertiga is déjà vu Palio vs Swift moment.

• Triber 4**** – no AMT head bobbing and last row sits on rear bumper and does not get retractable seatbelts.

• Hexa – no good samples, too long and post warranty

• Innova Crysta – Too long for city usage, and nope, cannot sell kidney for a new one now. Exceed 20L set budget.

• XUV 5***** – excellent offering, but how difficult was it to add a 200 litre boot? After experiencing XUV 500 rentals, how will it hold up in the long run is questionable. Did anyone mention waiting period?

Any other good options that is missed out? What do Honda car owners upgrade to? No sign of new Honda BRV. No new safe MUVs lined up for people love travelling in groups. In the 15-20 L there is severe dearth of safe family cars. Even Ertiga twins will be downgrade in terms of absolute safety (3***) but will get ESP for active avoidance in this case.

Before anyone suggest renting bigger cars for road trips:

• The most fun we ever had was 2014 family road trip on rented carzonrent Innova.
• But from 2015 it all went down hill.
• 2017: Xuv500 – no working rear AC.
• 2018: Xuv500 – no working AC – cancelled trip;
• 2019: Scorpio with side facing seat was sent instead of innova – returned and drove in 2 cars. From then on – no more abused rental.

Mind says do the lateral upgrade to BRV/Innova auto, even now, but family is not happy with odo tampered second hand market.

So finally two chosen options:

Ertiga ZXI+

Positives:

• Reverse camera
• Can be used as spacious 5 seater with a big boot
• Good for airport runs.

Xl6 Zeta

Positives:

• Fatter 195 tyres,
• LED lights: +ve in rain?

Technical Queries:

1. Member Leoshashi mentioned post suspension change his old XL6 has transformed. Is the suspension setup between these two cars same or different? Will 195/R16 in ertiga make the ride quality worse?
2. How is the braking between the two, Is Xl6 better due to fatter rubber?
3. What is the point of # of stars if no 7 seater comes with 7 head restraints and seat belts (except Crysta). Its appalling in this day even after GNCAP recommendation manufacturers are not providing it. Even our youngest is taught to buckle and in car seat before car starts rolling.
4. Ertiga in middle east is offered with 7 seat belts and head restraints.
5. Is it feasible as a DIY or any new member needs to be added? Can member Leoshashi please provide part number for these?
6. Ertiga ZXi+ has UV cut glass? Xl6 has reverse camera? – no mention of both in brochure.
7. Can the airport run with 5 members and 2 full suitcases be done with XL6, how do owners manage? Ideal combo would be XL6 with 7 seats, but that doesn’t exist.

Here’s what BHPian unpopularxplorer had to say on the matter:

Proud owner of Ertiga vxi cng since last 2 years (nov 2020 registered). 56K on the odo. Based on the requirements, I would suggest Ertiga over XL6.

60:40 split middle row seats are better than the 2 captain seats considering your requirements. Three days back, I had no other chance but to sleep in the car and the middle row 60 split really helped. I have transported tables, cycle, foldable sofa and what not. I doubt XL6 would have given me that flexibility.

Talking about the halogen vs LEDs, the only thing I miss is DRL that too for a better appearance. Halogens on the Ertiga are great, I have drove it in rain, extreme rain, fog, sandstorm, you name it.

3. Recently changed the tyres to yokos ( same profile) and I have never felt that the tyres are not wide. Sometimes I feel bad when I see my friends having R16 and R17! My Ertiga has been to Spiti, Leh, Umlingla (extremes) and almost every month on the Delhi- Chandigarh highway and EPE/WPE. I usually cruise around 90-120kmph with good confidence on the break.

4. Last year I did a 5 days long trip to Vaishno Devi with my family 6 adults, 2 kids. We packed small bags, everything fit well with the CNG cylinder in the boot, we had some inconvenience but nobody was really upset, it was manageable.

On a trip to Mashobra, we folded the last row, 4 full size trolleys fit well with 2 backpacks!

5. On most of the trips, I plan only with 3+1 occupants and it feels super comfortable (minus the features and luxury).

Go for it, if CNG is available consider CNG. On highways, I get a FE of 180-190kms/tank. A full tank costs ~600-650.

For petrol, FE ranging from 13-17kmpl (highway). I am always hard on the peddle. Never got a chance and never bothered for city mileage (perks of CNG)

Refined 6 speed TC will surely give you more than 15kmpl on highways.

Here’s what BHPian TorqMaster had to say on the matter:

I test drove the Ertiga and XL6. I bought xl6 in 2021. If Ertiga provided to me what xl6 gave me back then, i would have bought the ertiga.

The Ertiga is a 7 seater and the XL6 is a 6 seater which may feel slightly more comfortable for 3rd passengers since there is ample space to move their legs if needed.

2021 XL6 has been outmatched by 2022 ertiga . (Cruise control, apple carplay, reverse camera etc).

5 people + 2 full suitcases can fit in XL6 or ertiga provided one of the third row seat is folded flat and the two suitcases are laid one on top of another.

For an all adult combo i think ertiga maybe better since if someone wants to lie down the second row seat maybe better (bench).
XL6 has captain seats but feels claustrophobic due to black color insides. Ertiga fees airy with beige and brown.

XL6 can be preferred over ertiga for ease of maintenance of interiors (with children spilling food or moving between rows of seats if they are bored). Also its got bigger wheels and LED lights (best in budget but to be careful in rains) and other such gimmicks.

Here’s what BHPian bijims had to say on the matter:

Had it not been for the almost 2.5 lakh price difference between the Kia Carens Prestige Plus 1.4 Turbo DCT 7 seater over the XL6 Zeta AT and Ertiga ZXI AT, the Carens would definitely have been my pick. But considering the cost savings, better mileage. service and spare parts availability that comes along with Maruti cars, going for either of the Marutis is definitely a good financial decision.

Now coming to the Marutis, I definitely don’t have an outright pick as in the Ertiga you get the flexibility of moving 7 people at the same time, reverse camera and the ability to fold all the seats down if required for additional cargo space.

However, if these are not important, the XL6 too has its fair share of advantages like the comfortable captain seats which are excellent for long trips, especially for the elderly. A slightly more wider, longer (although wheelbase is the same) and taller cabin against the Ertiga, 195/60 R16 tyres over the 185/65 R15 of the Ertiga. Tilt and telescopic steering over just the tilt function in Ertiga, LED Headlights,DRLs and foglamps over halogens on the Ertiga.

The XL6 is positioned as a more premium version of the Ertiga and if the feature additions are enticing to you over the 7 seater ability and reverse camera functionality of the Ertiga, you may go with it, Else the Ertiga is definitely a good choice for what it offers.

Here’s what BHPian dkaile had to say on the matter:

My brother just completed a Delhi to Allahabad road trip on our XL6 Zeta detailed here.

He said it was the most comfortable car driven by him in recent times with zero fatigue. This is coming from a previous Toyota Fortuner owner. FE was consistently between 17~18kmpl maybe due to the Agra and Lucknow Expressways, both of which are brilliant. The luxury quotient of the XL6 is much higher than the Ertiga and if you do not need to carry 7 passengers consistently than the default choice should be the XL6. Hope that helps.

Keyword: MPV replacement for my Honda WR-V: Buy the Maruti Ertiga or XL6?