Maruti Ertiga price and more against Mahindra Xylo MPVs
The Ertiga gets all the MPV basics right. It has three rows of seats, can seat seven and it comes with a small, efficient diesel engine. Also, its monocoque construction promises much in terms of car-like comfort and driving manners. The cabin design is similar to the Swift’s, which means quality is good, and the small dimensions mean it will be easy to park and punt around town.
Its mouth-watering price of R8.45 lakh makes it all the more desirable and, combined with Maruti’s wide service network, it’s a package that’s hard to beat.
PERFORMANCE
The Ertiga is powered by a very small 1.3-litre diesel engine. It does make a healthy 89bhp though, and this is the same engine that does duty in cars like the Linea, SX4 and Manza. The Xylo, on the other hand, uses a much bigger 2.2-litre unit that produces 120bhp, a massive 31bhp more than the Ertiga, and it also makes 8kgm more pulling power.
It doesn’t take long to realise that the Ertiga is not the easiest car to drive in the city. There is quite a lot of throttle lag below 2,000rpm and you need to keep changing gears to dart around in traffic. A full complement of seven passengers on board further accentuates this drawback. Once past 2000rpm though, the turbo kicks in and there is a sudden burst of acceleration, and this also makes it quite tricky to drive. It gets better on the highway though, and displays enough grunt for reasonably rapid
