Comparison: Maruti Suzuki Ertiga vs Toyota Innova - The Inevitable Competitors

comparison: maruti ertiga vs toyota innova reviewed

Maruti Suzuki has entered the multi-purpose vehicle market with the launch of its Ertiga MPV at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. The new Ertiga kick starts a new compact premium UV (utility vehicle) segment in India and will soon be joined by Chevrolet, Mahindra and others. So before the new players join the party let’s compare the pioneer of the mini MPV class, Ertiga with the ruling boss of this segment, the new Toyota Innova.

Pitching the new Ertiga (which means three rows in Indonesian language) against the recently facelifted Toyota Innova seems odd since they don’t belong to the same segment and are targeted at a different set of customer base. But going by the lack of options for MPV buyers in our automobile market the Ertiga vs Innova duel won’t feel out of place. The Utility Vehicle (UV= MPV + SUV) segment accounts for around 14 per cent of the total sale of vehicles in India and a 66 per cent of these are Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPV), the segment where Ertiga is positioned.

(Checkout a detailed pictorial comparison between Ertiga and Innova below).

Innova has been ruling Indian hearts for many years due to its proven reliability and workhorse powerplant. Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga is new but coming from the stable of India’s largest automobile manufacture gives it a certain halo of trust in the eyes of masses. Though an MPV, the Ertiga has a very car-like styling and stance. The front resembles a buffed up Ritz hatchback while the peeled-back headlights are reminiscent of the new Swift which along with the pronounced wheel arches and a strong rising shoulder line gives it a bold stance. The rear has a distinct design with Honda Jazz like tail light. But it can still be easily identified from behind as a Maruti product with its trademark centrally located stop lamp at the bottom of the bumper.

With the launch of its Ertiga, Maruti not only intends to attract a new class of customers into its fold but also expects to take away many of the Toyota buyers who used to shop in the ‘Innova market’. Now that’s easier said than done. Ertiga does not make a style statement like say the Fluidic Hyundai but its appeal lies in the neutral ‘please all’ design and that’s what is going to help it be the choice of the whole family. So let’s try to decipher the new Ertiga while not forgetting what Innova has to offer.

Ertiga vs Innova: Target Base.

Photo: Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Front Side Exterior View

Toyota Innova is designed to move 7 people in comfort and can accommodate the 8th passenger in times of need. That’s one of the reasons what makes it a hit in the taxi segment as well as for personal use. Checkout Ertiga and you’ll find that it’s built to enable 6 people (4 adults + 2 kids) to travel together in peace and can still find space for one more rider if required. So what set of customers is Maruti Suzuki aiming at with its new MPV? Answer is - a conventional Indian middle class family with an average income and in need of space for 1 or 2 more people than what a usual hatchback or sedan can accommodate. Generally speaking, a complete family normally consists of 5 or 6 members: Parents (2) in age group 55-75yrs, self and spouse (age 25-45) and their 2 offspring’s (age 5-15). Till now people of this segment had to either choose a large 3 row SUV (15-20lakh) or had to stretch their budget to atleast the Innova territory. So with launch of Ertiga, Maruti intends to hit the sweet spot of Indian customers looking for a MUV at a price of a mid-size sedan.

Ertiga vs Innova: Structural Advantage.

Photo: New Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Top Exterior View

Toyota cars are built to last and have comfortable interiors but boring looks and Innova is no different. Maruti Suzuki made vehicles are known to be value for money, practical by design and are loved for their highly fuel efficient motor and pleasing looks and Ertiga carries on this tradition. Technically speaking Innova is based on the old body on frame construction architecture and due to the inherent rigidity of this structure it can endure bad roads better. Ertiga on other hand is a modern MPV based on an extended Ritz platform, which itself is based on a modified Swift platform. Due to this monocoque construction it gets advantage over Innova in terms of better ride comfort, stability and handling.

Ertiga vs Innova: Space vs Utility.

Photo: Maruti Suzuki Interior Space View

Dimension	Innova	Ertiga
Length (mm)	4585	4265
Width (mm)	1760	1695
Height (mm)	1760	1685
Wheelbase (mm)	2750	2740
Boot (liter)	400	135

The inside of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga looks spacious and a lot of credit for it goes to the all beige interior colour. It has 3 rows of seats just like a traditional MPV with a maximum capacity to carry 7 passengers at a time. But realistically speaking, shoulder room will be at a premium if 3 adults decide to sit in the middle row since Ertiga is only as wide as the all-new 2011 Swift. The seats of the middle row can slide forward/backward as required. The 3rd row is best left to kids or really short adults. Legroom & head-room are in extremely short supply there. Notice that the 2nd row seat has a 60:40 fold-down split. You can also completely fold down the 2nd and 3rd row of seats when more than 135 liter of boot space is needed. Ertiga is no match for the amount of room including the luggage space you get inside a full size MPV like Innova. On comparing the outer dimensions you will notice that Toyota is longer by quite a margin even though both have almost the same size of wheelbase. This is due to the fact that Ertiga has very short overhang and the loss of space inside make its proportions compact on outside. And a smaller body shell allows lots of flexibility to park and maneuver easily even in congested areas, giving it an edge over Innova.

Ertiga vs Innova: Engine & Fuel Efficiency.

Comparison	Innova (Diesel)	Ertiga (Diesel)	Innova (Petrol)	Ertiga (Petrol)
Power (ps)	102	90	132	95
Torque (Nm)	200	200	181	130
Fuel Economy (ARAI Kmpl)	12.99	20.77	10.35	16.02

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Diesel & New Petrol Engine

Just like Innova, Maruti’s new UV also comes in both petrol and diesel versions. Suzuki’s highly acclaimed K-series petrol engine family is joined by its youngest member with the debut of the new K-14B VVT 1.4 liter petrol motor in Ertiga. But the main volumes puller will however be the 1.3 Liter DDiS Fiat derived Multijet turbo diesel engine, which is the same unit that powers the SX4. Its pulling torque power is equal to Innova’s 200Nm even though net power is lower. But being a smaller and lighter vehicle gives Maruti Ertiga the advantage of higher power to weight ratio and better mileage.

Ertiga vs Innova: Market Price.
Maruti Suzuki has the bandwidth to price Ertiga very competitively due to its large scale of operation, high amount localization and lots of component sharing like extended Ritz chassis and a specially tuned SX4 diesel engine. Also its dashboard is lifted straight out of new 2011 Swift..well almost. So a starting price of 6.5 to 7 lakhs should not be a surprise. New face-lifted 2012 Toyota Innova now comes with a base price of Rs 8,87,400. Now that’s quite a price difference but don’t forget that Innova is much bigger and more powerful than Ertiga.

Ertiga vs Innova: Conclusion.
By now it is clear that no matter in how much detail we try and compare Maruti Ertiga with Innova, the bottomline always remains the same i.e. both MPVs are different and by comparing one with other we do justice with none. Pitching Innova against Ertiga is just like comparing the mighty Ford Endeavour with the compact Skoda Yeti SUV. Ertiga and Innova are vehicles of different segment. Innova already rules the large MPV market and Ertiga don’t have any rivals yet to compete against in the compact MPV segment. But that is going to change soon when manufactures like Chevrolet, Renault, Nissan, Mahindra etc come to the market with their own version of mini MPV.

Read More On: Maruti-Suzuki

Photo Gallery: New Maruti Suzuki Ertiga vs Facelifted 2012 Toyota Innova