Three-row people-carrier gets redesigned body, more luxurious interior and new platform and petrol engine.
I bet it has been launched in Indonesia first…
You’re right. The all-new Ertiga has initially been introduced in Indonesia this week as MPVs comprise of around 30% of annual vehicle sales in this Asean nation.
Now in its second generation, the Ertiga features more expressive design cues including slimmer front lights, tidier-looking grille and three-way rear lamps.
As ever, the Ertiga is a three-row MPV capable of seating seven persons. Although the wheelbase length remains the same, the overall length has grown by some 130mm.
As seen in these brochures from Suzuki’s Indonesian website, the interior is fashioned with beige colour and wood trim in a bid to attract classy palates.
Is that new platform shared with the latest Swift?
Uh-huh. It’s that so-called Heartech floorplan that’s been designed for optimum weight, explaining the vehicle’s basically unchanged dry weight of 1,180kg.
Powering the new Ertiga is a bigger 1.5-litre petrol engine coded K15B featuring twin cams and variable valve-timing control. It produces 105hp at 6,000rpm and 138Nm of torque at 4,400rpm.
The previous model, which is still on sale in Thai showrooms, comes with K14B-designated 1.4-litre motor generating 92hp at 6,000rpm and 130Nm at a slightly lower 4,000rpm.
Like before, the Ertiga’s automatic transmission features just four forward ratios. Even so, Suzuki claims a 16.7kpl average fuel consumption which betters the previous record of 15.4kpl.
I’ve heard competition is getting a little intense in this segment…
OK, MPVs don’t sell as much as saloons, hatchbacks and SUVs in Thailand, but there’s still some demand for traditional people-carriers especially when we’re talking about circa-700,000 baht prices; today’s Ertiga costs between 655,000-735,000 baht spread across three trims.
The Ertiga is most likely to reach Thai showrooms by the end of this year after Suzuki manages to meet demand for it in Indonesia. In fact, production limitations have caused the Thai launch of the Mitsubishi Xpander to be pushed out from last year to this.
Another potential rival for the Ertiga that hasn’t reached Thai shores yet is the Toyota Rush, which has upped the MPV game by featuring an SUV stance. The existing Sienta is an MPV with sliding doors, features that aren’t available in the Ertiga, Xpander or Rush.
As the Indonesian car buyers aren’t too demanding, many models there are built with cost-effectiveness in mind. The new Ertiga, for one, still has only two front airbags to its passive safety credit.
The only other major car brand selling both compact SUVs and MPVs in Thailand in this particular price range is Honda with its BR-V and Mobilio.
