Perfect Seven Seater for a City Dweller- Ertiga

Exterior Ertiga in the rear view mirror looks like a small car, it is shorter than a Tata Manza but you fold the third row of seats and you have so much space behind! The secret is the spacing of wheels, the overhang in front of the front wheels and behind the rear wheels are very less, resulting in a longer wheel base and a bigger flat bed to play with for the designer in filling with seating & luggage space.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Ertiga's NVH is excellent, a diesel engine after it runs in for over 10000km becomes even smoother.  Even within a single trip, once the engine is warmer as per design temperature, the vibration levels go down.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Acceleration above 2000 rpm is amazing but you feel at loss at lower rpms to pick up speed. Fuel economy is amazing, after clocking 1000km I have an average of 18+kpl, which for a car of Ertiga's size and weight is one of the best possible.

Ride Quality & Handling I used to own a Santro Xing, compared to that, the suspensions for a bigger car Ertiga, could have been improved.  Suspension is not up to the mark.  You cannot cruise across road humps as in an Innova.  Else, ride is comfortable even in the last row of seats.

Final Words A perfect car for a family of 5+ in city and around.

Areas of improvement Lowering of the spare tyre, very cumbersome, the screw disengages and the whole tyre frame with tyre falls down on the ground.  A simple spring loaded frame or a hydraulic arm lowering the spare tyre frame slowly would be sufficient. 

Provision for CD/DVD storage etc...

Best Seating Options- Fold the 3rd row, spread a mattress behind. Good fuel economyA little tweaking could have improved frontal looks