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| Renault Duster vs Mahindra XUV vs Maruti Ertiga |
Choosing the best SUV /MUV for one self is not that easy in today’s market. I see lot of people are making choices among three SUV/MUVs may be because of the pricing or looks or performance of those three are attracting. Here is the comparison between those three Mahindra XUV 500, Renault Duster and Maruti Ertiga in below aspects which may help in choosing one .
Look & Exteriors:
Renault Duster is Chunky, muscular and looking every inch an SUV. In looks much bigger than its 4.3 meter length like a pure SUV. Big flared wheel arches, roof rails, 16 inch alloys and squared off styling. Renault have done some minute changes to make it look plusher compared to the Duster’s available in rest of the world. The front is simple with a big chrome finished Renault grille and square head lamps while the more sculpted rear looks more appealing with its big Duster badging. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel. It sticks to the basics. Gives you what you want, removes what you don’t.
Mahindra XUV is a piece, everybody talks about its look and style. Looks like XUV got some inspiration from Mitsubishi Outlander and Range Rover Evoque especially the way it carries weight, long-wheel base and rising belt line. Every attempt is made to get rid of the awkward Scorpio look and Mahindra is successful in that. Front grill has too many cuts.
Maruti Ertiga is made up on Swift Platform. As soon as you see Ertiga you fee like there is new Swift in the market, and people who are looking to upgrade their car would like Ertiga. It pretty short compared to its peers. Front grill and head light completely styled in Suzuki way. This is a seven seater. The cab-forward model styling is pleasing but not eye-catching.
Interiors
In Renault Duster unlike exteriors interiors are pretty conservative and lack that premium feel. The shiny dash board plastic looks very cheap. The dashboard is clutter free and you get many features including a 4 speaker music system with USB/AUX and Bluetooth. The equipment levels on the Duster are very good as you also get keyless entry, ABS with Brake Assist & EBD, dual front Airbags, satellite Audio & phone control, rear defogger, rear wiper & washer, electrically adjustable ORVMs, rear parking sensors, rear AC and leather upholstery. The highlight of the SUV is its back seat that offers excellent thigh, back and shoulder support with ample knee – and headroom too. The air-conditioning too is simply outstanding. The Duster doesn’t get features like a sun-roof, cruise control or a talking lady
Mahindra XUV inside cabin you feel that hard wearing stuff but impressive, It got Mahindra style big steering wheel. Got big dials and V shaped central console and touch screen on top of it. As expected it got huge space like any other SUV. Seats are comfortable the second row bench is not on rails so there is no option for third ro passengers to ask for more leg space. When SUV is full with seven passengers I didn’t see any more space for luggage. There is lot of shiny plastic but finish is disappointing. Top end get all goodies like voice-commands for audio system, touch screen with navigation system, safety features like anti-braking systems and six airbags to make your drive more safe, alloy wheels and remote lock.
Maruti Ertiga has good cabin space. Front seat passengers got good leg room and nice view through windshield. Driving feel is very comfortable more or less you fee like you are diving a Swift or Ritz. Leg room in all rows of Eritga is designed well. Even though the middle row passengers adjust their seat upto 240 mm there is enough leg room for third row passengers. The seating position is not ‘knees-up’ like other MPVs. Shoulder support is good and headroom is decent. Climate control is not available and air bags come with the top-end model while ABS comes with all models. Overall dash board looks complete but not so attractive.
Engine & Performance
Renault Duster has three engine choices- two diesels and one petrol. The petrol is a 1.6-litre unit generating 102bhp of power @ 5850 RPM. The one to watch out for and certainly a potential best-seller is the 84Bhp mid-level oil-burner variant. It is the similar to 1.5-litre K9K power plant and Renault is offering it in two different avatars. You get 84bhp @ 4750 RPM and the other more powerful one makes 109bhp @ 3900 RPM on the top end version. The 1.5 litre CRDi diesel engine which is doing duties under Nissan Micra and will be linked to six speed manual gearbox. Diesel Duster will accelerate from 0-100 kmph in mere 11.8 seconds with a top speed of 164 kmph. Expected Mileage figure from Duster is 17-18 kmpl.
Mahindra XUV 500 comes with 2.2-litre Hawk engine with a variable geometry turbocharger similar to the one in the Scorpio with more power and torque – 140bhp and 33.33 kgm of torque. Mahindra XUV have a front-wheel drive version and an all-wheel drive one. We drove the latter and that was impressive. The six-speed manual gearbox is easy to use, cruising at three digit speeds is a piece of cake. THE ARAI mileage figure is 15.1 kmpl.. XUV zooms 0-100 kmph in 13.5 seconds with a top speed of 175 kmph.
Maruti Ertiga comes with a K series engine debuts K14 VVT 1.4-litre petrol engine which is capable of generating maximum power of 94 bhp at 6000 rpm with torque of 13.2 kgm at 4000 rpm. Available with diesel option as well, Ertiga diesel is powered by 1.3L DDiS Super Turbo engine having the capability to generate power of 88 bhp at 4000 rpm and peak torque 20.4 kgm at 1750 rpm. This MUV can touch top speed of 170 kmph. Mileage delivery is 16 kmpl for petrol and 20 kmpl for diesel
Pricing - Finally comes to pricing
Renault Duster price varies with in 7 – 9 lakhs
Mahindra XUV 500 Price varies within 10.8 to 12.88 Lakhs
Maruti Ertiga Price varies within 5.5 to 8.5 Lakhs
Conclusion
It is pretty difficult to decide among them to own one. Each vehicle got its pros and cons. If I were the buyer I would prefer Renault Duster. Renault Duster has more SUV features. Looks are killing and it got its urban SUV flavor which is the next generation of SUVs. May be I can compromise with space in the vehicle. It might compete with upcoming urban SUVs like Ford Ecosport Chervolet Trax and Maruti Suzuki ALPHA. Pricing is also aggressive within the budget of most of the people who plans to own a SUV. My vote goes to Renault Duster.
Look & Exteriors:
Renault Duster is Chunky, muscular and looking every inch an SUV. In looks much bigger than its 4.3 meter length like a pure SUV. Big flared wheel arches, roof rails, 16 inch alloys and squared off styling. Renault have done some minute changes to make it look plusher compared to the Duster’s available in rest of the world. The front is simple with a big chrome finished Renault grille and square head lamps while the more sculpted rear looks more appealing with its big Duster badging. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel. It sticks to the basics. Gives you what you want, removes what you don’t.
Mahindra XUV is a piece, everybody talks about its look and style. Looks like XUV got some inspiration from Mitsubishi Outlander and Range Rover Evoque especially the way it carries weight, long-wheel base and rising belt line. Every attempt is made to get rid of the awkward Scorpio look and Mahindra is successful in that. Front grill has too many cuts.
Maruti Ertiga is made up on Swift Platform. As soon as you see Ertiga you fee like there is new Swift in the market, and people who are looking to upgrade their car would like Ertiga. It pretty short compared to its peers. Front grill and head light completely styled in Suzuki way. This is a seven seater. The cab-forward model styling is pleasing but not eye-catching.
Interiors
In Renault Duster unlike exteriors interiors are pretty conservative and lack that premium feel. The shiny dash board plastic looks very cheap. The dashboard is clutter free and you get many features including a 4 speaker music system with USB/AUX and Bluetooth. The equipment levels on the Duster are very good as you also get keyless entry, ABS with Brake Assist & EBD, dual front Airbags, satellite Audio & phone control, rear defogger, rear wiper & washer, electrically adjustable ORVMs, rear parking sensors, rear AC and leather upholstery. The highlight of the SUV is its back seat that offers excellent thigh, back and shoulder support with ample knee – and headroom too. The air-conditioning too is simply outstanding. The Duster doesn’t get features like a sun-roof, cruise control or a talking lady
Mahindra XUV inside cabin you feel that hard wearing stuff but impressive, It got Mahindra style big steering wheel. Got big dials and V shaped central console and touch screen on top of it. As expected it got huge space like any other SUV. Seats are comfortable the second row bench is not on rails so there is no option for third ro passengers to ask for more leg space. When SUV is full with seven passengers I didn’t see any more space for luggage. There is lot of shiny plastic but finish is disappointing. Top end get all goodies like voice-commands for audio system, touch screen with navigation system, safety features like anti-braking systems and six airbags to make your drive more safe, alloy wheels and remote lock.
Maruti Ertiga has good cabin space. Front seat passengers got good leg room and nice view through windshield. Driving feel is very comfortable more or less you fee like you are diving a Swift or Ritz. Leg room in all rows of Eritga is designed well. Even though the middle row passengers adjust their seat upto 240 mm there is enough leg room for third row passengers. The seating position is not ‘knees-up’ like other MPVs. Shoulder support is good and headroom is decent. Climate control is not available and air bags come with the top-end model while ABS comes with all models. Overall dash board looks complete but not so attractive.
Engine & Performance
Renault Duster has three engine choices- two diesels and one petrol. The petrol is a 1.6-litre unit generating 102bhp of power @ 5850 RPM. The one to watch out for and certainly a potential best-seller is the 84Bhp mid-level oil-burner variant. It is the similar to 1.5-litre K9K power plant and Renault is offering it in two different avatars. You get 84bhp @ 4750 RPM and the other more powerful one makes 109bhp @ 3900 RPM on the top end version. The 1.5 litre CRDi diesel engine which is doing duties under Nissan Micra and will be linked to six speed manual gearbox. Diesel Duster will accelerate from 0-100 kmph in mere 11.8 seconds with a top speed of 164 kmph. Expected Mileage figure from Duster is 17-18 kmpl.
Mahindra XUV 500 comes with 2.2-litre Hawk engine with a variable geometry turbocharger similar to the one in the Scorpio with more power and torque – 140bhp and 33.33 kgm of torque. Mahindra XUV have a front-wheel drive version and an all-wheel drive one. We drove the latter and that was impressive. The six-speed manual gearbox is easy to use, cruising at three digit speeds is a piece of cake. THE ARAI mileage figure is 15.1 kmpl.. XUV zooms 0-100 kmph in 13.5 seconds with a top speed of 175 kmph.
Maruti Ertiga comes with a K series engine debuts K14 VVT 1.4-litre petrol engine which is capable of generating maximum power of 94 bhp at 6000 rpm with torque of 13.2 kgm at 4000 rpm. Available with diesel option as well, Ertiga diesel is powered by 1.3L DDiS Super Turbo engine having the capability to generate power of 88 bhp at 4000 rpm and peak torque 20.4 kgm at 1750 rpm. This MUV can touch top speed of 170 kmph. Mileage delivery is 16 kmpl for petrol and 20 kmpl for diesel
Pricing - Finally comes to pricing
Renault Duster price varies with in 7 – 9 lakhs
Mahindra XUV 500 Price varies within 10.8 to 12.88 Lakhs
Maruti Ertiga Price varies within 5.5 to 8.5 Lakhs
Conclusion
It is pretty difficult to decide among them to own one. Each vehicle got its pros and cons. If I were the buyer I would prefer Renault Duster. Renault Duster has more SUV features. Looks are killing and it got its urban SUV flavor which is the next generation of SUVs. May be I can compromise with space in the vehicle. It might compete with upcoming urban SUVs like Ford Ecosport Chervolet Trax and Maruti Suzuki ALPHA. Pricing is also aggressive within the budget of most of the people who plans to own a SUV. My vote goes to Renault Duster.
