Maruti Suzuki Ertiga CNG Evaluation: First Drive

Precisely how far can you are taking the Ertiga on a tank stuffed with CNG? Dhruv finds out as he goes on a joyride in and round Delhi.

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the most recent CNG automobile to come back to the market. Now, the issue with CNG is vary. A tank stuffed with fuel is usually not sufficient, and even the efficiency takes successful on CNG. So, once I bought an opportunity to spend a while with the Ertiga CNG, I assumed that it could be higher to seek out out what it’s like to truly dwell with it, as an alternative of merely reviewing it. My activity was easy – to see how far one can go within the Ertiga CNG with a full tank and learn how completely different it’s to drive on CNG, versus petrol.

Our day with the Ertiga CNG started with us tanking up at a pump and resetting the journey meter. We wished to drive the automobile in a mixture of completely different situations, so we first determined to go in the direction of the Yamuna Expressway. Out on the freeway, the Ertiga CNG didn’t really feel misplaced in any respect. The truth is, I’d even go so far as to say that if you happen to didn’t already know that you simply’re driving a CNG automobile, you gained’t be capable to inform the distinction. Accelerating to freeway speeds was no downside – the Ertiga CNG was responsive and in its factor, even whereas overtaking at speeds north of 100km/h. It didn’t present any indicators of fatigue or give me any indication that it was out of its consolation zone. Frankly, I used to be a bit stunned to study that it may well cruise at triple-digit speeds with out trouble.

Now, one of many issues that I really like concerning the 1.5-litre petrol engine from Maruti, which powers so many automobiles, is how simply it revs to the redline. And I used to be afraid that it gained’t be potential with CNG, however I used to be in for one more shock. The truth is, the engine continued to rev so easily and responded to throttle inputs so immediately that whereas downshifting, I used to be in a position to rev-match! It is usually supremely refined.

We have been now approaching the top of our freeway stint and had clocked 90kms on the odometer. The instrument cluster indicated that we have been left with half a tank of CNG.

In metropolis site visitors too, the Ertiga CNG behaved as if it was working on petrol. In choc-a-bloc situations, it presents sufficient grunt on the decrease finish of the rev vary to dart ahead into a niche when wanted. The remainder of the driving expertise too was similar to the freeway expertise, which is an efficient factor. We drove for a full 40kms within the metropolis.

I do have a couple of gripes with the Ertiga CNG although. First, you possibly can see the standing of the tank at two locations on the instrument cluster – one analogue and one digital. Frankly, it’s nothing however a redundancy. As an alternative, a digital readout to examine the vary would have been extra useful. Second, the Ertiga CNG doesn’t begin on CNG. Now, I do know very properly that I might be accused of nitpicking, however right here is the factor – since different carmakers supply this function, it’s not unreasonable to count on Maruti to supply it as properly.

‘The CNG tank takes up a substantial quantity of house, however there’s a cowl to maintain it hidden for essentially the most half’

Now, it was time to fill the tank once more and discover out the gasoline effectivity of the automobile. And surprisingly, after a complete day – which additionally included taking footage and taking pictures movies, with the AC working just about the whole time – the Ertiga CNG managed to return 22.9km/kg. That’s rattling spectacular! Even when I scale back the full quantity a bit, contemplating the truth that the quantity of CNG you possibly can fill within the tank is dependent upon the stress on the pump, a mileage of 20km/kg remains to be fairly good, particularly contemplating that we didn’t deal with the Ertiga kindly in any respect.

So, if you need a automobile to journey with your loved ones in consolation, with out being too onerous in your pocket, you need to have the Ertiga CNG on the high of your want record. And the reason being easy – no different MPV matches the degrees of all-around comfort supplied by the Ertiga CNG.

Learn extra:

2022 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Facelift: Major adjustments & highlights

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Lengthy Time period Report: October 2019