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My Ertiga is 2 year old today..
No treats planned for him and hence thought I would at least start ownership thread today, which was long due. It has taken care of us very well in past 2 years over 37000 kms. Except for some minor niggles like rattling, wind cutting noise he has also been hale and healthy.
Choosing Ertiga
Let me start by talking about how I decided on Ertiga, after a 4 months hunt. My previous car was Verna CRDi which served me extremely well for 5 years and 110k kms. In its entire tenure it broke down only twice - but didn't cause much of a trouble. Around 90k kms, battery gave up, but it was at office and hence could call Hyundai road service for help & jump started the car. Next instance was the best at around 100k kms. We went for a long trip to Tirupathi and returned home safe.. the next day it refused to move because of clutch failure. Yes, my clutch lasted full 100k kms and when it had to give up, it held on till we reached home safe. Again got Hyundai to come home and fix it before driven to the garage for clutch overhaul. Only other chronic complaint with the car was unsettled ride for rear passengers because of soft suspension setup..
The wonderful experience meant even higher expectations for the next car and hence decided to take it slow. Requirements were very similar - I need a VFM car which is also reliable with decent power and aesthetics. As I always do, test drove almost every sedan and SUV which met my criteria and also some vehicles either side of the band - Dzire, Sunny on the lower side and Elantra, Jetta & Innova on the higher side. After few months of literature reviews, test drives, analysis using spreadsheets - you guys wont believe I created a rating spreadsheet to compare. Finally, short listed Vento (Sedan) & Duster (SUV).
Ertiga didn't even figure in the list since I wasn't very certain about need for a 7 seater and there were also lot of negative reviews about 3rd seat usability. Even though test drive was satisfactory wasn't sure if 1.3L engine would be enough for 7 seater. And to be frank it doesn't have killer looks to fall in love at first sight !!
So, lets get back to choice between Vento / Duster .. Having finalized on these 2, did second round of test drives of both the cars and also negotiations. In the mean while Ecosport caught my attention and hence deferred my decision for a month. Went all the way from Coimbatore to Kochi, where it was displayed in the Lulu mall. No offense to Ecosport owners - but in that 1 hour visit I could decide it was not for me since second seat was cramped and interior was little overdone for my taste.
Though I knocked out Ecosport out of the list and I was equally excited about Duster or Vento, both of them appeared overpriced for me. Duster variant I liked was close to 14L and Vento topend was 11.5L, both of which didn't appear to be VFM. Hence went for another TD of Ertiga, which helped in making the decision.. Though nothing was fancy about the car, I started liking it for its simplicity, flexibility, ease of maintenance and above all acres of space. Finally, head prevailed over heart !!
Ownership Experience
My philosophy about choices, especially in cars is this. If you buy best of best cars, you can impress your friends, relatives and even family, but will be short lived and wont leave you happy in long term. But if you choose a car that perfectively meets your needs it will leave you with sense of happiness, pride and satisfaction. That's exactly how I feel about my choice.
The car is mostly running stock, except for tire replacement which I did in the first week of delivery itself. Replaced 4 Goodyear Assurance tires with Michelin Primacy LC (195/60 R15), which is one size upgrade. Apart from that added very minimal accessories like faux leather seat covers & steering cover, arm rest and film for front windshield.
Shall continue posting updates now on.. Signing off with some pictures !
No treats planned for him and hence thought I would at least start ownership thread today, which was long due. It has taken care of us very well in past 2 years over 37000 kms. Except for some minor niggles like rattling, wind cutting noise he has also been hale and healthy.
Choosing Ertiga
Let me start by talking about how I decided on Ertiga, after a 4 months hunt. My previous car was Verna CRDi which served me extremely well for 5 years and 110k kms. In its entire tenure it broke down only twice - but didn't cause much of a trouble. Around 90k kms, battery gave up, but it was at office and hence could call Hyundai road service for help & jump started the car. Next instance was the best at around 100k kms. We went for a long trip to Tirupathi and returned home safe.. the next day it refused to move because of clutch failure. Yes, my clutch lasted full 100k kms and when it had to give up, it held on till we reached home safe. Again got Hyundai to come home and fix it before driven to the garage for clutch overhaul. Only other chronic complaint with the car was unsettled ride for rear passengers because of soft suspension setup..
The wonderful experience meant even higher expectations for the next car and hence decided to take it slow. Requirements were very similar - I need a VFM car which is also reliable with decent power and aesthetics. As I always do, test drove almost every sedan and SUV which met my criteria and also some vehicles either side of the band - Dzire, Sunny on the lower side and Elantra, Jetta & Innova on the higher side. After few months of literature reviews, test drives, analysis using spreadsheets - you guys wont believe I created a rating spreadsheet to compare. Finally, short listed Vento (Sedan) & Duster (SUV).
Ertiga didn't even figure in the list since I wasn't very certain about need for a 7 seater and there were also lot of negative reviews about 3rd seat usability. Even though test drive was satisfactory wasn't sure if 1.3L engine would be enough for 7 seater. And to be frank it doesn't have killer looks to fall in love at first sight !!
So, lets get back to choice between Vento / Duster .. Having finalized on these 2, did second round of test drives of both the cars and also negotiations. In the mean while Ecosport caught my attention and hence deferred my decision for a month. Went all the way from Coimbatore to Kochi, where it was displayed in the Lulu mall. No offense to Ecosport owners - but in that 1 hour visit I could decide it was not for me since second seat was cramped and interior was little overdone for my taste.
Though I knocked out Ecosport out of the list and I was equally excited about Duster or Vento, both of them appeared overpriced for me. Duster variant I liked was close to 14L and Vento topend was 11.5L, both of which didn't appear to be VFM. Hence went for another TD of Ertiga, which helped in making the decision.. Though nothing was fancy about the car, I started liking it for its simplicity, flexibility, ease of maintenance and above all acres of space. Finally, head prevailed over heart !!
Ownership Experience
My philosophy about choices, especially in cars is this. If you buy best of best cars, you can impress your friends, relatives and even family, but will be short lived and wont leave you happy in long term. But if you choose a car that perfectively meets your needs it will leave you with sense of happiness, pride and satisfaction. That's exactly how I feel about my choice.
The car is mostly running stock, except for tire replacement which I did in the first week of delivery itself. Replaced 4 Goodyear Assurance tires with Michelin Primacy LC (195/60 R15), which is one size upgrade. Apart from that added very minimal accessories like faux leather seat covers & steering cover, arm rest and film for front windshield.
Shall continue posting updates now on.. Signing off with some pictures !
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