Birthday Boy: My Granite Gray Ertiga ZDI


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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. [clap]

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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Congrats ji!
Mine will turn 3 on June 14! [:)]
Wishing you further thousands of LUVly miles![clap]
Hoping to meet you sometime soon.
 
Thread Starter #6
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Thank you friends for stopping by and wishes. I am game for a meet too this time of year is little tricky because of school vacations & other prior plans. Nevertheless DJ, Guhan and some more friends meet often for TD etc.
 
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That is great Dhana. Happy miles ahead. My luv turned 2 years now completed 32k kms.
 
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Thread Starter #8
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One annoying problem I face in my Ertiga is wind cutting noise (i.e. from first quarter glass near A pillar).. I have placed request for repair of this problem in every service starting 5K, followed by 10K, 20K and 30K kms. 2 weeks back, Ambal auto replaced both left and right side rubber beadings too under warranty. They are still not able to get rid of the noise (can fell it especially in speeds excess of 80 - 90 kmph). Any of you faced this issue and successfully rectified it at Coimbatore?
 
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Thank you friends for stopping by and wishes. I am game for a meet too this time of year is little tricky because of school vacations & other prior plans. Nevertheless DJ, Guhan and some more friends meet often for TD etc.
Sure. We should have a meet sometime after summer holidays are over. Since I don't do much travel outside Coimbatore very often, I can always be present for a meet. I will start a thread regarding this soon!
 
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Just returned from a long trip to Pondy.. and Ertiga was wonderful company!

Onward journey - we had loads of luggage but with only 3 people on board and journey was like a cruise on the highway. Though slightly longer took highway route all through Coimbatore - Salem - Ulundhurpet - Dindivanam - Pondy. Traffic inside Pondy is very reasonable and roads are considerably wider and hence didn't have trouble shuttling around.

Return journey - our parents also joined us and wanted to cover Tiruvannamalai as well. So had to take Pondy - Vilupuram - Tiruvannamalai - Kallakurichi - Attur - Salem - Coimbatore. Some sections had road work in progress and some sections were badly maintained - hence was bit tiring. But Ertiga proved to be right choice for us for the flexibility it offers to carry luggage and passengers.

It returned modest mileage of 17kmpl which is good considering varying terrain and traffic conditions. Signing off with a photograph..
 

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Long time since I visited my thread.. since it was mostly DAU (driving as usual) for past few months. Finally, got to take a break and took family along for a drive to Bengaluru in the Onam weekend (28 - 30 August).

Once again, Ertiga was an amazing company through out the trip. Ertiga ticked all boxes in this trip whether it be mileage (averaged around 19.5kmpl), crusing abilities in highway, space etc. Since we had ample time didnt push her much (crossed 100 - 110 kmph only in few stretches), which could be the reason for good mileage.

By the way, odo has clocked around 45000kms and so far car doesnt show any signs of aging whether it be engine power, clutch, suspension or braking. Even the tires look good for another 20K kms which could be minimum one year away.

Happy (s)miles.. all the way !
 
Thread Starter #14
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True. I myself was surprised to see around 24kmpl once in a trip around trichy / tanjore area where average speed was in the range of 60 - 80kmph. Not by choice (but because of road conditions).
 
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Back with another trip update.. of course with Ertiga.

Did Tirupur - Tirchendur - Tirupur in a single day this week (~ 750kms). It was yet another happy trip with 5 people onboard. Once again got an amazing mileage of 20.3 kmpl in spite of some rough roads and crusing at 100+ kmph speeds in multi-lane roads.

Onward we took Tirupur > Dharapuram > Ottanchathiram > Dindigul > Madurai > Thoothukudi > Tirechendur route, which was mostly good except for the last 40 kms stretch. ~370km drive took a little over 6 hours excluding breaks.

Return we took Tirechendur > Thirunelveli > Kovilpatti > Dindigul > Ottanchathiram > Dharapuram > Tiruppur route, which again was very similar. But we ran in to some rough whether (heavy rains) for 30 - 40 kms where we had to slow down to 60 - 70kmph speed.

So far I have been advocating Michelin PLC tires to many folks in this forum and also outside. But for the first time, I faced some issues in wet driving conditions - hydroplanning while passing small water streams cutting across the road. Though I didnt face any issues with braking, vehicle experienced slight drift every time while passing a water stream. It could be because the tires have already completed 45k (there is still good tread depth to drive under normal driving conditions though). Tire experts - any comments on this behavior? Is it common across brands / tire conditions?
 
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