Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker launched the new Swift hatchback in India at Auto Expo 2018 and reports indicate the model is doing wonders for the company in India. In just a couple of months, the new Swift has already raked in bookings of over 75,000 units and still counting. While this is something for the company to cheer about, Maruti is not resting on its laurels.
Coming our way next is a new facelifted version of its popular MPV Ertiga. The Ertiga facelift has been undergoing testing on the domestic terrains with the model being caught on camera on several occasions. Now, the latest is that Ertiga will be launched in India by mid-2018.
According to a report of Autocar India, the new updated Ertiga MPV could be launched around August. The bookings for the model are likely to open one month prior to the launch date. This is one of the major updates that the Ertiga is getting in recent past. The model, which has been part of Maruti Suzuki's line-up for India since 2012 had only got a mid-life update in 2015.
Maruti Suzuki was expected to showcase the new Ertiga facelift at the Auto Expo 2018, but that did not happen. However, the spy images of the model have been giving us hints at what to expect and the additions in the model.
The new Ertiga seems to have grown bigger in size, giving more space for the third row. While the key changes of the MPV are yet to be known, the model is expected to get larger alloy wheels among others. Rumored to be based on the Heartect platform that also underpins the new Dzire, Baleno and the new Swift, the Ertiga could also house a host of new features like Smartplay touchscreen infotainment system with Apple carplay and Android auto support.
Under the hood, the Ertiga facelift is likely to be continued with the 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines. The current 1.3-litre multi-jet diesel engine develops 89bhp of power and 200Nm of torque; it also gets the SHVS small hybrid system. The petrol, on the other hand, produces 94bhp and 130Nm mated to a five-speed transmission.
The updated Maruti Suzuki Ertiga facelift is rumored to get a new 1.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine at a later date.
