*All prices ex-showroom Delhi
Currently, Maruti is offering the new 1.5-litre diesel engine alongside the 1.3-litre unit. However, the production of the 1.3-litre Ertiga diesel has been stopped and it will be discontinued as soon as the stocks end. Soon, the Eritga diesel will be available with a 1.5-litre diesel unit only.
The Ertiga is not the first car to receive Maruti’s new 1.5-litre DDiS225 unit. It debuted on the Ciaz back in March 2019, where it makes 95PS of power and 225Nm of torque, similar to what it dishes out on the Ertiga as well. Compared to the 1.3-litre unit, the new 1.5-litre engine makes an 5PS and 25Nm more. It also gets a better 6-speed manual transmission compared to the 5-speed unit available with the 1.3-litre engine. However, when it comes to fuel economy, the older 1.3-litre engine with Smart Hybrid is more frugal than the 1.5-litre engine with claimed figures of 25.47kmpl versus 24.20kmpl respectively.
As far as features are concerned, the Ertiga 1.5L diesel remains identical to the 1.3-litre. Like the latter, it also gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat anchors, rear parking sensors and high speed alert system as standard for safety. Other features on offer include projector headlamps, 15-inch alloy wheels, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic climate control and push-button start.
Since Maruti has already confirmed that it will cease the sales of diesel cars from 1 April 2020, we were under the impression that the Ertiga 1.5-litre diesel will have a limited run in the market. Maruti has decided to pull the plug on the diesel cars considering the high cost of BS 6 engines. The price difference between petrol and diesel variants is expected to go upto Rs 2.5 lakh in the BS 6 era, hurting the business case for diesel cars in the BS 6 era. However, Maruti has said that if there’s strong demand, it will upgrade the 1.5-litre diesel to comply with BS 6 norms