COMPARISON: 2018 Mahindra Marazzo Vs 2018 Maruti Ertiga

The two band new MPV rivals are finally going to face off! The launch of the 2018 Maruti Ertiga is something the 2018 Mahindra Marazzo must be waiting for. This is a serious segment where the Ertiga is a veteran and Marazzo has to face the newest version of the Maruti Ertiga, which is going to come charging at full tilt. The Marazzo showed the world that Mahindra could make a unique car with a completely new design and a host of new features. The Maruti Ertiga, on the other hand, comes with a lot of features standard features from its base variants. It also comes with a petrol engine which will see a lot of bookings. The Mahindra has the size advantage and also gets stuff like four disc brakes on all variants as standard. The fight between these two is a close one. Let’s break it down with the below comparisons and tables to find out more.

Design

Firstly we have to talk about design, the exteriors of the car. Let’s talk about the Maruti Ertiga, which has entered this segment with its latest iteration. The car has certainly gotten bigger than the previous generation but it’s nowhere as big as the Marazzo. The front continues to have the cab-forward design and has now adopted a more family-friendly design language in comparison to the shark inspired, aggressive look of the Marazzo. The Mahindra Marazzo does look more appealing at the front than the Maruti Ertiga. The side is where I can say that the Ertiga redeems itself. The Marazzo is based on a ladder on frame chassis and thus gets a tall body design, getting into the Marazzo is a little bit more taxing than the Ertiga.

The Ertiga with its HEARTECK platform is more car-like and has simpler ingress and exit. The rear of both the cars looks great. The Marazzo with its shark elements on the taillight and bumper looks more aggressive. The 2018 Maruti Ertiga has fueled many questions of it bearing resemblance to the Toyota Innova Crysta and we can see why. The headlights with the swept-back design and the rear LED taillights to do big the car that illusion of it being bigger. This look could be enhanced further if the car was given a bigger set of tyres than the 15-inch alloy and steel wheels it comes with now. The 17-inch wheels on the Marazzo just make the car look better. The overall winner in exterior design has to be the Marazzo but the design is a subjective point and some might prefer the subdued and more traditional looks of the 2018 Maruti Ertiga.

Interiors

The interiors are where the Ertiga starts winning back some points from the Marazzo that it lost in exterior design. The Marazoo’s piano black interior and part-leather seats can’t hold a candle to the Maruti’s plus beige and faux wood interiors. The Ertiga’s interior just feels roomier and aesthetically laid out than the Marazzo’s shiny plastic jewelled dashboard. The instrument cluster of the Marazzo with its purple inserts and multiple settings display does look better; it also gets turn by turn navigation guidance. The Ertiga’s instrument cluster does not feel pale by comparison, it’s good, the dials are big, and most of the relevant information is given in the centre too. From here the Marazzo start clawing back points. The Marazzo gets better visibility because of its tall design. The Marazzo gets cruise control, something which the Ertiga missies out on. The second row of the Marazzo is also better. The captain seats with the amount of headroom and legroom are very comfortable. The Ertiga has gotten better but not by much in comparison to the Marazzo. The Marazzo gets a lot of storage and has a large centre console next to the gigantic hand brake lever.

The third row of the Marazzo is humongous with ample headroom and knee room for three adults to be comfortable for short distances. The boot space on the Marazzo is lesser at 190-litres. The Marazzo does right now miss out on Apple CarPlay. Both cars get 12-volt charging sockets and automatic climate control. The Marazzo does get Surround Cool which extends till the third row and helps the car cool faster. The interiors of both cars can be pleasing to respective owners. The Maruti Ertiga’s interiors are all brand new and have a richer appeal to it. The Marazzo might get some extra features but might not appeal to everyone.

Specification

The Mahindra Marazzo is defiantly slightly bigger car in every respect than the 2018 Maruti Ertiga. And for this comparison, we have to keep in mind that the Marazzo is not available with a petrol engine. Apart from that, we have to say the Marazzo till now is looking at becoming the better choice among the two. Some of the stats in the below chart talk for themselves; maybe the price will change it all.

Mileage

The mileage of both cars are –

Price

The price is where the Ertiga will turn the tables around big time. The 2018 Mahindra Marazzo starts at Rs 9.99 lakh (Ex-showroom) for its M2 7STR variant and goes up to Rs 13.90 lakhs (ex-showroom) for its top-end M8 7STR variant. The Marazzo gets a total of 7 variants. The 2018 Maruti Ertiga meanwhile gets 10 variants and starts at Rs 8.84 lakhs (Ex-showroom) for the LDi variant and goes up to Rs 10.9 lakhs (Ex-Showroom) for its top-end ZDI+ variant. The vast price gap is a real factor that will make the fight for Marazzo very difficult. Also as we speak the Ertiga has received more than 10,000 bookings already. *In this comparison we have not considered the petrol version of the Etriga because the Marazzo does not have a petrol variant yet.