MARUTI SUZUKI ERTIGA 2.0

MARUTI SUZUKI ERTIGA 2.0

The compact seven-seater scene continues to be a hotly-contested segment it seems. From tiny crossovers, to sleek MPVs, automakers are cashing in on this booming segment. Suzuki's answer to this conundrum? The all-new 2018 Suzuki Ertiga.

Officially making its world debut at the 2018 Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS), the new Ertiga bears a new face, along with new and updated technologies. With it, Suzuki is determined to keep a foothold on this segment that is populated by such competitors like the Honda BRV and Mahindra Marrazzo

Much like the new-generation Swift (from which it is based on), the 2018 Ertiga ditches its rounded curves for a more angular, more up market appearance. No longer does the MPV resemble the hatchback as Suzuki gave this all-new model a unique face.

Lets take a look at the history and sales statistics of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in the Indian market.

The Ertiga is a 7 Seater mini MPV developed by Suzuki.It is build on the Swift Platform.

Ertiga got the distinction of having the first monocoque MPV of India.The Ertiga is based upon the R-III(R3) concept showcased by Maruti Suzuki in 2010 Indian Automobile Expo.The Ertiga name is derrived from the Indonasian word R-Tiga where the R stands for Rows and Tiga meaning three.Thus Ertiga means MPV with 3 rows.

R III concept

First Generation (2012-2018)

The Ertiga was launched in India on 12 April 2012 and created a new segment.Ertiga was below Toyota Innova .Maruti Suzuki proclaimed Ertiga as the first LUV(Life Utility Vehicle).

The Ertiga was offered with K15B petrol engine and Fiat’s 1.3 multijet engine.In June 2013,Maruti Suzuki offered Ertiga with a  CNG variant .The Ertiga ruled the segment with no real competitor in the Indian market.Honda tried various mlodels like Mobilio and BR-V .Cheverlet introduced Enjoy but they were unable to take any share and Maruti Suzuki maintained its monopoly in the segment.

Second generation(2018-)

The second generation Ertiga is already launched in various Asean markets.It is going to get launched in the Indian market in few weeks.The second generation model is revolutionary and has given Ertiga a distinct looks.

Sweeping projector headlights along with a bigger, more distinct chrome grill, dominate the front fascia of the new MPV. Also bearing noticeable revisions are the front bumper, foglights and foglight bezels. Newly-designed 15-inch alloy wheels, as well as eye-catching L-shaped taillights, are also seen on the all-new Ertiga.

In terms of exterior dimensions, the 2018 Ertiga measures 4395mm long, 1735mm wide, 1690mm tall and has a 2740mm wheelbase. Compared to the outgoing model, the all-new model is 130mm longer, 40mm wider, and 5mm taller. Wheelbase remains the same as before, however.

To further distinguish itself from the Swift, Suzuki gave the new Ertiga its own dashboard and cabin design. High-end models will come with a free-floating touchscreen infotainment system along with heaps of faux wood trim on the dashboard, center console, flat-bottomed steering wheel and door panels. Like the current offering, the 2018 Ertiga continues to come with a pre-dominantly beige interior which has become one of its well-known features.

Other features present inside the Ertiga include a four-speaker sound system, tilt-adjustable steering rack, seat height adjuster for the driver, refreshed instrument cluster design and three 12V power outlets. Like the current generation model, the second row seat can be split folded 60:40 while the third row can be folded 50:50.

Under the hood is a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine dubbed the K15B. It displaces 1462cc and benefits from variable valve timing (VVT) and multi-point injection (MPI). The result is 105 PS at 6000 rpm along with 138 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. Despite being based off the new-generation Swift, the 2018 Ertiga is only available with either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual gearbox.

As it sits on the same platform as the Swift called 'Heartect', Suzuki claimed the 2018 Ertiga is more rigid and lighter than before. Plus, the MPV will deliver better cornering, stopping and overall driving performance.

Additional features and amenities available in the 2018 Ertiga include the following: power-folding side mirrors, rear parking sensors, keyless smart entry with engine start-stop button, electronic stability program (ESP), anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), ISOFIX child seat anchors and dual SRS airbags.

Sweeping projector headlights along with a bigger, more distinct chrome grill, dominate the front fascia of the new MPV. Also bearing noticeable revisions are the front bumper, foglights and foglight bezels. Newly-designed 15-inch alloy wheels, as well as eye-catching L-shaped taillights, are also seen on the all-new Ertiga.

In terms of exterior dimensions, the 2018 Ertiga measures 4395mm long, 1735mm wide, 1690mm tall and has a 2740mm wheelbase. Compared to the outgoing model, the all-new model is 130mm longer, 40mm wider, and 5mm taller. Wheelbase remains the same as before, however.

To further distinguish itself from the Swift, Suzuki gave the new Ertiga its own dashboard and cabin design. High-end models will come with a free-floating touchscreen infotainment system along with heaps of faux wood trim on the dashboard, center console, flat-bottomed steering wheel and door panels. Like the current offering, the 2018 Ertiga continues to come with a pre-dominantly beige interior which has become one of its well-known features.

Other features present inside the Ertiga include a four-speaker sound system, tilt-adjustable steering rack, seat height adjuster for the driver, refreshed instrument cluster design and three 12V power outlets. Like the current generation model, the second row seat can be split folded 60:40 while the third row can be folded 50:50.

 The boot space is also said to be improved.
Sources :globalsuzuki,com,Wikipedia and marutisuzuki,com

(This article is written by  Gourav Saksham, a dentist by profession and a Petrohead by passion. You can connect with him at gouravsaksham@gmail.com)

HOW SEAT-BELT WORKS ?

HOW SEAT BELT WORKS?

The basic idea of a seatbelt is very simple: It keeps you from flying through the windshield or hurdling toward the dashboard when your car comes to an abrupt stop. But why would this happen in the first place? In short, because of inertia.

If a car is speeding along at 50 miles per hour, inertia wants to keep it going 50 mph in one direction. Air resistance and friction with the road are constantly slowing it down, but the engine's power compensates for this energy loss.

Anything that is in the car, including the driver and passengers, has its own inertia, which is separate from the car's inertia. The car accelerates riders to its speed. Imagine that you're coasting at a steady 50 miles per hour. Your speed and the car's speed are pretty much equal, so you feel like you and the car are moving as a single unit.

But if the car were to crash into a telephone pole, it would be obvious that your inertia and the car's were absolutely independent. The force of the pole would bring the car to an abrupt stop, but your speed would remain the same. Without a seatbelt, you would either slam into the steering wheel at 50 miles per hour or go flying through the windshield at 50 miles per hour. Just as the pole slowed the car down, the dashboard, windshield or the road would slow you down by exerting a tremendous amount of force.

It is a given that no matter what happens in a crash, something would have to exert force on you to slow you down. But depending on where and how the force is applied, you might be killed instantly or you might walk away from the damage unscathed.

If you hit the windshield with your head, the stopping power is concentrated on one of the most vulnerable parts of your body. It also stops you very quickly, since the glass is a hard surface. This can easily kill or severely injure a person.

A seatbelt applies the stopping force to more durable parts of the body over a longer period of time. In the next section, we'll see how this reduces the chances of major injury.

A typical seatbelt consists of a lap belt, which rests over your pelvis, and a shoulder belt, which extends across your chest. The two belt sections are tightly secured to the frame of the car in order to hold passengers in their seats.

When the belt is worn correctly, it will apply most of the stopping force to the rib cage and the pelvis, which are relatively sturdy parts of the body. Since the belts extend across a wide section of your body, the force isn't concentrated in a small area, so it can't do as much damage. Additionally, the seatbelt webbing is made of more flexible material than the dashboard or windshield. It stretches a little bit, which means the stop isn't quite so abrupt. The seatbelt shouldn't give more than a little, however, or you might bang into the steering wheel or side window. Safe seat belts will only let you shift forward  slightly.

A car's crumple zones do the real work of softening the blow. Crumple zones are areas in the front and rear of a car that collapse relatively easily. Instead of the entire car coming to an abrupt stop when it hits an obstacle, it absorbs some of the impact force by flattening, like an empty soda can. The car's cabin is much sturdier, so it does not crumple around the passengers. It continues moving briefly, crushing the front of the car against the obstacle. Of course, crumple zones will only protect you if you move with the cab of the car -- that is, ifyou are secured to the seat by your seat belt.

In a typical seat belt system, the belt webbing is connected to a retractor mechanism. The central element in the re tractor is a spool, which is attached to one end of the webbing. Inside the re tractor, a spring applies a rotation force, or torque, to the spool. This works to rotate the spool so it winds up any loose webbing.

 

When you pull the webbing out, the spool rotates counter-clockwise, which turns the attached spring in the same direction. Effectively, the rotating spool works to untwist the spring. The spring wants to return to its original shape, so it resists this twisting motion. If you release the webbing, the spring will tighten up, rotating the spool clockwise until there is no more slack in the belt.

The retractor has a locking mechanism that stops the spool from rotating when the car is involved in a collision. There are two sorts of locking systems in common use today:

systems triggered by the car's movement

systems triggered by the belt's movement

The first sort of system locks the spool when the car rapidly decelerates (when it hits something, for example). The diagram below shows the simplest version of this design.

The central operating element in this mechanism is a weighted pendulum. When the car comes to a sudden stop, the inertia causes the pendulum to swing forward. The pawl on the other end of the pendulum catches hold of a toothed ratchet gear attached to the spool. With the pawl gripping one of its teeth, the gearcan't rotate counter-clockwise, and neither can the connected spool. When the webbing loosens again after the crash, the gear rotates clockwise and the pawl disengages.

The second kind of system locks the spool when something jerks the belt webbing. The activating force in most designs is the speed of the spool rotation. The diagram shows a common configuration.

The central operating element in this design is a centrifugal clutch -- a weighted pivoting lever mounted to the rotating spool. When the spool spins slowly, the lever doesn't pivot at all. A spring keeps it in position. But when something yanks the webbing, spinning the spool more quickly, centrifugal force drives the weighted end of the lever outward.

The extended lever pushes a cam piece mounted to the re-tractor housing. The cam is connected to a pivoting pawl by a sliding pin. As the cam shifts to the left, the pin moves along a groove in the pawl. This pulls the pawl into the spinning ratchet gear attached to the spool. The pawl locks into the gear's teeth, preventing counter-clockwise rotation.