Team-BHP member Raj Dubey snapped these images of the 2018 Maruti Ertiga on test, ahead of its launch reported to take place in the festive season period (October - November 2018) this year. The Ertiga test mule has an emission testing apparatus, which could be checking if the Suzuki developed 1.5-liter diesel engine is well within its emission limits.
The image below, which shows the instrument cluster of the 2018 Ertiga, features the 2018 Ciaz's colour multi-information display. The screen, apart from showing essential parameters, also displays where the engine is getting power from, and if the lithium-ion battery is being charged via regenerative braking. Similar to the Ciaz, the 2018 Ertiga is expected to offer the second-gen SHVS mild hybrid technology across variants.
The petrol engine will be the new 1.5-liter K15B four-cylinder unit developing 105 hp and 138 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic gearboxes. The engine gets torque assist from a lithium-ion battery, which at present is imported from Japan by Maruti Suzuki. On the 2018 Ciaz, this petrol engine offers class-leading fuel economy of 21.56 km/l with the manual gearbox and 20.28 km/l with the automatic.
The 2018 Maruti Ertiga diesel could see the debut of the all-new Suzuki developed 1.5-liter unit as the existing 1.3-liter Fiat developed diesel engine will not be upgraded to meet upcoming BS6 emission standards.
Also read: Won’t ignore any segment, says Maruti Suzuki - Report
The launch of the 2018 Ertiga comes at the right time as M&M is gearing up to launch the Mahindra Marazzo on September 3. According to reports, the 2018 Ertiga will also spawn a cross variant which will take on the like of the Honda BR-V, though this sub-segment has limited volumes currently. The cross variant is reported to launch within six months of the new Ertiga's introduction.
[Images from TeamBHP.com]