Replacement for a 10-year old Innova: Is the Ertiga a good choice?

The primary reason for me to change is because I am getting worried that our government may ban 10-year-old Diesel cars in Bengaluru soon.

BHPian shrinz.vivek recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am looking to replace my 2012 Innova Gx 8-seater diesel.

The primary reason for me to change is because I am getting worried that our government may ban 10-year-old Diesel cars in Bengaluru soon.

Innova will be first affected because it satisfies all the criteria like >2000 cc engine, >4m, >10year etc…

My primary requirements and the reason for it is as below.

• Spacious and easy in/out – My dad and I both are 6ft tall with weak backs. Seating comfort and getting in and out of the car easily is top priority.
• Auto Transmission (AT) – Because my wife has learnt to drive recently. She drives my dad’s Ritz auto pretty well and I would like my next car to be suitable for her too.
• Petrol engine – It breaks my heart to say this, but I do not want to worry about possible bans in the coming years.
• Wireless Apple CarPlay (ACP) and cruise control (CC) – I am finding the need for both these features nowadays as we have started exploring more of unknown places due to better roads. Also, I take Bengaluru Mysuru e-way to work daily, and cruise control is pretty useful.

Before I take your advice, I would like to set some context.

1. My dad and myself are passionate drivers and change cars frequently. But we have always stuck to tall boy designs. Our previous cars were TUV300, Wagon R, Ritz, Indica, Santro, Omni, Matiz. We just cannot use cars like i20, Polo or Altroz.
2. We love diesels. I started with a diesel Indica when I turned eighteen and haven’t looked back. Jumped to a diesel Ritz and then TUV300 before landing in the Innova.
3. Reliability and ease of maintenance is more important than electronic features. Apple CarPlay and cruise control is all I want. I do not care about stuff like air purifier, ambient lighting etc…

Coming to the budget … here is where things get little tricky.

My max budget is ten lacs on the road (including the proceeds from the sale of my Innova)

But a firm I do business with is offering me an interest free loan of 6 lacs if I buy any of these 4 Suzuki cars: Baleno, Grand Vitara, Fronx, Ertiga.

Baleno and Fronx are not comfortable enough for us as the seating is quite low.

Coming to GV, in my budget of 10+6 lacs I can only get the Delta-AT spec but unfortunately this variant is not available in the loan deal.

That leaves me with the Ertiga ZXI+ AT (top spec)

So, I need your help in deciding between the below three options.

• Go with the Ertiga ZXI+ AT which satisfies all my requirements (Space, comfort, petrol, AT, ACP, CC). Will I be happy with its performance compared to my Innova? I don’t know.
• Ignore the loan deal and look for other 10lac cars like Exter, Punch, Tiago etc with ACP and CC. By doing this I will be compromising on Space and AT and will have to live with a small AMT car.
• Keep running the Japanese legend a.k.a the Innova classic and wait till it is banned. I will not get Auto transmission and Cruise Control. But my soul will be satisfied that I drove a diesel till its death.

I would like some technical and emotional advice here please.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

If the fear of a ban is the only reason, I would suggest you continue driving your Innova. Two in my close family continue to drive 2005 & 2007 Innovas, despite having newer cars in the house.

For the replacement, well, you are selling a car that would cost 20 lakhs today, and wanting to spend 10-16 lakhs. The Ertiga ZXI AT is the perfect replacement if you are keen on swapping and boy, has the Ertiga grown in size. It is very spacious & comfortable. Else, look in the pre-owned market for good cars at 16-lakhs.

Here's what BHPian bijims had to say on the matter:

To answer your questions, one by one:

1. I doubt you would be satisfied with the performance of the Ertiga, the 1.5 Litre K-15 C engine just has sufficient power and torque on tap with the torque assist functionality helping in providing reasonable grunt at most speeds for regular driving situations. The Innova had much more displacement, and more torque so that could affect driving dynamics on a full load.

2. This doesn't seem to be a good option as the sub 10 lakh cars would seem like a huge downgrade to your existing ride.

3. This seems to be the best option at the moment, you still have a couple of years for the car and I am sure it won't be banned by then, By that time, you may be able to afford a better car or other/updated options may be available

So considering these I would recommend you hold on to your car as long as you can, however if you have made up your mind on a new car, the Ertiga ZXI+ AT is the next best option.

Here's what BHPian Ashish_VK had to say on the matter:

Ertiga is a very good choice. It may be smaller in footprint compared to Innova, but the space management in new Ertiga is very good and everyone will be comfortable inside. Also it's easier to drive and more car like. With the mild hybrid system, it have enough grunt too.

Also Ertiga being a Maruti - Suzuki, Peaceful ownership and good fuel efficiency are already part of the package.

Regarding the Diesel ban, I personally believe Bangalore is one city which I expect to implement it all of a sudden. Based on the history of illogical and knee jerk decisions of Bangalore administration (Remember the infamous out of state vehicle hunt?), it can happen any time.

Here's what BHPian shresan23 had to say on the matter:

Like all the others in this thread and to support their views. Here's mine.

1. Nope. I have personally driven 2012 innova and the ertiga and the latter is not known for its enthusiastic driving capabilities. Its more mediocre and suitable for the no nonsense, no thrill highway ride.

2. Just Nope. Any other car with somewhat manageable ingress and egress (family of 6 footers and poor backs here too) will mostly be base variants and will not satisfy either of your needs imho.

3. The innova will run beyond its odo capabilities. One of my friends has one that has almost clocked the end of its odo (999999 i think, didnt count. They do a ton of highway rides every week) and hasnt given them any problem.

I would suggest running with the japanese as long as possible. They can do longetivity right by the books.

If you really want to change cars, i would suggest putting feelers out for the sale price for the innova. Just to get a ballpark and to check if you can get really good deals.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.