Suzuki is launching a flurry of new models in 2014, and hot on the heels of an entry-level Swift and an all-new SX4, comes the family-orientated Suzuki Ertiga. The Ertiga, like many of its Suzuki siblings, is built in India and we attended the local launch of this vehicle in East London.

The Lifestyle Utility Vehicle is a small segment which has been dominated by the Toyota Avanza, and you can see why. The Avanza offers the Toyota badge and practicality, but Suzuki reckons its new Ertiga can beat the Avanza in departments such as economy, practicality and features.

Suzuki Ertiga looks

Onlookers will note the visual similarities between the Suzuki Ertiga and the Suzuki Swift, and this is due to the Ertiga being assembled on a stretched version of the Swift’s platform. As far as MPV family-orientated vehicles go, the Suzuki Ertiga is not unpleasant and looks quite Eurocentric, especially in a chocolate brown paint scheme.

Practicality

Its first strength are its dimensions. It’s cleverly designed to ensure occupants have plenty of space, and as a 6ft tall male, I was genuinely impressed with how much legroom and headroom I had while trying out the second row. It’s4 265 mm long, 1 695 mm wide and 1 685 mm high which in MPV terms isn’t that big, but as I mentioned, the clever interior design has resulted in seven seats.

The third row can fold completely flat and the second row can slide forward, further increasing load capacity. From seven seats to panel van in just a few seconds – how cool? The downside of this is that with all three rows assembled, boot space is tiny.

Powerplant

The Suzuki Ertiga is powered by the same 1.4-litre four cylinder engine which does duty in the Swift. Power and torque outputs are rated at 70 kW and 130 Nm. Transmission options include an automatic and a five-speed manual, which is what I drove on launch. Being a Suzuki, the engine loves to be revved and the gearshift action is slick and smooth.

Quality ride

Ride and build quality is where the Ertiga really shines as the vehicle made light work of the poor quality roads of the Eastern Cape. Wind noise was just noticeable and the area we were passing through was buffeted by strong winds throughout the day. What also pleased me was that despite the rev counter sitting at almost 4 000rpm at the national highway speed, the engine noise was barely noticeable. In summary, the car feels well assembled and should be tough enough to be used as a shuttle or taxi.

Standard specification is where the Ertiga also scores highly. There are three versions available with varying levels of specification. We drove the top-of-the-range 1.4-litre manual GLX Ertiga on the launch and that comes to market at R192 900 – a bargain in other words. More details about the Suzuki Ertiga’s features, specification and pricing can be found here.

Launch route

The launch took us from East London and into the back and beyond of the Eastern Cape, where Suzuki’s corporate social responsibility program is in the shape of a small primary school. Many of my fellow journalists jumped at the chance to drive the school kids back to their school, and the Ertiga was able to seat two adults and five children with ease.

I had two Suzuki staff members with me as well as another journalist, and with four adults in the car, I was worried there wouldn’t be enough power from the small engine. Thanks to some tweaked gear ratios, the Suzuki Ertiga still managed to perform admirably! I look forward to driving this vehicle on test, where it will be loaded to full capacity.