Multi-Purpose Vehicles are versatile vehicles that provides the best of everything. The power of an SUV, compactness of a hatchback & the comfort of a sedan. The Indian automobile market is slowly opting for larger and powerful cars and the new Maruti Suzuki XL6 cuts into the market very well.
The Indo-Japanese carmaker has finally launched the luxury MPV of the brand on 21st, April, 2022. The new model has a number of changes that makes it all the more better than its previous version. From a new engine, a new transmission & a number of upgrades makes it a whole new offering from the company. Is Maruti Suzuki XL6 the best MPV to buy in 2022?
New Upgrades in Maruti Suzuki XL6 2022 – Exterior
The new XL6 comes with a brand new grille that has more chrome than its predecessor. The newly designs 16” dual alloy tone wheel, the new chrome bar on the tailgate, more cladding on the rear all makes it look much more premium than the previous XL6. At the same time, the company didn’t tinker many things just to make a change.
XL6 has a better profile & premium feel than the Ertiga and the company has continued the same in this. In the front, the MPV gets a new full-LED headlights that augments the vision for the driver.
Interior & Safety Features in the New XL6 2022
The interiors of the new XL looks better with some upgrades. It gets a new 7” infotainment touchscreen. The MPV also gets Suzuki Connect which enables voice assistant for the vehicle. On the front, the driver and navigator seats are ventilated which is a welcome change for the tropical climate in our country. The addition of new ambient lighting, front door lights, automatic climate control, cooled cup holders and second row captain seats makes the XL6 more premium. It is to be noted that the company sells the model through their premium Nexa chain of showrooms and not the Arena through which it sells the Ertiga.
Other premium features of the MPV includes the telescopic adjustment option in steering wheels. On the safety front, the model comes with 4 airbags. However, it is to be noted that the regulator in India has mandated that all cars must come with 6 air bags from September. So, we can assume that it is in the development for the model. Other cool safety features include a new 360º parking camera, Hill Hold Assist, ESP & a tyre pressure monitoring system in the vehicle.
New Dual Jet Engine & Transmission in XL6
The XL6 gets a new 1.5 Litre dualjet petrol engine which offers better efficiency to the car. It is to be noted that the previous model had a mild hybrid which saves a lot of fuel in the crowded city traffic and traffic signals. The same is retained in this model too. One of the best feature of the previous XL6 was this smart start-stop technology. Whenever you idle in traffic signals, the car will automatically switch off the internal combustion engine and shift to the electric motors. As soon as you cross the threshold speed again, the engine switches on and shift gradually to the normal engine. The smooth and seamless operation of this feature is carried forward in this too.
However, one important drawback of the previous model was the laggy 4 speed automatic transmission system. Maruti has learnt from the previous mistakes and has used a better 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox with paddle shifters which makes the transmission smoother & quicker. The company has however retained the 5 speed manual gearbox instead of going to a new 6 speed gearbox. The company claims a mileage of 20.97km per litre of fuel for the manual gearbox & a 20.27 kmpl for the automatic transmission. The very low difference in the mileages is due to the fact that the car comes with a mild hybrid system. Either way, the hybrid system kicks in at slow and intermittent driving. As a result, the car maintains the same efficiency in the low speed travel too.
How Maruti Suzuki XL6 Fares against Competition
The MPV segment has a good number of cars from the underpowered Renault Triber, Mahindra Marazzo Hyundai Alcazar & the recently launched Kia Carens. The list also includes the own product of Maruti Suzuki, the Ertiga. However, at 3995mm Renault Triber is a smaller & more compact MPV when compared to other. Maruti Ertiga is ill-equipped to take on the rivals with a very low luxury quotient. Previous engine configuration or Ertiga was also not in its favour.
Renault Triber is smaller & less powerful & is clearly trumped out of the competition. Hyundai Alcazar is not a direct competitor as the price range of the Alcazar is much higher. Only other real competitor for the XL6 is Carens & Marazzo. Marazzo is out of the race and this leaves only the Korean Carens as the competitor.
On Road Price of Maruti Suzuki XL6 2022 in India
Maruti XL6 is priced at an affordable ₹11.29 Lakhs and priced all the way up to ₹14.39 Lakhs ex. Showroom prices. The on road price of the MPV is about 13.5 to 16 Lakhs. The XL6 is offered only in Zeta & Alpha variants with manual & automatic transmission systems. There is also an optional dual tone colour option in the MPV. You can choose to get the black canopy for the car that adds to the style quotient.
The new XL6 is offered in 6 colour options including Nexa Blue, Opulent Red, Brave Khaki, Grandeur Grey, Splendid Silver & Arctic White. The dual colour option comes in Silver, khaki & Red colours. With the right mix of power, economy, style, luxury and comfort, Maruti Suzuki XL6 is definitely the best MPV to buy in 2022.
So, what do you think? Will the Maruti Suzuki come over the tough competition from Kia Carens?
