To create a truly practical seven-seat MPV, Suzuki has stretched the Ertiga by 130 mm to 4 395 mm, while lifting the roof by 5 mm to give the vehicle a total height of 1 690 mm. The Ertiga is also 40 mm wider, which translates almost directly into more shoulder room for passengers in all three rows of seats.
Despite the extra length and width, Suzuki has kept the wheelbase unchanged at 2 740 mm, which means that the new Ertiga shares the nimble turning circle of 5.2 metres with its predecessor.
With the extra space available to them, Suzuki’s engineers set about creating a truly comfortable interior. The dark cloth seats are both more supportive – thanks to a new seat spring design – and roomier and the second (60/40) and third row (50/50) of seats can fold flat to create flat storage of up to 2.820 metres with the front passenger seat also folded flat.
With the seats up, the luggage compartment offers 199 litres of storage space, with a load floor that can adjust to two different heights. With the seats down, the load space is more hard wearing and sturdier than before, thanks to metal plates in all the folding seatbacks.
Ultimately, it is the driver and passengers who will benefit most from the extra space. The front occupants have 15 mm (passenger) and 25 mm (driver) more shoulder room, while the middle three passengers benefit from 10 mm extra space on each side. In the third row, the shoulder space increased by 15 mm on either side and there is ample additional leg room of 70 mm between the hip points of the second and third row of seats.
“We believe that a true seven-seater has to comfortably accommodate adult passengers in the third row. With the deep floor, more hip space and larger shoulder room, an adult passenger of up to 1.75 m will be seated comfortably, even on longer journeys,” says Venter.
The middle row has been redesigned to tilt and slide further forward to allow for easy ingress to and egress from the rearmost two seats and on the GL model there is a new roof-mounted second air conditioning unit for improved airflow to rear passengers.
Suzuki has also added the ability to lock the middle row in different configurations by as much as 140 mm from rear to front, for more rear leg room. The third row of seats can adjust their seatbacks by up to 15 degrees for more comfort.
According to Venter, the increased cabin space follows the insight that more and more young families find themselves sharing a home with parents as well. This increases the need for comfortable transport for children and adults alike, which is something the new Ertiga does with ease.