Part of the Family – 2014 Suzuki Ertiga 1.4 GLX A/T

From the time we got our 2014 Suzuki Ertiga 1.4 GLX A/T long term test unit from the Suzuki Philippines factory on November 18, 2014 up to February 2, 2015, we have logged 3,600 kilometers and we had a lot of fun while racking up the mileage. On November 22nd, we drove our Ertiga from the SM City North Edsa parking building to the Fontana Resorts and Casino in Clark, Pampanga for the JSK Auto Fun Run IV along with 448 other cars. Our VP for Sales and Marketing, Shawie Dizon drove the Suzuki LUV in the long, long convoy of cars and earned the respect of the drivers of a couple of Ford Mustang 5.0 GTs.

“We were surprised with how this new factory-fresh Suzuki and its 1.4-liter 4-cylinder motor kept the pace with the convoy of modified cars”, the Mustang owners said. “We initially thought that a lady driver with two of her kids on board a mom-mobile in front of our V8-powered pony cars would just spoil our fun run. And then we realized that it was running quite comfortably at 100 km/h as our muscle cars. We were really amazed!” We don’t know if the Mustang owners were just being courteous but what we can be sure of was that our fuel mileage was a lot better than theirs.

Holy Water and Oil Change

On December 2 with 901 kilometers on the odometer, we had temporary plates made by a specialty shop and installed them with 3M molding tape while our Ertiga’s official LTO license plates are still being processed. On December 7 with 1,080 kilometers, we drove to Antipolo City and had the Ertiga blessed at the shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. On December 12 with 1,434 kilometers, we drove to the Suzuki Auto U.N. Avenue dealership on the 12th of December for our Ertiga’s requisite first 1,000-kilometer Periodic Maintenance Service (PMS).

While we were having an informal meeting with the dealership’s top honchos Leo Lei and Willard Keng, their Service Advisor Michael Madriaga took care of our Ertiga’s service needs. The PMS only took less than an hour and by the time our meeting ended, the job was done and our LUV was very, very clean. The service labor was free and all we have to pay for was the oil and some miscellaneous items. The total service bill was P1,320.00 which pegged our service costs at P0.91per kilometer.

Highway Flyer

After Christmas, we drove to Batangas to see my sister’s friend at a resort and after New Year’s Day, we drove to Tarlac to have lunch at one of the more popular theme park restaurants. It seems that our Ertiga 1.4-liter 4-cylinder motor loves to cruise the highways because it returns the best fuel mileage during these highway forays outside the crowded city. Aside from being a good bug catcher, the Ertiga seems to react to crosswinds more vividly because of its tall side profile and narrow track. But other than minor steering corrections, it’s safe and nice to drive on the toll ways,

The recent public appeal to increase the speed limit on the toll ways from 100 to 120 km/h compelled me to make an impromptu experiment. Using the Ertiga’s digital dash display, I found that at a steady 140 km/h, the engine spins at around 3,500 rpm and the fuel mileage is between 9 and 10 kilometers per liter. At a steady 120 km/h, the tachometer reads around 3,000 rpm and the fuel mileage hovers between 13 and 14 km/L. However, at a steady 100 km/h, the revs stay below 3,000 and the gas mileage jumps between 17 and 19 km/L. From these figures, you can draw your own conclusions on which toll way speed should be economical.

Our little brown Suzuki is fast becoming part of our family. It is easy to drive, easy to maintain and easy on the pocket. Suzuki was right to call the Ertiga a Life Utility Vehicle, or LUV for short, because it’s definitely one LUV that is definitely easy to love.

SPECIFICATIONS
Price : P812,000
Type : 5-door MPV
Engine : 1.4-liter inline-4 16V DOHC VVT
Displacement : 1,373cc
Horsepower : 95hp@6,000rpm
Transmission : 4-speed automatic
Wheelbase : 2,740 mm
Curb weight : 1,190 kg

MILEAGE REPORT
Odometer reading : 3,680.0 km
Mileage since last report: 3,644.0 km
Average fuel economy : 8.13 km/L
Fuel costs per kilometer : P4.97/km
Service costs : P0.37/km
Current running costs : P5.34/km

2014 Suzuki Ertiga 1.4 GLX – Fuel Consumption and Mileage Record

Date	Odometer Reading	Distance Travel	Fuel Volume	Price	Fuel Consumption	Cost per Kilometer
Power Wheels Volume 3 Issue 4
18-Nov-14	80.0		43.46	2,001.33	Initial Fill-up
24-Nov-14	453.0	373.0	36.64	1,696.80	10.18	4.55
29-Nov-14	729.0	276.0	35.78	1,593.28	7.71	5.77
3-Dec-14	959.0	230.0	34.20	1,501.38	6.73	6.53
10-Dec-14	1,268.0	309.0	39.92	1,677.84	7.74	5.43
16-Dec-14	1,518.0	250.0	34.73	1,397.88	7.20	5.59
		1,438.0	181.27	7,867.18	7.93	5.47

 

Words and photos by Lester Dizon