Rare on the market, apparently this is a drawback of the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid
The Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid was once a variant of the Ertiga type sold by PT Suzuki Indomobil Sales (SIS) in Indonesia. One of the best-selling family cars in Indonesia, Suzuki offers quite a lot of Ertiga variants.
One of them that was presented was the Ertiga with a diesel engine. The cool thing is, this Ertiga diesel also has a mild hybrid system. This car, which is in the low multi-purpose vehicle (LMPV) category, was first launched on the market in February 2017 and at that time PT SIS imported it directly from India.
In Bollywood, the diesel engine variant of the Ertiga uses the middle letter code 'D' and is available in VDi, ZDi and ZDi+ types, while only the ZDi type is sent to Indonesia. At that time, PT SIS wanted to present another variant of the LMPV market, which at that time did not yet have an option with a diesel engine, especially in several areas in the archipelago, diesel cars were quite popular.
It's not surprising that fans of this car have received a good response, one of which is because diesel engines can be more economical but much more powerful than petrol engines. In the engine section, the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid uses an engine coded D13A, a Multijet 1.3 engine developed by Suzuki together with Fiat and General Motors.
The maximum power produced by the 1,248 cc capacity engine can reach 89 PS at an engine speed of 4,000 rpm. Meanwhile, the maximum torque reaches up to 200 Nm at speeds below 1,7500 rpm.
This power is then channeled through a 5-speed manual transmission system to the front wheels, unfortunately there is no automatic transmission variant in this variant like other types of Ertiga with petrol engines.
How the Hybrid System Works on the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel
The Suzuki Ertiga Diesel relies on a front-wheel drive system, aka front wheel drive (FWD), the same drive system used by the petrol version of the Suzuki Ertiga.
However, what is unique is the diesel working system on this engine, Suzuki uses a mild hybrid system. This system is different from the technology used by the Toyota Prius or CR-Z, where the engine uses a special battery, such as lithium-ion.
The technology used is called Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS). This system can optimize energy use by utilizing an electric motor to support acceleration and store regenerative energy when the car slows down or stops.
SHVS technology uses an Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) which functions as an alternator and generator to store energy wasted from braking or also called brake regeneration.
Suzuki's hybrid system consists of three main components, namely a diesel engine, a large capacity 70 Ah battery and ISG technology.
This power is channeled to activate superior features, such as idle start/stop and torque assist function. The idle start/stop feature functions to turn off the engine when the car stops for a moment. Of course, this feature can increase fuel consumption efficiency.
Meanwhile, the regenerative system on the Ertiga Hybrid allows the energy generated during braking or decelerating to be converted back into electrical energy that can be stored and reused.
Then apart from mild hybrid technology, the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid also uses Diesel Direct Injection System (DDIS) technology with the compression produced by this car being quite large, namely 17.6:1.
Suzuki claims that the Ertiga Diesel's fuel consumption can reach 22.6 km/liter, this consumption record is certainly better when compared to Low Cost Green Car (LCGC), such as the Honda Brio or Daihatsu Ayla.
However, the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel did not last long, sales only reached early 2018. Therefore, the population of this car can be said to be quite rare because it has only been marketed for approximately two years in Indonesia. In fact, in the used car market it is quite difficult to find a Suzuki Ertiga Diesel.
According to Donny Saputra, Marketing Director of 4 Wheels PT SIS at that time, he said that since it was first sold, the Ertiga Diesel had only been distributed around 1,700 units. So what makes this car less popular than the petrol-engined Ertiga?
Disadvantages of the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid, Reluctance to Drink Subsidized Diesel
The weakness of the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel Hybrid is that the engine components are very sensitive, starting from maintenance to choosing the fuel used by this car cannot be done carelessly.
This is because the diesel engine on the Ertiga is recommended to use fuel with cetane number 51 or at least Pertamina Dex and other equivalents, so this engine cannot consume subsidized diesel or bio diesel.
For consumers in big cities, they may have easy access to get good quality diesel such as Pertamina Dex or Dexlite, but, for consumers in regional areas, it will be difficult to get quality diesel.
If there were, you might have to queue long to fill up with non-subsidized diesel fuel. Therefore, consumers outside big cities or in regional areas prefer diesel cars that can consume low quality diesel, such as the Toyota Kijang Innova diesel and its classmates.
Same appearance as the petrol version but without automatic transmission
The interior and exterior design is almost no different from the Suzuki Ertiga with a GX type petrol engine. Of course, there could be added value if there were improvements in terms of entertainment features.
Luggage capacity is the same as the petrol version of the Suzuki Ertiga. The capacity is not very large and can only be used to carry small items. In fact, this car can be said to be a family car, where it should be synonymous with traveling, holidays, with full seats.
When you want to carry a lot of items, the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel has to sacrifice the seats in the third row to be folded so that the luggage capacity becomes wider. Apart from that, the idle start/stop feature was still unknown to many people at that time. Suzuki itself admits that this technology is still not popular with many consumers.
In fact, this feature can increase fuel efficiency, where the engine will automatically stop when the car stops for a moment and will automatically start again when the gas is stepped on. Another drawback is the transmission choice, namely 5-speed manual.
Meanwhile, consumers in big cities with more stop and go traffic conditions prefer to drive automatic cars or automatic transmissions.
Diesel engine performance is mediocre, less powerful on mountain roads
According to several users, another drawback of the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel is performance issues. Some consumers said that the transmission was a little sluggish when facing uphill roads, such as mountains and hills. In fact, in general a manual transmission will have better climbing ability compared to an automatic transmission.
In terms of engine capacity, it is considered too small for a diesel engine. With the scarcity of units on the market currently, the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel on the used car market is marketed at around IDR 138 million for the 2016 production year, IDR 140 million for the 2017 production year, and IDR 145 million for the 2018 production year.
Suzuki itself had mentioned that there was a possibility of reselling the Ertiga Diesel in Indonesia. The opportunity is still quite big, but the timing is still uncertain. In fact, demand outside Jabodetabek is quite high. It's just that the problem returns to the shortcomings of the Suzuki Ertiga Diesel, which cannot drink diesel carelessly.
