Bigger the SUV bigger the desirability right well with us we've got four big
proper SUVs all of them back ladder frame chassis all wheel drive
hardware diesel engines with automatic transmissions and the one here is from
South Korea and it is dressed big for India Mahendra's Alturas G4 and there we
have Ford's recently updated Endeavour which is still big on keeping
things subtle and on this side we have what is often seen as a blip on the
sales chart that just grows bigger and bigger every year
Toyota Fortuner and there we have Isuzu MU X which is big on well being
Loki now let's see which one of these makes a big impression
would that be the biggest SUV here the Mahindra Alturas it's got the longest wheelbase is the
widest and the tallest SUV here yes from certain angles it could look better but
if you wanted a big square SUV
the second largest SUV here is the Ford and
a recent update has brought certain tweaks to the design but they don't
change what the Endeavour is which likes to keep things classy
on paper the MU-X is the third-largest SUV of the group here and in terms of
the wow factor well it's not really creating waves in this group in its
defence and all new MU-X would be maybe a year or two away the most
small and the Fortuner that never comes to mind but in this company it is the smallest
but one thing's for sure is the Fortuner that's gone big on bling but which one
of these is your favourite let us know in the comments below
so all these costs about 30 lakh rupees which is luxury car territory but do
they deliver a luxury experience
the Isuzu might be the cheapest here but its
quality is top-notch and it has a personality which might limit its appeal
the isuzu's ambience is about functionality being clean and purposeful
rather than luxurious you look at the materials or the design that's what it
feels like but every here and there they've tried to make it feel that
little bit richer like the use of leather here on the glove box and over
here for the drivers instrument console
the color combinations are also subdued and in terms of features it has skimped
the Toyota Fortuner is the most expensive SUV here but thankfully it
feels more premium than the Isuzu and in comparison to the Isuzu packs in a bit
extra when it comes to safety and convenience features but the
infotainment isn't much to boast about on either
but these two do have a twinkle in their eyes thanks to the LED projector lamps
and these two don't have LED projectors they have HIDs
and at night the Alturas headlights might not wow but on the inside it does it feels welcoming
indeed
doesn't this Mahindra's cabin looked like is from a segment above
it doesn't just look welcoming it actually welcomes you the seat slides back to make it easier
for you to step in and then as you shut the door it moves back to your driving
position and it knows your driving position because there are three memory
settings for the driver's seat and the leather as you may have noticed is
quilted and perforated because the front seats are also cooled
you step up from a 7-inch infotainment screen to an 8-inch unit with android auto and apple carplay
and there's a segment first 360-degree camera to our view further there's
ambient lighting and a drive the screen that looks top dollar
and it has a sunroof
so the endeavour it may not have cooled seats at a 360-degree camera but what it
has is a big panoramic sunroof
it also gets dual digital displays for the
driver one for all the car related functions like this handy off route
screen and thankfully the endeavour does offer apple carplay and android auto it
also has the best music system here up ten speaker unit
it also has power third-row seat fold function
here's how these two stack up in terms of features and better the two Japanese SUVs
so the Alturas has a few extras but it doesn't feel indestructible like the
others the gear lever or the no nor for the
music system they all feel a bit light and in the third row the aircon went
even popped off
so when you look at the wow factor and it's toughness is the endeavour that feels more enduring
which one of these is big on fa-very if you're buying a big
SUV it has to be a proper three row one which one is the best well surprise surprise
can you guess which one of the SUVs is the best seven seater I'm
sitting in the one can guess is the Isuzu well it starts from the second row
where you get the best shoulder actually the second best shoulder room but we'll
talk about the other one later it's got good knee room nice supportive
seats great Headroom and if the second seats were sliding then this third row
would have also been the best because under thigh support is really good but
even as is 5 foot 6 inch occupants can sit here comfortably Headroom is great
and well these armrests turn out to be nice and comfortable too
the endeavour it could have had the top slot if it were for a couple of things
if it had a little bit more shoulder room in the second row and hand rooms
definitely tighter here with the sunroof a quick version compared to the MU X and
well the third row it does offer good amount of knee room and the sliding
second row opens up the space then but the ingress and egress are definite
issues because the second row doesn't fold and tumble you can only fold it
forward and slide it forward so getting in and out is a bit tricky here
the best third run offer is here in the Fortuner well the middle row slides right now it
isn't stretched all the way forward so you have more knee room to open up and
while this might still look cramped there's one trick that the Fortuner has
and which is adjustable seat recline which can make things that much more
comfy over here but the overall experience in the Fortuner is damped by
this the overall height and as you can see the roof lining here it's quite low
so it eats into the sense of space here in the cabin and all the dark colors
used make this feel that much more coupe there
the second-row shoulder room is the least here
which one of these is the widest well it's this the Alturas and I'm here in
the third row and this enough space here for another adult and a kid in between
that's how wide it is but there are only two seat belts yes only two occupants
but you also have enough Headroom for a 6-footer to be sitting over here so why
would we not recommend this as a proper seventh seat in instead as a five plus
two because the seats are set so low so you don't get under thigh support and
the view out of the cabin is quite limited and there's no window here you
know it's not really large enough so it feels a bit claustrophobic however if
you're looking for a five-seater SUV
the widest cabin and lots of knee room make the Alturas is very generous the
three occupants but if you want to think lavish but what if you could have a
limousine leg experience in an SUV best of both worlds so we've seen the space
that these SUVs pack but for genuine comfort we need to understand how big
they are on shrugging off bad roads
let's be clear all of these SUVs ride on 18 inch wheels
with tall rubber they have lots of ground clearance and solid ladder frame
chassis so don't expect these SUVs to be car like to drive they will get a bit
bouncy and while the bounciest and the roll east of the lot is
well the mu-x it has the second highest ground clearance of 230 millimeters
unleaded and it has the softest suspension setup here so yes it does
pitch and roll a fair bit but you know what surprisingly it doesn't feel
annoying it feels light on his feet it feels like if you show it a really bad
batch it'll open it up and if you choose to cruise on the highway it'll do that
and next up we have trying to drive quickly over bad roads puts the
Alturas outside of its comfort zone it tends to get a little floppy and veiled
allure but if you're tackling bad roads that regular city speeds it does
just fine and if you're cruising out on the highway even the usual bumps or
potholes it starts goes off quite well
the competition is pushing the Fortuner hard you drive into a bad roads and you
realize that you end up feeling quite a bit of the surface inside the cabin the
suspension setup is the firmest here on the upside when you're out on the
highway this fields direct and easy to control
but the best balance is here in the ford it works just so softly over the worst
of broken roads and even as you drive faster
it stays in control which is what makes this the ideal combination to be driven
around so which one of these is big small no right to drive every day
all four have different engine sizes ranging from a 3.2 litre going down to a 2.2 litre
and the smallest engine here is in the Alturas the Alturas has sprung a surprise
with its engine it's quiet it's the quietest one here it's also the quickest
in a straight line the 7-speed gearbox of course helps and yes you have manual
controls but they really don't let you control anything let it do its thing and
it will manage just fine whether it's the highway or city commute and for the
record it's also the most fuel efficient car here in the city
yes the endeavour has the lowest city fuel efficiency but then it also has the biggest engine and
it has the most off 470 Newton meters of it and when it kicks it say about 3000
rpm and it's going all out it feels so far cheap and no speeds though the
throttle can leave you guessing a little bit so you might project a bit more
sometimes and the steering well it could have done with more feel but on the
whole the experience here in the endeavour is properly rich and that's
thanks to the active noise cancellation technology it just makes this cabin feel
so quiet and therefore luxurious
the MU X is the only one here with a five-speed gearbox but despite that
whether it's commuting or cruising it has the responsiveness that you bought
but it also has its own nature it likes to perform in a calm and fast free
manner rushing it around doesn't make it fun and well when it comes to rushing it
one thing that's always there in the cabin with you is the engines noise like the fortuner
so yes the Fortuner is loud and the gearbox could have been a bit
quicker but it does everything you want just that it may not
wow you except in terms of Highway fuel efficiency which is where it returned
the highest figure here so which one is big on sense
these are the service intervals for these SUVs and the warranties and when
we look at the warranties it's clear that the Isuzu is really out to build trust
and when it comes to safety you get abs with EBD ESP on all of them but
it's the Alturas that offers a segment topping nine airbags and strangely is
the ford that misses out on isofix mounts for child seats so now how do we sum them up
so do these big SUVs deliver they do but differently take
Isuzu MU X for instance now this comes across as a family SUV sensible calm
and capable no matter what you throw at it it's got space for seven and just has
this really tough feel about it what it misses out though is that feelgood
factor in terms of the desirability the way it looks on the features it has but
one that really does that your heartstrings is this Toyota For-
tuner it isn't hitting the mark when it comes to different aspects like ride
quality all the performance or the sense of luxury inside the cabin but
nonetheless this is one SUV that is still very popular and brand toyota
plays a big part on that front too and next is Mahindra's Alturas a limousine
and an SUV sounds almost too good to be true right this is a five plus two as
we like to call it but that 5 seats gives you a luxury experience but keep in mind
don't heat SUV like abuse on it it could be with better suspension for that and a
greater sense of durability but the one that's rounding things off really well
is Ford's Endeavour this is the SUV that's packing in performance comfort the
luxury factor the rough road ability and the sense of toughness to take on
anything our roads have to throw at it so if you're looking for a big SUV and
the one that in our books delivers big-time is this
Ford's Endeavour