Benchmarking

Week-1 Challenge-1

The Process of Benchmarking

What is Benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the process making a comparison among products, services or process. It is applicable to all industries and sector.

Benchmarking in automotive sector involves the comparison of vehicles, prices, features and specifications and safety compliance in the costumers’ perspective. But, in the behind there is a lot of engineering research and development. Benchmarking is done in two phases in terms of an Engineers’ perspective: the one is on the basis of segment, variant, market and features and the other is on the basis of design, tooling and process features on which the product is being built.

CASE-Study

The Case

Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii is a married man who lives in Bangalore which is a highly crowded city. His Family comprises five members including his wife, a five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500kms away from Bangalore once a month. Also, he will be using his car to commute to his office. His budget falls between 8 to 10 lakhs on road. Please suggest to him options so that he will buy a good car for his family.

Note: Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars

The Inference

From Mr. Pughazyendhii’s purpose and expectations, the following criteria can be concluded.

• He needs a big family car for 5 occupants
• His budget is 8 to 10 L On-Road
• He has more commuting
• He goes to his native once a month

Requirement Calculation

Let’s assume that his office is 10 kms away from his home.

Therefore,

20×20 = 400 kms à to office commuting

500×2 = 1000 kms à to his native

Approximately, 1400 kms a month he drives a month. Considering is home location Bangalore, a heavily crowded and traffic city, he may opt form a compact, mid-size sedan and sub-compact SUV car with automatic transmission.

In the Late 2020 and early 2021, the Government of India decided to reduce the use of diesel fuelled passenger cars from the market gradually and to rule out, to promote the use of alternative fuels and to reduce emissions pollutions. He might look out for a diesel but not advisable for a sustainable future. So the options left out are gasoline, CNG, electric and hybrid powered cars. Bringing up Mr. Pughazyendhii’s purpose and budget in consideration, he has choices only from gasoline and hybrids.

Market Availability

Compact Sedans under Budget

• Hyundai Aura SX + Petrol AMT – 10.12 L On-Road
• Tata Tigor XZA Plus AMT Petrol – 9.90 L On-Road
• Tata Tigor XZA Plus Dual Tone Roof AMT Petrol – 10.00 L On-Road
• Honda Amaze S CVT Petrol – 10.00 L On-Road

Other Compact Sedans to Consider

• Honda Amaze VX CVT Petrol – 11.15 L On-Road
• Maruti Dzire Zxi+ AMT Petrol – 10.99 L On-Road

Mid-Size Sedans to Consider But above Budget

• Maruti Ciaz Smart Hybrid Alpha AT Petrol – 14.50 L On-Road

Sub-Compact SUVs under Budget

• Renault Kiger RXT AMT Petrol – 9.67 L On-Road

Other Sub-Compact SUVs to Consider But above Budget

• Renault Kiger RXZ Turbo CVT DT Petrol – 13.30 L On-Road
• Tata Nexon XMA Plus AMT (S) Petrol – 12.98 L On-Road
• Maruti Brezza Smart Hybrid Vxi AT Petrol – 13.59 L On-Road
• Mahindra XUV300 W6 AMT Sunroof NT Petrol – 13.16 L On-Road
• Nissan Magnite Turbo CVT Premium (O) DT Petrol – 13.30 L On-Road
• Maruti S-Cross Smart Hybrid Alpha AT Petrol – 15.95 L On-Road
• Hyundai Venue SX (O) Turbo iMT DT Petrol – 14.98 L On-Road
• Hyundai Venue SX (O) Turbo DCT DT Petrol – 15.78 L On-Road

* Prices are On-Road in 2022 with all accessories added.

* Reported by Vendors/Dealers in city.

* Subjected to change without prior notice.

Sedan Comparison Table

Performance

• From these spec comparisons of sedans, Suzuki Ciaz has an upper hand in Power and Torque. It also packed with a Mild Hybrid System to co-operate with reduced emissions and performance improvement.
• But in considering the budget it would be exceeding his limit.
• The next best performing is Honda Amaze in power but falls behind Tata’s Tigor and Suzuki’s Dzire in terms of Torque.
• When fuel efficiency comes under light Suzuki’s Dzire is the best in the segment whereas Honda’s Amaze is the least.
• In terms of overall performance Suzuki’s Dzire and Ciaz are clear winners.

Exterior

• In terms of exterior look Suzuki’s Ciaz is a standout with LED Projector Lamps and LED DRLs with chrome inserts in door handles, in fog lamp and rear reflector ornament inserts and a lot of chrome accents in the front grille and more chrome garnish in sides and rear boot lid. It is also equipped with R16 precision cut alloy wheels to give a premium and elegant look. It is also the biggest in the segment and with an exuberant 510 L Boot.
• When it comes to Suzuki‘s Dzire equipped with LED Projector Lamps and DRLs with chrome inserts in front grille, front fog lamp ornament, side door window linings and in rear boot lid. Also comes with a R15 precision cut alloy wheels. It has a boot space of 378 L.
• On the other hand Tata’s Tigor is equipped with similar things as Dzire but misses out chrome inserts on front fog lamp ornament and tops out with a shark fin antenna where both Ciaz and Dzire misses this.
• While, in Honda’s Amaze the middle variant S misses out some features whereas the top variant VX has almost the same features like its rivals do.
• When Hyundai’s Aura comes under light, it comes with a R15 Diamond cut alloy wheels with almost same features of its rivals.
• In considering his love for big cars he may watch out for Ciaz since it is the biggest in the comparison.

Interior

• The Ciaz is offered with the biggest legroom whereas Aura, Tigor and Dzire comes with the least legroom.
• Each OEMs use their State-of-the art finishes and looks in the interiors such as wooden finish on door garnish, chrome inserts in A/c vents, leather wrapped steering wheel, leather seats, fabric stitched seats, Dual Tone interiors and chrome finish gear knob.

Safety

• When it comes to safety Tata’s Tigor and Honda’s amaze are clear winners with a whooping 4 star rating in Global NCAP, the best in the segment.
• Their energy absorbing and ACE body structure is as strong which protects the occupants at all times.
• One other safer contender is Ciaz which has been tested in the ASEAN NCAP and scored 4 stars; it is equipped with not only occupant safety features but also with pedestrian safety features.
• Whereas Dzire and Aura falls behind in safety with 3 stars in Euro NCAP and 2 stars in Global NCAP ¹.
• All OEMs came up with ABS and EBD and 2 SRS Airbags as a standard safety feature across their vehicles.

1 – no report available

SUV Comparison Table

Performance

• From these spec comparisons of SUVs, Tata’s Nexon and Hyundai’s Venue has an upper hand in Power with a Turbocharged petrol motor, but the both falls behind in Torque.
• The highest Torque is offered by Mahindra’s XUV300.
• The next good performers are Suzuki’s Brezza and S-Cross with adequate Power and Torque figures and also mated with a mild hybrid system.
• When fuel efficiency comes under light Suzuki’s Brezza is the highest followed by Renault’s Kiger non-Turbo motor variant whereas Tata’s Nexon is the lowest but Nexon is equipped drive modes (ECO/City/Sport) to overcome this with programmed power, torque and traction control.
• The DCT variant of Huyndai’s Venue comes with the drive mode(Normal/ECO/Sport) to improve the performance experience.
• Renault and Nissan are the exchanged badging models which share the same platform and Technology in most of the aspects.
• In terms of overall performance taken into account Suzuki’s Brezza, S-Cross, Hyundai’s Venue, Renault’s Kiger, Nissan’s Magnite and Mahindra’s XUV300 come under the spotlight.

Exterior

• In terms of exterior look Suzuki’s S-Cross is more looks as a crossover vehicle that standsout with LED Projector Lamps and LED DRLs with chrome inserts in door handles, in fog lamp and rear reflector ornament inserts and a lot of chrome accents in the front grille and more chrome garnish in sides and rear boot lid. It is also equipped with R16 precision cut alloy wheels to give a premium and elegant look. It is also the biggest in the segment with the longest wheelbase and with an adequate 375 L Boot.
• When it comes to Suzuki‘s Brezza equipped with Bi-Halogen Projector Lamps with chrome inserts in front grille, side door window linings and comes with a SharkFin antenna. It has a boot space of 328 L.
• On the other hand Tata’s Nexon equipped with unique standout features like Electric Sunroof, Auto fold Outer Rear View Mirrors and shark fin antenna and Follow-me Home Lamps.
• While, in Hyundai’s Venue, it is equipped with LED Projector units with cornering lamps and DRLs, dark chrome front grille, skid plate at the front and rear and with R16 Diamond cut alloy wheels.
• When Renault’s Kiger and Nissan’s Magnite comes under light, it comes with a R15 Diamond cut alloy wheels with almost same features shared between them.
• In Mahindra XUV300 which is a solid rugged looking SUV equipped with Silver chrome inserts.
• In considering his love for big cars he may watch out for XUV300 and S-Cross.

Interior

• Both XUV300 and S-Cross offered with the biggest legroom whereas Magnite, Kiger, Venue, Nexon and Brezza offer adequate legroom.
• Each OEMs use their State-of-the art finishes and looks in the interiors such as wooden finish on door garnish, chrome inserts in A/c vents, leather wrapped steering wheel, leather seats, fabric stitched seats, Dual Tone interiors and chrome finish gear knob.

Safety

• When it comes to safety Tata’s Nexon and Mahindra’s XUV300 are clear winners with a whooping 5 star rating in Global NCAP, the best in the segment.
• Other safer contenders are S-Cross (7 Airbags), Brezza, Magnite, Kiger and Venue with 4 stars in Euro NCAP, Global NCAP and Australian NCAP.
• All OEMs came up with ABS and EBD and Electronic Stability Program and 2 SRS Airbags as a standard safety feature across their vehicles. Some even Equipped with 4 to 7 Airbags aswell.

Verdict

• Best car he can choose from the Sedans is Tata’s Tigor XZA+ Dual Tone Roof with AMT gearbox or Suzuki’s Dzire Zxi+ AMT.
• If he considers a long time keeping of the vehicle and not bothered about cost then he can surely go for Suzuki’s Ciaz Smart Hybrid Alpha AT.
• The only car he can choose from the SUVs under budget is Renault’s Kiger RXT (O) DT AMT.
• If he considers all aspects, value for money SUV he can go ahead with Tata’s Nexon XMA+ AMT (S), Nissan’s Magnite Turbo CVT XV Premium (O) DT, Mahindra’s XUV300 W6 AMT Sunroof NT, Suzuki’s Brezza Smart Hybrid Vxi AT.
• If cost is not a deciding factor he can go for Suzuki’s S-Cross Smart Hybrid Alpha AT and Hyundai’s Venue SX (O) Turbo iMT/DCT DT.

Conclusion

Thus, a detailed Benchmarking is done and recommendations were given to Mr.Pughazhyendhii based on his requirements and usage.