Benchmarking

Benchmarking:

Benchmarking is a technical term or word for comparison, wherein a certain product is compared to another similar kind of product.

In the Automobile Vehicle development Process there are two different stages of Benchmarking:

Benchmarking I:

It is product-level benchmarking, wherein the whole product is compared to another one. In this different types of products available are shortlisted for analysis and identify what changes can be made in the developing product. Benchmarking I can also be stated, as the 'Comparison of your own product with what is already there in the market.

Benchmarking II:

It is a part-level comparison, wherein the parts or components of a product are compared to another one. Here the detailed report of each part is studied for comparison. For example, in automobiles, the part-to-part comparison is made to reduce the weight of the component for increasing performance.

For the comparison of cars in the range of 8-10 lakhs on road, the shortlisted cars are:

• Maruti Dzire (The variant chosen here is VXi AMT having 1.2L Petrol engine)

• Honda Amaze (The variant chosen here is S 1.2 CVT)

• Hyundai Aura (The variant chosen here is S 1.2 AMT)

• Tata Tigor (The variant chose here is XZA plus having 1.2L Petrol Engine)

The above four cars are chosen on the basis of certain criteria such as:

• 8 - 10 lakhs budget.
• Sub 4 Metre compact sedans.
• Automatic transmission for comfortable city roundabouts.
• CNG variant is not considered as CNG+ Automatic transmission combination is not available in the mentioned budget range.
• 5 - seater compact sedans are considered as there will be long monthly trips to Madurai (500 KM), small hatchbacks might be not comfortable for long journeys.

Engine and Transmission:

All four cars are having a 1.2L petrol engine mated to a 5 five-speed Automatic transmission except Honda Amaze is mated to a CVT transmission.

Only Dzire is having Idle Start/Stop function.

Dimensions:

All cars are below 4 metres and have other similar dimensions. Tigor is the smallest of the lot.

Suspension, Brakes and Steering:

All cars are having Disc and Drum brakes at the front and rear respectively. Only Tata Tigor is having alloy wheels for at this price range.

All four cars are having MacPherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear.

Aura and Tigor are having 15-inch wheels and Dzire and Amaze are having 14-inch wheels.

Safety:

Honda Amaze and Tata Tigor are having 4 star Global NCAP rating whereas Maruti Dzire and Hyundai Aura are having 2 Star global NCAP rating.

All cars are having 2 airbags as standard.

Tata Tigor does not have Child Seat Anchor points.

ABS and EBD are standard on all four cars.

Hill hold and ESP are available only on Maruti Dzire.

Comfort:

Automatic climate control is available only on Tata Tigor.

Rear AC vents are available only on Dzire and Aura which is important for rear passengers' comfort.

Connectivity:

Only Tata Tigor is having Android Auto and Apple Car Play is convenient for using infotainment.

Concluding, the best family car for Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii is Tata Tigor as there is good network for After Sales and Service for Tata nowadays, which will be helpful in the long trips. Very good in safety front as well. Comfort features are there as well like Android Auto and Auto climate control.