Benchmarking

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, five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500kms away from Bangalore once in 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 with options so that he will buy a good car for his family.

Note: Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars

2. Prepare a report explaining what is benchmarking

3. compare at least 4 vehicles.

4. provide a proper conclusion for the report, suggesting a suitable vehicle among the comparison made.

BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking involves a structured comparison between similar products, services or processes on some dimensions of performance. For example it can be used to compare the availability and delivery of features in a product and in this form often provides the basis of consumer tests and reviews. These look at products and services and provide recommendations based on which is best or some form of ranking amongst competitors. Here we are benchmarking few cars based on a casestudy.

STUDY REPORT:

Here we are selecting five compact SUVs as Mr. Pughazhyendhii's family consists of five members and they often used to travel to their hometown which is 500km away from their current home. Also Mr. Pughazhyendhii need to use the car to commute to his office daily through the Banglore's traffic. It had mentioned that, he is fond of big cars and budget falls between 8 to 10 lakhs on road. So a compact SUV will be suitable for satisfying all this needs.

Selected car:- TATA TIAGO XZA Plus Dual Tone Roof AMT,Maruti Suzuki Dzire,Hyundai Aura,Honda Amaze

Cars were selected by roughly estimating the on road price of cars. We are comparing these cars based on the factors such as seating and boot capacity, safety, price, fuel efficiency, torque, power, transmisson, fuel tank capacity, comfort etc.

First, let us have a brief introduction for each car.

TATA TIAGO XZA Plus Dual Tone Roof AMT

Tata Motors has introduced the BS6 compliant Tiago NRG in the country. The model is offered in a single variant, and is available exclusively with a 1.2-litre petrol engine.

Exterior highlights of the BS6 Tata Tiago NRG include faux silver coloured skid plates at the front and rear, plastic body-cladding all around, 15-inch styled steel wheels, black cladding on the boot lid, a rear view camera, and black coloured elements such as the roof rails, ORVMs, B-pillars, C-pillars, and roof. The model is available in four colours that include Foresta Green, Snow White, Fire Red, and Cloudy Grey.

Inside, the new Tata Tiago NRG comes equipped with features like a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a digital instrument console, manual AC, a three-spoke steering wheel, centre console with a piano-black insert, an engine start-stop button, charcoal black interior theme, new fabric seats, and auto-folding ORVMs with welcome function.

The updated Tata Tiago NRG is powered by a BS6 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, Revotron petrol engine that is tuned to produce a maximum power output of 84bhp and 113Nm of torque. This motor is paired to a five-speed manual unit or an AMT unit. The model also boasts of a ground clearance of 181mm, which is 11mm more than the regular Tiago

Maruti Suzuki Dzire

The third generation Maruti Suzuki Dzire was launched in 2017 and got updated in 2020. In succession to the 2017 model, this car gets an update in terms of exterior design making it more contemporary with improved features and performance. This model will also offer AMT across a wider number of variants. The Swift moniker has been dropped to help bring about a bigger differentiation between the Swift hatchback and the compact sedan.

The interior, too, gets a new design for the dash, better quality plastics and soft-touch materials. This car also has a flat-bottom steering wheel with wood inserts, rear AC vents, full-colour MID, cruise control, dual front airbags and a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto/Mirror Link. It remains the same dimensions wise and is 40mm wider and has a 20mm longer wheelbase over the second generation model.

This third-generation Dzire moved to a new lightweight Heartect platform helping it shed close to 105kgs as compared to the second generation model and this aids in performance and fuel efficiency. There is now only one power train option which is the 1.2-litre K-Series Dualjet VVT engine producing 89bhp/113Nm. It can be had with a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT depending on the variant.

The 1.2-litre K Series Dualjet VVT with a five-speed manual delivers a fuel economy of 23.26kmpl while the AMT enabled versions to deliver an efficiency of 24.12kmpl.

Hyundai Aura

Hyundai Aura has been introduced in India with BS6 compliant petrol and diesel engine options. The vehicle is available in 12 variants and six colour schemes across three engine and two gearbox options. The Aura is the second car in the compact sedan segment and is based on the Grand i10 Nios hatchbac

As for the interior, the vehicle gets brown and black cabin with elements quite similar to that of the Nios hatchback. The highlight of the cabin is of course the eight-inch touchscreen system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and multiple connectivity options. The touchscreen system has been integrated into one big unit with the semi-digital speedometer and lends a nice, premium and modern touch to the design. In addition, you get climate control as well as height adjustment for the driver’s seat.

The Aura is available with three BS6 compliant engines- two petrol and one diesel. The standard petrol engine is a 1.2-litre unit producing 81bhp/114Nm while the second one is a 1.0-litre turbocharged unit producing 98bhp/172Nm. The 1.2-litre unit can be had with either a five-speed manual/five-speed automated manual while the smaller petrol unit only gets a manual five-speed gearbox. It is the first turbocharged petrol engine in the compact sedan segment. The diesel engine for the Aura is the same as the Xcent, a 1.2-litre four-cylinder producing 74bhp/190Nm and will also be offered with either a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT.

Honda Amaze

Honda Cars India has launched the facelifted Amaze in the country. The model is available in three variants including E, S, and VX, across five colour options such as Platinum White Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Golden Brown Metallic, Radiant Red, and a new Meteroid Grey Metallic colour.