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.

It is particularly useful when comparing not only performance but also practice – in other words what do the different organizations do to enable that performance to be delivered? And applied in this way it is a powerful tool in process innovation sin e studying how the ‘best’ achieve their performance can provide powerful clues for changing the way processes operate. Process benchmarking of this kind can operate at several levels:

• Between similar processes in the same factory or service branch
• Between different factories or service branches
• Between different competing organizations
• Between different sectors using the same process

Mahindra XUV300

PRICE	8.41 LAKH ONWARDS
ENGINE	1497 cc (Diesel)
GROUND CLEARANCE	180MM
MILEAGE	20 Kmpl
POWER	115bhp@3750rpm
TORQUE	300Nm@1500-2500rpm.
FUEL TANK CAPACITY	42 Liters
BOOT SPACE	259 Liters
NCAP Rating	5 star

KEY FEATURES:

• All 4 Disc Brakes
• Smart Steering System (Segment 1st)
• All 4 Power Windows
• Hill Hold Control
• 7 Airbags
• 8 Way Adjustable Front Seats
• Automatic Dual Zone AC

POSITIVES:

• A long list of features like front parking sensors, TPMS, and child-seat anchoring, push-button start, leather seats, sunroof, cruise control, navigation, heated mirrors, dual-zone climate control with its own set of memory function etc.
• Good torque
• Driver, Passenger and Side Front airbags.
• NCAP rating of 16.42 points in adult safety and 37.44 points in child safety.

NEGATIVES:

• Average cabin space.
• small boot space.
• noise/vibration levels (diesel).

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross

KEY FEATURES

Price:	₹ 8.71 Lakh onwards
Mileage:	18.43 to 18.55 kmpl
Engine:	1462 cc
Transmission	Manual
Fuel Type	Petrol
Fuel Tank Capacity	48 liters
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	138Nm@4400rpm
Seating Capacity	5 Seater
NCAP Rating	5 star

Power Steering

Power Windows Front

Anti Lock Braking System

Air Conditioner

Driver Airbag

Passenger Airbag

Automatic Climate Control

Fog Lights - Front

Alloy Wheels

POSITIVES:

• offers a lot more space than its rivals
• The seats are really supportive and the rear seats also offer great under-thigh support.
• perfect blend of performance and efficiency.
• The suspension tuning is great and it neither feels soft nor stiff and offers a good ride quality.
• Maruti has priced the S-Cross well and it doesn't pitch in the category of compact SUVs like the Creta or the Seltos.

NEGATIVES:

• S-Cross lacks the SUV proportions which people do expect at this price point.
• Features like electric sunroof, rear AC vents, 6-airbags, passive safety features are missing whereas others like ventilated seats, wireless charging and air purifier are not close to even dreams.
• The 4-speed AT of the S-Cross feels just fine inside the city but for the highways, it lacks the ratios and affects fuel efficiency as well.
• No dieseal variant available.

Maruti Suzuki Ciaz

KEY FEATURES

Price	₹ 8.78 Lakh onwards
Fuel Type	diesel
Engine Displacement (cc)	1500cc
No. of cylinder	4
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	103.25bhp@6000rpm
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	138Nm@4400rpm
Mileage	21.14kmpl
TransmissionType	Manual
Boot Space (Litres)	510
Fuel Tank Capacity	43.0 liters
NCAP Rating	4 out of 5 stars

Power Steering

Power Windows Front

Air Conditioner

Driver Airbag

Passenger Airbag

Automatic Climate Control

Fog Lights - Front

Alloy Wheels

POSITIVES

• Very spacious cabin
• Fuel efficient
• Ease of driving (light clutch effort, the precise and easy to slot in gear shifts, and the light steering to this visibility).
• Less turbo-lag.
• Good value for a Sedan class car

NEGATIVES

• Bouncy high-speed ride quality
• It feels vague off-centre and lacks feel and feedback.
• Should have worked on the NVH levels as you can hear the suspension working all the time.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

KEY FEATURES

Price	₹ 9.02 Lakh onwards
Mileage (upto)	18.76 kmpl
Engine (upto)	1462 cc
BHP	103.26bhp at 6,000rpm
Transmission	Manual
Seats	5
Boot Space	328 liters
Fuel Tank Capacity	48.0 liters
NCAP Rating	4 out of 5 stars

Power Steering

Power Windows Front

Anti Lock Braking System

Air Conditioner

Driver Airbag

Passenger Airbag

Automatic Climate Control

Fog Lights - Front

Alloy Wheels

POSITIVES

• Driving dynamics
• The reasonably spacious, well-built cabin.
• Well-balanced four-cylinder configuration, doesn’t vibrate harshly even when you keep it at a boil all day.

NEGATIVES

• Looks too similar to Maruti's Vitara Brezza
• Firm slow-speed ride

Tata Nexon

KEY FEATURES

Price	₹ 7.54 Lakh onwards
Mileage	16.35 to 22.07 kmpl
Engine	1199 to 1497 cc
Torque	260Nm
power	108bhp
Transmission	Manual & Automatic (AMT)
Fuel Type	Petrol & Diesel
Seating Capacity	5 Seater

POSITIVES

• Upmarket looks, five-star G-NCAP safety
• Spacious cabin compared to rivals
• Easy to drive and live with

NEGATIVES

• Interior quality could be better
• Low-end grunt from motors
• Infotainment screen not as good as rivals

CONCLUSION

TATA NEXON is the most convenient car to buy, following are the points that supports this car.

• TATA Nexon comes well under the budget of 10 lakh, even some of the higher variants of this cars comes well under this budget.
• Looks stunning with a strong road presence.
• Spacious and feature-packed cabin.
• Well-sorted ride and handling.
• You also must be quite familiar by now with the new Tata cars scoring high on safety. It, in fact, started with the Nexon as it was the first model to receive a five-star safety rating from Global NCAP.
• This is backed up by a safety suite of dual-airbags, roll-over mitigation, ABS with EBD, traction control, and more.
• The new-age Tata cars have set a high benchmark for good ride quality and the Nexon carries forward this trait. It has been appreciated in the past for its nicely tuned suspension that now provides the right balance for both slow and high-speed rides.