Benchmarking

Benchmarking for the given case

Definition of Benchmarking:

Benchmarking is a process of comparing products or services or processes having similarities with each other. For example, if we want to buy a hatchback we compare all the cars in the segment based on different aspects such as cabin features, safety, performance, mileage etc and we choose one of them.

Given Case:

Mr.D.S.Pughazhyendhii is a married man who lives in Bangalore Which is a highly crowded city. His family is comprised of 5 members including his wife, 5year boy, father and his mother. He once in a month visits his native place Madurai which is almost 500 km away from Bangalore. Also, he will be using his car to commute to his office. His budget falls between 8 to 10 lakh on road. He is fond of Big cars.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Five-seater car in the range of 8-10lakhs.
2. Suitable for both city and highway driving conditions
3. Better mileage
4. Robust chassis which has a 4 or 5-star rating in the crash test.

Choosing a segment of cars:

As per the conditions and his interests I chose the compact SUV segment. In this segment, there are cars which have many engine options, features inside the cabin, manual and automatic Gearbox options and also come in unique colour options.

There are four Compact SUVs I chose and I will be suggesting one out of the four options.

The four cars are given below:

1. Nissan Magnite
2. Renault Kiger
3. Tata Punch
4. Tata Nexon

*Ford Ecosport is not considered because it is discontinued in India.

In the given case It is said that Mr.D.S.Pughazhyendhii has a family comprised of a 5-year-old boy and also his parents. He also visits his native place which is 500 km away. Based on the above conditions I mainly focused on the safety of his family and good ride quality. As he is fond of big cars I chose compact SUVs under the given price.

The cars which I chose have 4-star and 5-star ratings in the crash tests which satisfies the requirement of the safety of the family. And they are also fuel-efficient in both city and highway. These four cars also have safety features like dual airbags, ESP, and ABS as standard. Cornering stability, Hill hold assist etc are additional safety features in the higher specs.

Comparison of all the cars:

1. Nissan Magnite

Description:

1. Nissan Magnite is a compact SUV which is a 5seater which has 19 engine options and two gearbox options namely manual and automatic transmission.
2. It has a striking design with sharp LED headlamps and DRLs. The interior has an all-black theme with a 7-inch infotainment system.
3. It gets a digital instrument cluster and automatic climate control.
4. It has 16-inch stylish alloys and chrome accents on the front, side and rear of the car.
5. This car is also fuel-efficient with claimed 18.7 KMPL. In city conditions, it can give 16 KMPL and on highways, it can give 18KMPL.
6. This car has wireless android auto and an apple car play system which no other car has in this segment.
7. There is a good amount of storage space inside the cabin and also has a boot space of 350ltrs which is sufficient for long journeys.
8. It is aggressively priced with a price range of 5.8 to 10.3 lakh rupees which has all the features and is styled like an SUV.

2. Renault Kiger:

Description :

1. Renault Kiger Is also similar to Nissan magnite with the same engine and transmission options.
2. They also have the same safety features and infotainment inside the cabin.
3. The Kiger also scores a 4-star rating in the crash test.
4. The claimed mileage of the car is 19.17kmpl which comes down to 17kmpl in real-world city conditions and can go up to 18kmpl on highways.
5. It has all LED lighting both front and rear just like Nissan magnite.
6. The major changes between Kiger and magnite are the exterior and interior design.
7. All the safety features and infotainment system are alike in both these cars.

3. Tata Punch:

Description:

1. The Tata Punch has 1 Petrol Engine on offer. The Petrol engine is 1199 cc. It is available with Manual & Automatic transmission. Depending upon the variant and fuel type the Punch has a mileage of 18.82 to 18.97 kmpl.
2. It has a 5-star rating in the crash test.
3. It has dual-tone colour options and gets safety features like dual airbags, ABS, ESP and cornering stability as standard features.
4. It doesn’t get full LED lighting but has LED DRLs in the front.
5. It has a claimed mileage of 18.8kmpl which in real-world conditions drops to 17kmpl in the city and 18kmpl on highways.
6. It is an aggressive and robust car which has the highest safety rating but has smaller dimensions compared to other cars which result in lesser space inside the cabin.

4. Tata Nexon:

Description:

1. The Tata Nexon has 1 Diesel Engine and 1 Petrol Engine on offer. The Diesel engine is 1497 cc while the Petrol engine is 1199 cc. It is available with Manual & Automatic transmission.
2. This car also has a 5-star rating in the crash test.
3. Nexon gets a fully digital instrument cluster and a 7-inch infotainment system like the other cars in the segment.
4. It has all the boxes ticked for all the features, space, safety, mileage and ride quality that it provides.
5. But all this comes at a higher cost which goes up to 14lakh for the higher spec.

Comparison of the specifications:

Dimensions:

Engine specifications:

Cabin features:

Infotainment:

Final Verdict:

“After comparing all these cars, I Suggest “Nissan Magnite” because it has an SUV-like styling and has all the latest features like all-LED lighting, chrome accents, Aggressive looks, 4-star rating safety, Digital instrument cluster, 7-inch infotainment system which also provides wireless apple car play and android auto. It is a spacious 5-seater car which suits both city traffic and highway driving. And the customer has 19 different engine and gearbox options to choose from based on their interest and also comes with a different combination of dual-tone colour options. The service of Nissan vehicles is easily accessible in every city and every state with their large fleet of showrooms and service stations. The price of the car ranges from 6-11Lakh rupees that meet the criteria of the given case.”