Many carmakers equipped their vehicles with unique features, be it creature comfort or under the hood. But did you know that there are features that the carmakers offer in their vehicles but don’t usually advertise it? Okay, it is the idle start/stop function that we are talking here.
Just to give you a gist of it, the idle-start-stop function allows the vehicles to shut the engine down when it idles for 5-10 seconds. This time duration may wary with the car manufacturer. That said, this is done in order to save fuel and mostly comes into play when the vehicle stops on a traffic light. So, let’s see which all are the cars that possess this fuel-saving technique.
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Maruti Suzuki Dzire
One of the reasons a person has a Maruti Suzuki in his/her shopping list is fuel efficiency. And with the recent numbers, it’s clear as the Maruti Suzuki takes the top spot. This is not just because of a fuel-efficient engine but also the tech called SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki). Let me tell you this it is more than just a mere idle start-stop function.
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Maruti Suzuki Baleno
On the outside, Dzire and Baleno may seem different but under the hood, they possess the same motor. Speaking of which, it is a 1.2litre 4 cylinder dualjet petrol engine coupled with the same SHVS tech. In these vehicles sits another battery under the co-driver’s seat that powers a motor that also reduces some load on the engine. Hence, more fuel economy.
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Maruti Suzuki Ertiga
One of the cheapest yet effective alternative taking your whole family along is the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. That said, the vehicle runs on a 1.5-litre K15 engine that produces decent power figures and also comes with the SHVS technology. In the end, what more you can ask, you have the power to carry the car and the people in this fairly economic vehicle.
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Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
In the Maruti Suzuki family, the flag bearer of the SHVS technology is the Ciaz. Back in 2015 Ciaz with the DDIS 200 got this mild-hybrid technology making it one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the planet (when considering various aspects). The ARAI claimed fuel economy of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz was about 30kmpl. The figures are of is the diesel engine.
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Maruti Suzuki S-Cross
When the S-Cross made its debut in our country it was among the powerful compact SUVs. But that was not accepted by the car buyers here. Hence, in its first facelift, S-Cross got changes on the outside and also under the hood. Came the SHVS technology in the vehicle. And as of now, the petrol version of the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross still comes with this technology.
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Mahindra Scorpio
The Indian carmaker with the Scorpio went an extra mile and introduced India’s first idle start-stop function. They called it the ‘Micro Hybrid’. Unlike the SHVS this was just a regular idle start-stop feature and was deprived of any other function. That said, this feature still carries its game in the current generation of the ‘OVERPRICED’ Mahindra Scorpio.
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Mahindra XUV500
The Mahindra XUV 500 was one a flagship SUV in its stable and offered many of the first in segment features back when it was launched. Little has changed since which also includes the powertrain. Talking about it, engine and transmission are shared with the oldie Scorpio but in a different state of tune. That said, the XUV500 also comes with the same Micro-Hybrid system as the other vehicle from Mahindra. A thing to note is, once the XUV 500 sat a notch above the Scorpio. But now, Scorpio is more expensive than the premium XUV500 when comparing some variants. (God knows what happened to Mahindra)
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Renault Duster
The French compact SUV Duster is in our market for a while now. It wasn’t until 2020 that the turbo petrol engine came in the vehicle with the idle start-stop function. This turbo petrol engine sits at 2nd place when talking power. It is a 1.3-litre 4 cylinder turbo petrol engine that powers the vehicles. The engine coupled with the idle-start-stop function is enough to produce a decent fuel economy of 16.5kmpl.
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Nissan Kicks
The Kicks is the flagship SUV in Nissan’s family. Last year the Kicks got upgraded with a turbo petrol engine. This is the same engine that also powers the Duster about which we talked earlier. Hence it is obvious that this vehicle offers the idle-start-stop function. Powering the Nissan Kicks is the same 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine that generates 156ps of max power and 254Nm of peak torque. Those are some mouth-watering numbers.
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Tata Altroz
The Indian carmaker that is on fire lately is the Tata. The USP of the Tata cars is that they are safe. Tata Altroz is one of them. Tata last year launched their first premium hatchback to compete against the likes of Hyundai i20. That said, they gave this hatch a lot of style with a decent engine. Complementing the engine is the idle-start-stop function. Okay, this feature in the Altroz should not be confused with the one in Suzuki as it is not superior to SHVS.
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