Maruti Ritz VXi - A good hatch for Family

Exterior

 I like the exterior style and unable to find any fault with it though this could have been better giving more legroom for rear passengers and more boot space.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Sufficient leg & head room. I like the Dash borard style and short gear. The fit and finsh can improve further.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

I bought the car in May 2012 and covered 15K in one year. Out of which 9K were only long drives. Approximately 1520 KM ( from Chennai to Trivandrum and back) done 5 times and chennai to Ooty one time. Long drive comfort is OK if you take adequate breaks inbetween. Then engine performance is excellent. Got average of 17 on highway and 12 in city. Initially the reverse gear was not smooth but after second service it is fine.

Ride Quality & Handling

Very good if you drive 80 to 100 km/hr. Pushing it above  120 felt less confident and mileage comes down drastically.  Good gound clearance and handles well most of pathholes and spead breakers. Felt little bit body roll in slow speeds. Need to maintain constant tyre pressure of 34 psi. I use only air and didn't find any noticeable difference with nitrogen which was filled during my first long drive. You can enjoy driving with this car when you drive relaxed in average constant speed of 90. Cornering ability is not that good when compared to other hatches like ford figo and driving during very good winds not giving much confidence in control. May be due to the 'tall boy' design.

Final Words

A good hatch for family.

Areas of improvement  

Headlight, Blind spots from driver side view, no dead pedal and a level high clutch and break levers from floor, poor rear visibility, overall fit and finish. Price wise felt 20 to 30 K more for the features provided. No rear wiper. Rear seat comfort and thigh support.

 

Engine performance, High Seating position, Spacious interior, Good control on long highway drivingHeadlight not giving any confidence during night driving, The tyre noise