मारुति सुज़ुकी रिट्ज़ यूज़र रिव्यूज़

I have taken the test drive of almost all cars in that segment Consist of Swift, UVA, i10, Indica Vista. I found Swift is best in Power & pickup but less in mileage, also the 4 years old technology as wll as very common therefore I dropped the plan else Swift is unbeatable. UVA is best in space but dull in pickup & moderate in Mileage, i10 has good look but bit congested on rear seats & doesn’t responded well on acceleration (moderate power & pickup but felt like stressing on engine) hence only the Car which satisfied me is Ritz. I went for the test drive, it has a good pickup, sufficient power & good mileage. I have easily touched the speed of 100Km/PH that I came to know when I saw the Speedo meter so the stability is also good. It’s a tall body so you feel like you are driving some SUV/MUV. There was a Honda CRV just beside to me & I was almost on the same height of driver’s seat. I have booked Ritz LXi in Blue Blaze color on 24th Aug 09 & getting the delivery on Dussera. I will keep posting my updates on the performance & other parameters.

Hi people I am writing this performance review after the 2000km service of my car and first fuel top up thereafter. I picked my Maruti Suzuki Ritz LXI on JAN 2010. I Am close to 5000km of running.  I work out kpl from fuel tank top up to top up using the trip meter. After intial one month the vehicle started giving me a kpl of 17 – 18 with Non AC on in city traffic of Shimoga. it giving me a kpl of 20 – 21 with Non AC on Highway,  Now it is giving me 16 – 17 kpl with AC, coz I use the HVAC in winter. Have taken it with ease to 120 kph with family sitting, till a stern warning with matching intensity glare from you know who made me come down closer to sanity. There was still pep left and the engine and the car had good grip of the road and good feel on the wheel. The engine responds very well to even slightest of pressure on the accelerator in all gears. Extremely helpful in those short fast burst required at times in the city. The speed range of the gears is wide and assists in the above case. The key to good average I have found is keeping the engine RPM around 1600 to 1700 rpm. At this let me add it touches 75kph in 5th gear. Have taken it out on a highway but cannot comment on the average there right now. However, the handling is extremely good. Have experienced excellent braking performance both at high speed and low. ABS actually lets us handle the turns and occasional zig zag of overtaking very well at all speeds. The engine leaves you exhilarated with responsiveness even if for overtaking the veh has to climb from 100kph to 120kph on highways.

Exterior The body strength looks good.  The front is classy with prominent grills. Headlamps are good. The only problem to some people would be its back. Its weird shaped agreed but it solves the objective of being different. For Ritz's looks you can easily say one thing "Love it or Hate it.. but cant avoid it".

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) This is where Ritz scores over everyone in its class. With its height it feels as if you are in a office cabin. The height also increases your visiblity wrt traffic. Dash board is of good quality with intelligent storage space. The gear handle location is perfect for anyone's arm. With its location you dont feel the pain of driving for long hours. AC is very powerful and does well enough to beat the delhi temperature of 44 c.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is peppy and responds to any kind of traffic situation.Be it a traffic situation of bumper to bumper traffic or driving on highways. I personally drove it with 7 of my friends fitted inside it and even at the speed of 135 i can feel the engine's capacity to increase the speed further. And all this you get with your giving you a mileage of around 13-14 kmpl.

Ride Quality & Handling The car's stability stands out despite its shape. As shared earlier with 135 kmph speed i could not feel any disturbance. This baby was just doing fine. The ground clearance is awesome and with its shock absorbers it can easily make its way through Okhala roads as well.

Final Words If you are planning to buy a family car which can easily make person of any age sit, Go for it, and As for its shape  you would stand out.

Areas of improvement Boot space.

To start this essay, may I remind you that I am from a very humble back ground. I was born in a Govt. hospital of North Calcutta and brought up in a very middle class family. When I look back to my childhood, it sometimes appears that the present segment of life (full of state of art gizmos, car and a 3BHK flat, rented though) is a dream rather than reality.

My present employer is none other that Govt. of India, who has been nurturing my growth (materially and otherwise – in all aspects). And under its aegis I earned everything (again, materially and otherwise) other than the legacy that I had as inheritance.

Recently, when I saw almost all my colleagues are buying new cars (mostly Honda City or its comparables), I wondered whatever may have happened to everyone. Ultimately it came into the fore that almost all first cars of ours are completing 15 years or so. Therefore, if we relocate on transfer, the “my dear” first car shall be redundant owing to India ’s national RTO norm.

After lot of discussion and quite some contemplation, I also decided for a new car. Honda City (or its comparables) is definitely gorgeous. No doubt among the peers, or otherwise, a car like this enhances one’s societal values. Not only that, it is a dream car to drive comfortably.

However, a few points came into fore while taking the final call :

Most of the colleagues are using Honda City as a speciality car (being used in special occasions), while regularly using the 1st car (Maruti 800 – nonA/c) for its easy maneuverability. When grilled, all of them said that parking in the main city is a trouble for Honda City, which is not for Maruti 800.

Almost at the same time, a news item caught my fancy. The boom in the car market in India is bolstered mainly by the hatchback. And in all segment of this, Maruti-Suzuki is the crowned king, so far as the market share is concerned. I am a typical Indian, who averts dreaming big.

In my rented premises, I can park only one car and one scooter.

I have been driving Maruti Omni for 14 years. And I hate negotiating the left back corner of my car in busy traffic, as this part of the car is farthest from my driving seat. (I have been subconsciously longing for a small car to drive through the hurling city traffic, due to this single reason). Many of my colleagues maintained that the same is true for Honda City also.

My personality (whatever it is) vis-à-vis Honda City reflects a “chauffer – car” relationship at the best. In the worst scenario, it may be a “cleaner – car“ one. As an owner, I shall never be able to flaunt a personality that goes seamlessly with that gorgeous 4 wheeler.

My family (i.e. my wife and daughter) is happy with a new car that would salvage them from sitting in the rear chamber of a bumpy van, that would force you to forget the word “comfort”. They do not have any fancy for a Sedan .

Put together, I zeroed in on 3 cars – Hyundai i10, Maruti Ritz and Maruti Swift, because Maruti and Hyundai are the two manufacturers, who could capture the sentiment of average Indians thanks to their omnipresent service centres.

Maruti Swift has already completed 5 years of its life in India . It is a good car, but there is nothing new about it. Hyundai i10 is the most favourite of mine among the three – but despite quite a few outstanding features, this car could not earn critical acclaims mainly due to space crunch in it. Maruti Ritz, already a superhit B segment hatchback in Europe in the name of “Splash”, is really a tall boy small car that brings fabulous freshness with slightly skewed exterior and huge cubic space in the interior. While a test drive, for a few kilometers, I concluded that THIS is my dream car. I became happier when my family members said that the ride was magnificent. They particularly enjoyed the smooth suspension, spacious interior and reasonably skewed look.

Here is the end of the story of my second car, which shall be delivered by end of this month. The colour shall be “pearl blue blaze” (to describe mineralogically, it is a deep grayish blue vitriol). I will get it fully loaded with accessories of matching colours and designs. Thanks for bearing with me. With n number of beautiful Sedans around, there was no point telling a detail story of acquiring an usual hatchback. Nevertheless, I felt like telling you about all aspect behind an extremely ordinary decision of mine. After all, the 2nd car is generally another extraordinary landmark of an ordinary life. Isn’t it?

Amit Roy Chowdhury

I bought Ritz LXI blue blaze nearly 2 months back. I have covered 1800km, which includes two long drive (total 800km) and remaining in city (Bangalore). first Service done. Many people in carwale.com reviews are claiming to get 15kmpl under city riding condition, but I never got more than 11kmpl, I keep AC ON 30% of the time in city. Recently I covered 400km (280 km highway, 120 city), overall mileage was 15.5kmpl. AC was ON 40% of the time.

Driving comfort is very good, very smooth. very spacicous, Reverse gear is an issue. its very tight. i sometime feel that blind-spot is also an issue in this car. many time i could not figure out other car running at blind-spot.

I preferred to buy LXI version, because VXI does not offer much at the cost difference of 35K.  you can get all the accessories in that cost.

Exteriors Look different from routine cars those ply on roads these days. let's say the style is different.  

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Ritz is more roomier than rest of the cars in its segment. you can not compare this car to spacious SUVs and sedans. but i think it has got more space than i10, wagon-r, a-star. indica vista is also spacious but one simply can not compare a tata car with a maruti car.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox It has more power in terms of BHP and torque. so fun to drive on highways, especially in kokan-like area where there are lots of GHAT sections. performance does not decrease even if AC is on. my previous Wagon R had that problem.

Final Words best option for those who drive in city as well as on highways with family. Maruti should think of making alloy wheels as standard part on all models of ritz. people who are more than 5 foot and 6 inches tall should consider this car and not swift as ritz is more suitable for tall people.

Exterior Exterior is very nice, exterior body support is good for fast driving, overtaking,  like arrow dian. design and K-12 Engine support :) good personality

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) My Ritz Lxi , Limited features, however all provision is available only put money for features, Space is very good for 5 person journey Interior Plastic quality is very good hard plastics, comfort is very good due to high seating, Ritz use for multi purpose vehicle car to car and commercial to cimercial there are 236 litre boot space it is enught and 60:40 split seat for one time 6 passenger journey about 1000 KM head room is very nice Soulder room is very nice it is mixing between Wagon-R and Swift. 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox You have take a coffee in rear seat @ 100 KMPH, Engine is quite refined, I was driven @140 PH no engine or body sound in inner room, only tyre sound, Fireing is like heavy vehicle, Fuel Economy overall 16.80 with 100% AC on. Gear box possition nice fiting. 

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is good Power Stearing awesome, It is Highway car for performence, also city is good Car Weight 1005 KG higher than new Swift 

Final Words I have suggest to all, buy a Ritz or Swift. It is best for performance, highway city driving, resale, good service Pls. dont purchase Hyundai I10 (small car than RITZ), or Chevrolet Beat, Hyundai best car is only  Verna fludic and Chevrolet best car is CRUZ also Kataria Dealer is no 1 in Gujarat. 

Areas of improvement Atleast given front Power Window and Manual Central locking on price 4.7 Lac on road. Nadiad/Ahmedabad. also improve K-12 with VVT engine, i.e. already available in New Swift.