[akshay]

Hi

For the last five years we have loved our wagonR and we have traveled a lot in it as well - last year (6 of us - 5 people +1 dog) went all the way from Delhi to Mcleodganj in it without any issues other than sore butts! The WagonR has taken us for many trips from Delhi to Ahmedabad as well and we love the car.

In fact, my wife loved it so much that she insists on keeping it. Initially we were in the market for a car for her since she has recently started driving.

Now, that leaves me car-less or be(k)ar.

My budget is around 4 and the best VFM cars I can think about were the New WagonR Vxi and the Ritz Lxi in our rather strict budget of 4L(on road).

Which one is better for a trip happy family of 3? Useage for work is minimal in the city since I live <3 kms from the office. Its usually for fun drives around and when travelling.

[rajushank84]

I test drove Ritz last week and the new WagonR just today. So hope my inputs will be somewhat useful for you.

Steering: WagonR is lighter and easier to turn, Ritz gives better feel. Your choice.

Gearshift: Both are equal

First and second gear: WagonR is more peppy (probably because it is SOHC)

Third, Fourth and Fifth gear (where the action is!): Ritz anyday! The K-series engine comes into its own and loves to be revved. I found 3rd, 4th and 5th lifeless in WagonR

Braking: More or less equal

Handling: Took the same corner at about 40kmph in both the cars. Ritz is miles and miles and miles ahead. WagonR is scary to take corners with.

Ride: I preferred Ritz but I guess they are both more or less equal.

Looks: I think Ritz is the less ugly of the two.

Overall I would prefer the Ritz any day. It is a proper 4 cylinder, accelerates well in all gears and feels good to drive. Ritz's dynamics also feels much better sorted out, in fact it is almost equal to Swift.

Ritz will be enjoyable on long drives and hill stations. I am quite sure this WagonR will struggle to climb hills (it will climb and eventually get there, but not with grace).

I would go for Ritz if I were in your situation.

Hope this helps.

[HammerHead]

I would suggest you to test drive cars which may fall in your budget from other manufacturers as well.

If you strictly want to decide between WagonR and Ritz, Ritz it is, but I doubt if it will fit in your strict budget!!

IMO there is no point in selling WagonR and going in for new WagonR. Why Not Figo, Beat, Vista or i10?

[xingamazon]

Firstly, as far as I am concerned, both are of different paradigm you cant compare them apple to apple.
Secondly as mention by Hammerhead the best way is to TD both car and then decide as what matters is how you feel.
Thirdly, just for the sake of it, do TD cars like Punto, Polo, Figo and if possible Micra in near future. Do give yourself a chance. I am not telling these are superior than those if the MSIL stable. But dont get into a position of having missed an opportunity later on.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

First and second gear: WagonR is more peppy (probably because it is SOHC)

Third, Fourth and Fifth gear (where the action is!): Ritz anyday! The K-series engine comes into its own and loves to be revved. I found 3rd, 4th and 5th lifeless in WagonR

Are you comparing K Series Wagon R or old Wagon R? Im confused coz thread title says 2010 Wagon R. Well, if its K Series then its DOHC.

3rd 4th and 5th are a joy in even the 1 liter K Sereis motor! Its good once its on cam, but low end suffers in the 3 pot K.

Btw, test drive other cars in this segment, i10, Figo, etc, before you commit.

[rajushank84]

It is the K-series version (blue eyed boy) that I drove today. I thought it is a SOHC, purely from the way the 1st and 2nd gears gave such a good response which was missing in the higher gears! By the way the accelerator pedal was also very tight, I dont know maybe it is a problem in that particular test vehicle.

I agree, it is better for akshay to test drive and decide.

[DCEite]

For your kind of usage - WagonR is the best bet.
Even though Ritz is an overall better car - but ask this question to yourself - do you really need all that better acceleration, stability on highways when anyway your major running is in city ? You obviously get better equipment levels on the WR VXi then the Ritz LXi, so another +1 for the WR. And don't forget there would be a good difference between the fuel efficiency of the two. I am expecting WR to give about 14-15 kmpl realistically whereas Ritz would not give more than 12.

Hope that helps.

[JustCause]

If you already owned the Wagon R, then IMO there is no use going for the blue eyed boy(2010), as, basically, you get a similar car. The new one suits better to first time buyers than upgraders. I think the Ritz will offer you the same tallboy stance, coupled with spacious interiors and most importantly, you get the cream of the crop from the Maruti stable as far as engine & drivability is concerned.

Unless of course,if self winding windows, fog lamps and other thingummies seem more important, go for the VXi blue eyed boy.

2kmpl difference does not seem much to me.

Allow me to demonstrate an analogy which might make your decision easier:

We had to buy a car for office use back in 2007, the Indica DLX and the Indigo TDi had a price diff. of about 20k after discounts. While one offered power windows, rear wiper and the like in conjuction to same seat comfort levels, the Indigo had more space on the inside and was a segment above .

[aargee]

I own a WagonR & obviously my points here to you here will be more biased towards VXi. Anyway, I wish WagonR had these features; if you're concerned about one of these features more, then you can opt to choose Ritz.
- Steering mounted audio control (obviously Ritz also doesn't have this)
- 43 lts fuel tank
- 170mm GC
- Wish they'd provided 4 cylinder engine

What I like about the new WagonR
- Not sure how much comfort of "isolated trailing link with coil spring" in the rear suspension of WagonR can be comfortable than the regular "torsion beam & coil spring" in Ritz
- All the little goodies, integrated audio, under seat parcel tray, 12V adopter are the ones I love on the WagonR VXi
- Front & rear fog lamps of WagonR & the absence of it in Ritz LXi
- There's no central locking, tachometer, door ajar warning lamp, anti glare IRVM & vanity mirror in Ritz LXi, which are a must
- Do not worry about the rear seat comfort as the new WagonR hosts a better rear leg room

Last but not the least, if you were comparing ZXi Ritz & VXi WagonR, then I would prefer ZXi. Good luck with your choice

[SilkDrive]

Ritz is a better piece of machinery of the two having a better acceleration and suitability for highway drives. But, the LXI variant is a compromise on a lot of comfort features that the WagonR VXI will offer. Overall, the points scored by either of these cars is the same.

But upgrading from a wagonR to a blue-eyed WagonR does not seem to make much sense and can not really be called an upgrade either .

Here are my 2 cents (banking on the point that you do not buy a car everyday!)
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I guess, Ritz would overshoot your budget of 4L OTR by atleast 20K. So, since you are already a bit flexible with your budget, I would suggest you to, if necessary, hold your patience till the time you are able to throw in another ~30K for the Polo Trendline.

It looks great, has a very comfortable ride and good stability and mainly has an excellent build quality both on the interiors and the exteriors (that you would not get in a maruti any time soon). The engine is a 3 pot, but is quite peppy and fun to drive and since you will be upgrading from a WaagonR it would feel fairly good to you. The rear seat does not possess a very great leg-room but the angle of the back-rest and the bench makes it very very comfortable and I guess would really be a boon for your occasional getaways.

Just take a test drive of it and see if it impresses you.

[GTO]

You actually may miss the low rpm response of the ol' WagonR, in the new WagonR. Since both the generations are so similar, I don't think you will be all that satisfied with this upgrade. Car versus car, the Ritz is a far superior product and a worthy upgrade to the old Wagon. Consider stretching your budget for the Ritz, and also take a spin in the Chevy Beat. Even the fully-loaded Beat is very competitively priced (read = cheaper than the Ritz).

[akshay]

Thanks guys for your inputs. Took a TD of both today and really the Ritz was the winner.

On paper and on the face of it, the blue eyed boy does look good however in reality - with the really flimsy plastics, sub-standard music system and puny boot, it was dissapointing. The back seat did seem nice however the only person to ride at the back is our dog and she's neither big nor picky! Ride quality and engine wise it was okay - overall it didn't seem like an upgrade or even at par with our 5 year old WagonR.

The Ritz was much much nicer and scored on all above criteria except for the lack of coffee cup holders. According to me its actually bordering on sadism - why does maruti not like to see its customers totally 100% happy? The car is bigger, actually feels like an upgrade and handles sooo much better. The interiors just won our hearts over, esp the console and gear stick. My wife said that this is actually a true grown up wagonR - much more than the blue eyed boy. I liked it because to me it seems like a good hybrid of my old zippy zen and a few good parts of the old WagonR thrown in.

Again thank you so much for your support and advise. Plan to haggle a bit tomorrow and book the car asap.

[mpksuhas]

Congrats akshay, awaiting an initial ownership report from you. Which was the varient you decided on Lxi itself ?

[rajushank84]

Congrats! Great choice. Your wife is 100% correct, in fact Splash (Ritz) is the replacement for WagonR+ in other countries as well.

[neo45007]

Ritz was anyday a better choice.
Me too - chose Ritz after I had Wagon R.