[MutantX]

dude, i suggest you TD i20 Era (BSIV) or even i10 (1.2 - Sportz / Asta). Proven car and has all that is needed. Ritz is also a very practical car, but somehow the rear puts me off. Just my personal POV.

[schitre05]

My 2 p
There are better looking cars than the Ritz, If you were floored by the design and cute lines of Micra, I am wondering how would you be able to digest the awkward behind of the ritz. Try seeing a fully laden Ritz with 4 people in it, it looks even worse. Otherwise engine wise its is a wonderful car, and with maruti's A.S.S. you will not go wrong.
Test drive the following cars before you book the Ritz
Hyundai i10 era
Chevy spark LT
Chevy Beat
Ford Figo
Hyundai i20 base version
Punto active/dynamic

cheers!!

[garry.brant]

Well if you have to chose from these two cars only then for sure it should be the RITZ for obvious reasons:
1. Maruti Service
2. The worldwide tested Multijet engine.
3. Great pickup and mileage.
4. Easily available and cheap spare parts.
5. Good resale value anytime u sell it.
However if you want to look other cars as well, you may try the new i20 Diesel thats a good one or even i10.
Things also depend on your budget , so please post the maximum you can spend.

[raul]

A friend of mine is in the same dilemma. only the other contender is the Swift and I suggested Micra, the build quality is good as are the interiors, its a well thought of car. The ritz has a better engine but overall I think the Micra is a better buy.

What scares a lot of folks with the Nissan is the service since its an unknown, but since Nissan has invested tons on money produce and sell the micra here I am sure they have paid serious attention to the after sales service too.

[adimicra]

Here is my honest advice -
You need to set your priorities right before you buy the car otherwise you will always end up as a dissatisfied owner. Right now, the state of mind you are in - whatever choice you make you will not be happy. So, it is very important to set your priorities right!
If you are looking for the best drivers car with best performance (petrol), close your eyes and go for Swift! Because Ritz though shares the same engine has slightly taller gear ratios ( little slower acceleration) and very poor handling because of the tall booy design and smaller wheelbase - so all that power can't be utilized fully if you want to have a blast!
I think you are not sure about what you want and once you set your priorities right, the decision is simple!
PS - No point in test driving other cars because all other petrol cars in the segment will be underpowered than the Ritz barring its cousin, the Swift!
Hope it helps!
You know my choice for various reasons - design/stlyling, interior space, interior quality and fit/finish, build quality, ride quality and handling, bigger and more usable boot - the Micra wins in all depts against the Ritz except the engine performance and the Maruti *** and service netowrk. Personally, I just hate the way the Ritz looks!

[navan49]

[quote=adimicra;1995030]Here is my honest advice -
You need to set your priorities right before you buy the car otherwise you will always end up as a dissatisfied owner.
very poor handling because of the tall booy design and smaller wheelbase - so all that power can't be utilized fully if you want to have a blast!

Hi adimicra,

I agree that you should finalize your priorities first. I dis agree with you regarding the comment of you on Poor handling of its Tall boy design. I feel it is wonderful with the falls type smooth gear and the high seating. Wheel base is bigger than Wagon R and the Polo and even Micra. Of course the rear look is horrible, but I honestly accepted the Ritz for all the other reasons said above and the FE and of course the Wonderful service network of MUL.

[SANSI]

Hi Mate,

Relax first.

TD once again both vehicles with family members and finalize. If you are a guy who would mostly be in city where Nissan dealership/service is easily available then you don't need to worry about a.s.s also. Though Micra is very new I feel the risk is less as Nissan is not the new.

Don't reject Ritz only because of its looks. You will get used to it. Remeber the comments when swift was introduced first? Personally I liked Ritz at first sight against the majority. I also didn't face any problem handling wise and able to push through the gaps & corners easily in bumper to bumper banglaore traffic around 70km daily. Also you don't need to select Ritz because of the maruti's mass/majority formula.

Warm Wishes,
SANSI

[W.A.G.7]

Hi friends,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and comments, I really value them a lot.

Yesterday, the entire day was spent in taking test drives (both i10's, Punto 1.2 active, Ritz and Swift, Micra) once again. I had one long TD (7-8kms) of both the Ritz and Micra (the cars which I had shortlisted) with my family.

Final result: I have listened to my heart and I have decided to go ahead with the Micra! Somehow it pulled the strings to my heart and I am a much relieved man today

Paid the full amount (4.05L after subtracting the booking amount) to the dealer yesterday evening and he has promised delivery of a Brick red Micra XE (with registration) by this coming Friday or Saturday!!

Accessories fitted in the showroom would be the only the remote central locking. I plan to get the ICE setup + wheelcaps + small tid-bits at Carax Pune immediately after I get the delivery of the vehicle. Alloy wheels are out of question for the time being as my budget is exhausted, but will do the tyre upgrade and alloy wheel fitting in the next 6 months.

If all goes well, expect a new thread on my experiences next Sunday or Monday!!

Once again, thanks a lot for your valuable suggestions

[SANSI]

Hi,

All the best. You will enjoy it for sure.

SANSI.

[MutantX]

WAG7, now that you have TD'ed both i10's, Punto 1.2 active, Ritz and Swift, Micra, could you tell us the difference in feel between the cars.

[adimicra]

[quote=navan49;1995684]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Here is my honest advice -
You need to set your priorities right before you buy the car otherwise you will always end up as a dissatisfied owner.
very poor handling because of the tall booy design and smaller wheelbase - so all that power can't be utilized fully if you want to have a blast!

Hi adimicra,

I agree that you should finalize your priorities first. I dis agree with you regarding the comment of you on Poor handling of its Tall boy design. I feel it is wonderful with the falls type smooth gear and the high seating. Wheel base is bigger than Wagon R and the Polo and even Micra. Of course the rear look is horrible, but I honestly accepted the Ritz for all the other reasons said above and the FE and of course the Wonderful service network of MUL.

Short reply - do not comment without knowing the facts . Ritz wheelbase = 2360mm, Swift=2380 mm and Micra=2450 mm, Micra has the largest wheelbase among the 3. Also, Polo wheelbase=2456 , similar to Micra! I don't want to argue much but Ritz is a pretty bad handler because mainly because of the tall-boy design, no tall boy is a good handler , period. As somebody said, no car is perfect. SO, we all need to appreciate the car we own for what it is good at and be open about what it is not so good!

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Hi friends,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and comments, I really value them a lot.

Yesterday, the entire day was spent in taking test drives (both i10's, Punto 1.2 active, Ritz and Swift, Micra) once again. I had one long TD (7-8kms) of both the Ritz and Micra (the cars which I had shortlisted) with my family.

Final result: I have listened to my heart and I have decided to go ahead with the Micra! Somehow it pulled the strings to my heart and I am a much relieved man today

Paid the full amount (4.05L after subtracting the booking amount) to the dealer yesterday evening and he has promised delivery of a Brick red Micra XE (with registration) by this coming Friday or Saturday!!

Accessories fitted in the showroom would be the only the remote central locking. I plan to get the ICE setup + wheelcaps + small tid-bits at Carax Pune immediately after I get the delivery of the vehicle. Alloy wheels are out of question for the time being as my budget is exhausted, but will do the tyre upgrade and alloy wheel fitting in the next 6 months.

If all goes well, expect a new thread on my experiences next Sunday or Monday!!

Once again, thanks a lot for your valuable suggestions

Hey WAG7, you are the first Micra owner on this forum. Looking forward to hear from you about your experiences and also your decision making process. Congrats !! I will be getting mine by 1st week of August!

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by SANSI

Hi,

All the best. You will enjoy it for sure.

SANSI.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by MutantX

WAG7, now that you have TD'ed both i10's, Punto 1.2 active, Ritz and Swift, Micra, could you tell us the difference in feel between the cars.

Sure. Since I had driven all cars back-2-back in a timespan of 8hrs, I can comment on that.

• Punto: At 67bhp, the 1.2L engine feels very underpowered and in the bumper to bumper Pune traffic, I had to down shift from 3rd to 2nd gear every time, the speed dropped below 20kmph.I wish Fiat had put a more decent 1.2 engine with the power output between 80-85 bhp.
• The 1.4 FIRE engined Punto was out of my budget, so I didn't drive it. Plus points include drool inducing looks, tank like build quality and amazing suspension which seems to soak up everything the roads throw at it. Minus points are the engine and after sales service. In fact the Pandit automotive person who accompanied me, himself advised against purchasing the Active variant saying it would run out of steam on the highway after 90-100kmph!! Talk about Fiat promotions and sales !
• Ritz/Swift: From Pandit automotive, I went to Sai service. But they didn't have a petrol Swift/Ritz available for test drive; only a diesel Ritz. So once again headed straight to Chowgule's to test drive both these cars. The 1.2L K-series engine is just fantastic and the gear box is one of the best in class what with those short throws and precise gear shifts. In fact in contrast to the Punto, I never had to down shift to the 2nd gear even if the speed dropped below 20kmph. Just a light tap on the accelerator and both the cars would just zip forward effortlessly.
• Since I had shortlisted the Ritz, I went for an extended test drive (total 7-8kms). The bulletproof engine and gearbox are reason enough to go in for any of these two cars, along with the best after sales service of Maruti. Minus points (if you can call them minus!) include long waiting period for Swift, slightly cramped interiors of the Swift compared to the Ritz, ugly rear end of the Ritz and the rattling interiors of the Ritz; but in my opinion these are negligible.Once again the 2 month long waiting period of the Swift put me off and so the Ritz became no.2 on my list.
• i10 twins: After Chowgule's, I went to Kothari Hyundai. First a test drive of the 1.1 iRDE followed by 1.2 Kappa. Even though the 1.1L engine produces the same 67bhp of power like the Punto, the engine doesn't feel stressed out and has far more driveablity than the Punto. In fact only once or twice did I have to downshift from 3rd to 2nd gear. Maybe because of the fact that the i10 is lighter than Punto?
• Cut over to the 1.2L kappa engine, and you can distinctly feel the difference in power.Just like the Ritz, it never felt underpowered in the traffice and has decent torque to keep puttering in town in the 3rd gear.
• However i10 was ruled out because 1) it has become a far too common sight on the Indian roads (I wanted something new) 2) Gearbox felt notchy in both the cars. In fact while starting off in the 1.2L car, the 1st gear simply refused to engage itself 4-5 times despite the clutch being fully engaged. That left a bad taste in my mouth, but it may be a specific problem to the test drive vehicle 3) Interiors felt cramped and more so after having sat in the Ritz. In our family we are a little plus sized though not hefty; and the interiors felt tad uncomfortable and plasticky.
• Plus points are great engine, good after sales service, good VFM with lots of goodies thrown in between. Minus points are the gearbox, plasticky interiors and its a far too common sight on the indian roads.
• Micra: Once again, the same sales person, the same car but a slightly longer route. The second time I rode the car the odometer already showed 290kms. So it's possible that the car was more slightly run in than my first attempt. Anyway the gearbox felt a bit more comfortable and the engine felt a little more free revving and I had a better experience in this second time. To cut a long story short the test drive vehicle felt a bit better compared to previous time.
• Plus points include fresh looks and beautiful colors, decent engine power and stunning AC. Minus points are after sales service, spare parts are priced a bit higher and the back seat absolutely lacks under thigh support of any sort (esp. on the lowest variant XE).

Since my family was with me, we thought and discussed for a few minutes and decided Micra was the car to have . Mind you this does not mean that the Ritz is a bad vehicle, technically it's just too perfect on paper and you can never go wrong with it, but as I mentioned previously I wanted something new and a bit stylish; so the Micra it was to be.

In fact if you don't want any headache but a great car; I would still recommend the Ritz. One point which I want to mention here is that Polo is another fantastic vehicle which I had test driven. But already the waiting period was 4 months in May and I felt it was over priced for the equipment levels and colors they were offering. Besides my mother didn't like the shape of the Polo (felt it was to rakish) and only red and white colors were available; while for other colors, dealer in Pune was quoting a date of September end.

Hope this helps all of you. Lessons learnt: If you want a car with absolutely no headache, go straight for the Ritz or the Swift. However keep the test drive of the these vehicles for last because after driving these cars any other engine feels puny in comparison to the 85Bhp power of the K-series motor.If you want something more snazzy, fresh and cute; go in for the Micra/Polo.

Two cars which I didn't consider at all: Petrol Ford Figo and Chevy Beat. Great products but I don't think the parent companies are doing enough justice to these. Things may have changed in these years for Ford but the bad experience of the Ikon still lingers in the minds of Indians and GM in the Indian mind set has a reputation of building thirsty vehicles.

Chevy beat is also nice, but interiors look cramped and none in my family liked the styling while the Figo has lower FE and power compared to the competition. Fuel efficiency though the last point on my mind, was something I could not overlook and thats what ruled out the Figo. A.S.S of ford/Chevy would not have been a problem because my office is in the same building on the 1st floor above Planet Ford while for Chevy the dealer Pashankar auto is just opposite on the same road.

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Hey WAG7, you are the first Micra owner on this forum. Looking forward to hear from you about your experiences and also your decision making process. Congrats !! I will be getting mine by 1st week of August!

Sure, I will put up my experiences in a separate thread next week!

[schitre05]

Congrats to you on your choice!!! Micra truly made a lot of sense for your requirement.
all the best!!
cheers!!

[nurni76]

Congrats on the Micra. A very sensible choice. I am looking at buying a hatch for my wife soon. Micra is in my consideration set. Will be eagerly waiting to read your experiences. Do post in a detailed review once you get the delivery along with pictures