I apologize for the lengthy post. Please skip to the ownership details if you are not interested in the flashback section
May 2008
Me: Dad I want my own vehicle. Am going into final year and you promised Me one.
Dad: fine. Take the Verna. We are not using it anyway so you can use it fully.
Me: I can’t afford the petrol bills. The mileage is pathetic. I can’t drive it daily
Dad: son, listen carefully. You cannot afford to even buy a single tea on your own so I know very well that you cannot afford the petrol bills. Use the car whenever you want. There will always be full tank petrol when you take the car out.
Me: (jumping with joy on the inside) with a neutral face- ok I will think about it.
Fast forward to a week later
Me: I need a bike. I don’t want a car
Dad: are you crazy!! I am giving you a sedan with unlimited petrol and you are refusing it?? And there is no ways I am getting you a bike.
Me: I want a bike period.
Mom: to Dad-get him what he asks for. Why do you want to make him sad?
To me- tell which bike you want. We will get one for your birthday.
Me: (pushing my luck) I want the Yamaha r1.
Mom: that new sports bike? Ok fine. Go test drive and confirm. We will pay the booking amount next week
Dad and sis: are you crazy. He wants that imported sports bike costing 14+ lakhs!!!
Mom: OMG!! Anand there is a limit to everything (with a stern voice). Get a normal bike now and we will get that imported bike after you finish college!!
Dad: (now he is really pissed) you are the one spoiling him. Do whatever you people want.
Sometime in 2009:
Me: that sports bike I was talking about last year. When are we getting it?
Mom: if you pass engineering we will go pay cash the next day itself.
Dad: consider this offer too. If you pass I shall get you a Honda civic, top end and I shall give you 3 lakhs to modify it. Please don’t buy the bike.
Me: ok I will let you people know
July 2008-july 2009
Got an apache 160 fi (r15 for too small for someone who is 6 feet 2 inches)
Rode the bike like there was no tomorrow. a big list of modifications followed - read as fatter tires. Dual FFe's etc. one year was riding bliss
July 13 2009
Went for a ride with my friends to vandalur zoo. Had fun and while we were about to start I say to my friend these exact words “my right leg is paining. Don’t know why. You ride. I will be the pillion"
1.30-1.45 pm: Vandalur- kelambakkam road (state highway).
My friend was maintaining a steady speed of 55 KMPH when a truck driver decided to change lanes without signaling. My friend had no other choice than to hit the brakes and then the bike started skidding. A few seconds later I was sitting on the central median with blood all over my right leg. I roll up my jeans to see what happened and all I see is bone, the muscle has been burned away. I was then put in a share auto and taken to chettinad hospital nearby
After first aid I was shifted to my cousin sister’s hospital in RA puram for surgery. The surgery completed at 9pm. My results came out at around 10pm. I had passed. Finally I was an engineer. A few minutes later the doctor comes to see me.
Me: will I be able to ride again?
Doc: be happy if u can walk properly again
Me:
Damn!!! (There goes the R1)
Dec 2009:
Got joining date from CTS and wanted a car for commuting.
Me: Dad that civic you promised
Dad: no ways. I am not getting you anything fast. 16 bhp and you are limping now. I can’t imagine what will happen if I give you a fast car. Forget it.
Me: but how will I go to office. I can’t go by bus. The leg will start swelling in bus (and more emotional blackmail).
Dad: fine. I will get a car. But not a civic. And it has to be a diesel. And it has to be a maruti
Me: (with a sad face- there goes the civic and those 17 inch wheels and free flow.) ok. Swift is fine.
Cars India showroom - December 2009
Dad: does the swift diesel have abs and air bags?
SE: sir vdi has abs option but no airbags.
Dad: fine. I’d like to book a swift zxi then. That has airbags right?
Se: yes sir.
Me: I am going to start earning and I want to take care of the fuel bills on my own so I want a diesel. Book the vdi abs.
Dad: you are incorrigible. Turning to the S.E- swift vdi abs. what colors are available for immediate delivery?
Se: sir swift has minimum 3 months waiting period. Why don’t you see the Ritz?
Dad: ok. Same engine etc blah...
Fine give me a Ritz vdi abs model. Silver color.
Se: sir abs version will take more than a month.
Dad: I don’t know why you people have a showroom. Book the vdi model
Me: smiling nambiar style. Cool a powerful diesel!!!(Started thinking about alloys tires music system etc)
And now the ownership part!!
I took delivery of the car on December 24th 2009 and till date she has been with me through thick and thin. Not a day has passed without her.
For the first 2 months I was very careful while driving and was quiet pleased with the performance and stability and mileage. With the stock tire I extracted more than 18kmpl from her.
Trip to pondy:
One fine sat morning I had to leave to pondy for some personal work and took ritzy on her first proper highways- the ecr. Initially she was doing ok. But as the speeds increased she became nervous. She felt extremely unstable. I was very disappointed. In pondy I made a decision. Need new tires and it has to be 15 inch rims.
Monday morning I went to haute car zone in omr and purchase Ava alloys (set of 5) and 5 Yokohama avs decibel 195/60/r15 tires.
I take the next two days off from office. Filled up diesel and called up my Dad.
Me: I am going for a drive. Won’t be home for 2 days
Mom and Dad: are you running away with your gf? Please come home. We will talk. Don’t do anything stupid. We accept your love. If you want we will get you 2 engaged in next muhurtam.
Me: are you 2 crazy?? I do not have a GF!! And i am not running away for heaven’s sake!! Will you please stop this nonsense!!
Mom and Dad: Oh then ok. Be safe. I will transfer money to your account. Stay in a good hotel and eat properly. Call if you need anything.
Then started the first of the many journeys that me and ritzy have taken together.
I decided I shall go to my sisters’ place in theni. And boy o boy. Was I in for a big surprise!!!
Things I noticed about ritzy in that drive (all the below points have been repeated in all Ritz reviews)
Pros:
1. Power power and more power. More than enough for our highways. (But a dieseltronics box is due in next month)
2. With new shoes she just grips like a leech.
3. Visibility is superb on long drives.
4. Excellent comfort for the driver.
Cons:
1. Braking is not that good. It works but it makes you work too!!!
2. Ride is a little stiff because of the tire upgrade
3. Plenty of blind spots!!
Till this day ritzy has never failed me, ever.
THE OWNERSHIP DETAILS:
Alternatives considered:
None. Went in to buy the swift but since the waiting period was unacceptable went in for the Ritz Vdi.
Complete booking & delivery experience from the dealership:
The booking experience was very smooth. We faced no problems as such. Just a hours delay while taking the car. The PDI was done by dad. He had a list of things to check and till this date I have a doubt whether it is the teamBHP’s PDI check list. He denies this to the core. He says he does not follow teamBHP at all but all the teamBHP reviews are downloaded in his laptop!
On-road price, discounts etc.:
OTR it was around 5.5 lakhs. Got the sun film, pioneer head and 4 Sony speakers free.
Usage:
The car is used only by me. Initially the car had a very high running- around 70 kms a day. And once I shifted office to Tidel Park the usage became very low. 51000 kms in 930 days is an average of 55 kms per day.
Exterior styling & design:
Much has been talked about the styling of the car. But the car has grown on me.
Overall build quality and fit & finish:
The car is typical maruti. Very flimsy and light. If I lean too hard on the door panels they cave in which gives me a mini heart attack.
Interior design, quality, space and comfort:
The interior is bigger than the swift but not as big as figo or indica vista. It is adequate for 4 normal sized adults. The comfort level is higher for the driver and the front passenger than for the people sitting on the back seat. The design is ergonomic and the best thing about this car is the positioning of the gear lever. It is extremely comfortable once you get used to it.
AC:
The ac is effective even during the hot summers of Chennai. But the flow of air is restricted. If the air vents are turned directly towards the person he/she is chilled to the bones. But the cabin takes some time to cool.
Engine performance & drivability:
Inside the city it is ok to drive. The lag does interfere quite a bit in bumper to bumper traffic but it is nothing to complain about.
On the highways the car has enough Power to sustain speeds of 120-130. Short bursts of speeds higher than this are possible. (I do not exceed 100-110 on our highways.)
Fuel efficiency:
Normal diesel- 15/18(city/highways)
Shell diesel – 16.xx/20.xx (city/highways)
Best mileage in city- 18
Best mileage on highways- 23
Both the above best mileage figures were achieved using shell diesel.
Worst mileage in city- 12(Bad fuel and heavy traffic coupled with bad clutch)
Worst mileage on highways-15(Emergency driving. Please do not ask about the speeds touched. Used a Petes box for this drive.)
Suspension & ride quality, Handling, on-road behavior and grip levels:
The suspension is tuned for comfort and the grip levels are safe for a sedate driver in stock form. My car runs on 195/60/r15 MRF zlo’s. The grip levels are very good and the comfort is better than my previous yokohamas. The handling has improved because of the 15 inch rims but it is still a tall hatchback which rolls quite a bit. On the straight roads the car is rock stable at speed.
The only thing which I do not like in the car is the braking. The car stops. That’s about it. No feel from the brake pedal. The pedal feels wooden.
I have faced some rattling issues but all of them are due to my mistake. My spare full size alloy is not bolted down and this can sometimes cause some irritating sounds from the luggage area. Apart from that there are no rattling issues (touch wood)
Major parts changed:
Clutch assembly at 45000 kms. Would have lasted another 5k min but I wanted to get them changed before I went on a long drive to my home town. The brake pads were also changed at the same time for safety sake.
Costs:
Alloy + tires -> 20000+ (20000*2) - 2 sets of tires
Fuel- Taking 15kmpl as the average mileage and Rs46 as the diesel cost: Rs156400
Hellas: 10000
Head light upgrades: 2000
Seat covers: 5000
Service costs: 40000(Including oil changes and the clutch change and costs for wheel balancing and alignment)
Total: Rs 273400
Cost per km- Rs6
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