[n_aditya]

Prologue:

For those of you who are familiar, the 2 cars in our garage comprised of the humble Maruti 800 (2003) and the Maruti Esteem Limited Edition (2002).

Dad was asking me to sell off the esteem for almost 2 years now. It was a decade since we had bought it and also Maruti Suzuki had stopped manufacturing this as well which hit the resale value.

Initially i was not interested in replacing it since the car was in perfect health - 60,000 kms on the clock, excellent mechanicals, electricals and body panels were in good shape too.

I had had oodles of fun with this car on the highways and on the race track (MMST). The car was running a 4x1 header with free flow exhaust and a OE drop-in K&N filter which propelled her to 165kmph in III gear (these speeds were achieved in controlled conditions on the MMST track). It was so much fun to redline this car.

A pic from one of the trackday's that I had attended at MMST, Chennai.



A couple of other random pics:





So i finally gave in to dad's persistence and started looking for a buyer sometime last year. I put up an advert on the team-bhp classifieds as well but pulled down the ad after a few days. I couldn't bear to see the esteem going away. I had a very good offer from an NRI who wanted to buy this for his use when he visited India every year for a few months. The gentleman had not even opened the doors of the car, let alone start the engine. One look and he made an offer. I declined any token advance since i wanted to sleep over it for a day or two. Finally the next evening i called him and said i was going to keep her for a little while longer.

Dad was still bugging me to sell the car saying we will get peanuts for it if we don't sell now. So after one whole year of my dad's insistence, i finally gave in and started my hunt for a replacement. It had to be a small car / hatch since i would be the only driver and my wife and son would be the passengers 90% of the time. I wasn't too keen on a sedan since parking in Bangalore's tight spaces is a nightmare considering space constraints and also, for just the 3 of us, a bigger car meant waste of space.

The new car was going to be on a company lease and since my 5 day weekly commute from home-office-home entails a 60 km drive i decided to buy a diesel.


The Contenders:

1. Chevy Beat Diesel

2. Maruti Suzuki Ritz

3. Toyota Etios Liva

4. Chevy Sail UV-A

Fiat Punto and VW Polo was out of the list since i had heard not-so-good reports on A-S-S from Fiat or VW owners. Parts were expensive with the VW's and FIAT was a hit or miss, thanks to their after sales service. No offense to owners of these brands. My research was done on team-bhp ownership threads and from opinions shared by fellow friends who owned these cars.

So anyway, a TD of the Beat Diesel was scheduled and i loved the "space age" interiors. Funky lighting and superbike inspired instrument console looked modern compared to the plain jane interiors of the esteem. The Auto A/C in the top end beat was a nice feature. The TD car was almost brand new with only 500 kms on the clock so i had no idea how well this aged.

A TD on some uneven roads put me off since the car felt very delicate. It also felt breathless on a vast open stretch of road where i took the car. So this was not the car for me.

Incidentally the Ritz LDi also arrived for a TD the same day. It had run some 50,000 odd kms and save for a broken dial on the a/c switchgear (air flow selector) everything felt fine. The car felt planted on the same stretch of uneven roads that i had driven the Beat on. The engine was a lot more responsive and the tall boy design made me feel i was driving a cross over. With the esteem's low ground clearance, ingress and egress was a pain but with the Ritz it was a lot more comfy.

I made it clear to the sales executives from Chevy and Maruti that i will take my own sweet time to make a decision.

A month or so later, i test drove the Etios Liva.

In less than 20 mins this was out of the window. The car had horrible rattles (was around 30,000 kms on the clock), a/c was not working well and this was sometime in Oct (imagine summers, phew!). Also the engine NVH was high and made me feel like i was sitting in a qualis (no offense to Toyota owners).

I loved the space though - the rear seat was really wide and could comfortably seat 4 adults.

Then i read the official review of the Sail UV/A and called Kropex Chevrolet for a TD. A nice bright red Sail UV/A was sent to my office and i loved the car for the amount of space it offered. It was a nice VFM package for that price range but i was hesitant. Moving from Maruti's legendary After Sales Service to Chevy despite the Chevy Promise was a question mark for me. I had asked the dealer for a longer TD but that was conveniently forgotten. Repeated follow-up's with the dealer did not bear fruit either, maybe since the car was just launched it was in demand for test drives but i expected the dealer to at least try and make a schedule for another TD or call and inform me. I had not even bought the car and the dealer did not even care to sell it, i wondered what the state of affairs would be post the sale.

I must say that i was almost convinced and had decided on the Sail UV/A. If the dealer had followed up, i may have probably bought the Sail UV/A, a small probability but nevertheless it was on my mind.

Some of you may wonder why the Swift did not make it to the list. Well, the swift carries a premium tag, is a lot more expensive and not as generous as the Ritz on the space front (seating and boot space). Plus, i wanted a fully loaded car and for my budget, the Ritz ticked all the boxes.

[n_aditya]

The Decision:

Being associated with Maruti for almost 20 years, and having owned 3 maruti's earlier with zero hassles and complete peace of mind, it was a no brainer that the replacement for the esteem had to be another Maruti and the Ritz checked all the boxes.

Finally in the month of Jan, the esteem was sold for around 1.2L to Mandovi True Value. The entire process was smooth and really quick. The true value executive came home with a file containing papers that required signatures and after those documents were signed, a check for 1.2L was handed over. I could not use this as a discount against the new car since my company lease policy did not allow it. I did not bother to remove the headers, free flow and the K&N since that would just occupy space at home till someone else picked it up. Gave the OE parts along with the car. I only asked for the sports steering to be returned to me which i promptly received in a day or two.

I read up on the Ritz ownership threads (thanks to schoudhury, RavenAvi, a4anurag, salunkhe.vizz) and cemented my decision to go with the Ritz.


Confusion... And the booking.

But which variant? This was the biggest confusion for me.

Initially we considered the LDi but only for a short while. The car was very basic with absolutely no features. No power windows too. So we checked out the VDi and the VDi with optional ABS. Hardly any major feature differences between the two so i was confused. The price difference between the VDi with ABS and the ZDi was around 45k so i was leaning towards the ZDi... but it was 1.0L more than the VDi.

So VDi it was. But not for long !!!

We took a look at the colors and fortunately my wife and I did not have to ponder much on the color choices. We saw a Breeze Blue on display at Mandovi and we liked it.

White was too common, Bakers Chocolate (Brown) was too dark and hiding the curves and design cues, red and silver was not to my liking.

We made a booking on 16th Jan for the VDi in Breeze Blue by paying an advance of 5k.

Mandovi Motors is our preferred dealer since we know the GM -Sales for over 2 decades. This would be our 4th car from Mandovi (6th car from this GM since dad had bought 2 other cars from India Garage, whom the GM was with previously).

Early Jan 2013, the prices of all models were hiked but i was told to make the booking immediately to avail the old rate. Booking done and i asked the sales executive to let me know the quantum of the price hike (the revised price list was expected in a day or two).

A couple of days later, the price list was up and the new price was up by 12k. In the meanwhile my wife and I were discussing at length if we should really spend the extra 1.0L for a ZDi. The most important feature was the airbags and ABS. I figured that if i bought the VDi, i would need to spend at least 50k for alloys and wider tires, another 20 - 30k for ICE. Missing out on ABS and Airbags for a difference of 20-30k was too hard to digest. At this point, i also remembered my conversation with Ajmat when Sam had tragically passed away. Ajmat had mentioned to me that if i was indeed buying a new car, it should definitely have airbags and abs in it. I was in agreement and since we don't change cars often, the extra 1L that we would be paying would hardly be a big difference considering we kept the car for at least 5 years, let alone another decade. Plus, the investment towards our safety was priceless and so it had to be the ZDi.

The booking was changed to the ZDi variant during Jan end and i was told to expect delivery by mid Feb (one month waiting, since ZDi in breeze blue color was unavailable and had to be ordered). I was getting excited as the days passed and made calls to the sales executive once every 2-3 days to check on the delivery.

Around 10th Feb i was getting really impatient since the car was nowhere near the promised delivery date (booked on 16th Jan). I spoke to the GM sales and said i had no updates and if it was taking longer i would like to cancel my booking. To my surprise the car was already in transit and would be reaching the warehouse in a day or two. I was told i can take delivery on 14th Feb - Valentine's Day. Sadly this was not possible since the sales executive had told me to initiate company lease only after the car was dispatched from the factory... and he had no clue that it was already en-route to the dealer warehouse. I was angry for missing out on that lovely ownership date.

I initiated the lease process which took a little over a week. Finally the purchase order was released to the dealer and i was promised delivery on Friday, 22nd Feb 2013.

I ravaged all the team bhp ownership threads again for those finer details that i might have overlooked.

[n_aditya]

Pre-delivery:

All the paperwork was complete. Company lease was availed through Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited and for the On Road price.

I availed insurance from my employer's approved vendor, premium amounted to 15k odd bucks (~9k cheaper than dealer provided insurance) with zero depreciation top up cover inclusive.

Here is a break-up for those interested:

Ex-Showroom Price - Rs. 554,620/-

Road Tax - Rs. 101,795/-

Regn. charges, incidental expenses (transportation cost from factory to showroom), Extended Warranty for 3rd and 4th year at Rs. 7933/-, basic accessories like foot mats, etc. costing Rs. 2672/-). These items amounted to Rs. 17,942/-.

VAT - Rs. 80,420/-

Payment made to the dealer was Rs. 754,777/- (sans the insurance premium)

Comprehensive insurance with zero dep. cost me Rs. 15,705/- whereas the dealer was charging Rs. 24,000/- for the same.

Availing company lease meant we had to buy the car for the full list price without making any down payment (the standard discounts offered by all dealers such as company discount of 3k and consumer offer of 20k applied though).

Since there was no discount i could avail in addition to the standard offerings mentioned above, I asked Mandovi for a discount on accessories and the GM kindly obliged.

I got the reverse parking sensors installed (with digital display and audio) and the underbody coat (3 yr warranty). The reverse parking sensors was costing 4k at the dealer and i paid 3.5k for it.

Some freebies I managed from the dealer:

1. Underbody anti-rust coat with 3 year warranty worth Rs. 2.5k/-

2. Basic accessory kit - mud flaps, floor mats, boot mat, etc. worth Rs. 2672/-

3. MGA Car cover worth Rs. 1,100/-

In total the car cost me around 7.63L inclusive of insurance, all discounts and accessories.

Armed with the team bhp PDI checklist i went to the warehouse on Friday morning.

Boy, did she look hot or what? And there she was, bathing in the sun after a nice cold shower, glistening and gleaming at me.

Closely inspected the car and checked the VIN # and it was indeed a Jan 2013 make.

Below are the first couple of pic's that i took when i went to inspect the car before she went to the RTO for regn.:









I was asked to come back at 4pm for delivery since the registration had to be completed. The reverse parking sensors and under body coat was already done. That was quick.


Finally, the delivery:

The last 2 days before the D-Day was a pain since i could hardly sleep with the excitement of owning a new car.

I was speaking with Supriyo (schoudhury) for a while trying to decide on a bluetooth kit (between Parrot and Jabra Freeway) and mentioned that i was so excited that sleep had taken a back seat.

And he was like:

"You have a bloody Ninja at home man, and you're excited about a Ritz???"

LOL.

Yeah i was feeling like a kid in a candy store.

A little past 4pm, I reached the dealership with my parents, wife and son to take delivery of my new car. I was so excited she was finally going to be mine.

My dad with the new car:



Your's truly on the right. To the left is the sales exec, Mr. Kamlesh Borana:



When we had first taken a TD of the Ritz, the sales executive had mentioned that the boot was so spacious that my son could sit in it comfortably... and my son remembered that statement even after so many months and had to verify those tall claims:



Needless to say, after taking this pic, my son was seated safely in the back seat and not the boot

After all the formalities were completed, we proceeded to fill up the tank at IOCL, Bowring Institute, St. Marks Road. I had a 5 liter diesel coupon from the dealer and in addition it took another 35 liters to fill the tank to the auto cut off. (Tank capacity is 43 liters).

We then headed towards home where the customary pooja was performed at a Ganesh temple in our neighborhood.

Pooja done, the car was parked safely at home. I was craving for a ride but it had to wait till the next day.

Only area for improvement for the dealer was that the keyless security system was chirping intermittently when locked or unlocked. They did not check this before delivering the car.

Also the sales executive had not spent a few mins to explain the features and controls to me. I however read up on the manual when i got home.

So when i went back to the dealer on Sunday morning to collect the regn. plates, I got them to check the security system. Apparently the connector under the bonnet for this system was not secure and there was a loose connection. Got this fixed in under 5 mins.

I made this clear when the dealer's customer care team and Maruti Suzuki's corporate office called me for a feedback.

Rated the dealer 9/10. Rating scale was a 3 point system - 8, 9 and 10, with 8 considered as a complaint.

[n_aditya]

And she gets pampered the next day...

I had not installed those ugly bumper protection strips but had something better in mind.

Called our fellow friendly mod, Vidyut (vid6639) who had already booked an appt. for my car at 3M HSR layout. It was my first time at 3M and i had heard and read rave reviews about this detailing and car care shop.

Vidyut was so excited and happy for me that he took me along to the shop and spent almost the entire day there. Khan Sultan and Jaggu also dropped by in a while. I met quite a few members at this place - KarthiK and his red hot punto, RBP and his grey i20, crazy driver and my sincere apologies, i forgot the name of the other member who was around.

We arrived at the 3M car care center around noon and there were a couple of cars already undergoing some nice detailing jobs.

Mr. Sidhu, the owner of 3M, a very friendly chap spoke to me to understand what i wanted.

I was thinking of a paint sealant but was asked to wait for a couple of months for this job.

I had already planned a PPF installation on the bumper corners (instead of those ugly bumper strips) and on the upper bumper area which is right below the boot lid - to avoid scratches while loading or unloading luggage. I also asked for the CF wrap on the door pillars.

The car was delivered to me the previous day with some cheap wax applied to it and Mr. Sidhu was not too impressed with the way it was applied.


The car was thoroughly washed and wiped clean.








PPF being installed:






CF Wrap installed on the door pillar's:




Team BHP'd:











By 7pm, the car was ready.

The PPF installation cost me some 2k odd bucks, the CF wrap some 800 odd bucks and i also bought a car wash / shampoo and a wash mitt amounting to around 1k.

The total bill came up to around 4.5k.

Verdict:

3M HSR is highly recommended and here's why:

1. Highly customer centric - Mr. Sidhu is a very patient listener. Listens to the customer and advises what is required and what is not. He never once pushed something on to me that was not needed. In fact, i wanted the Paint Sealant treatment but he asked me to come after a month or two as it was not required for a brand new car just out of the showroom. Neither did he try to sell me any products (marketing). The products were on display and i chose the wash mitt and the car shampoo myself.

Mr. Sidhu was always beside the customers, interacting with them while understanding their passions, etc. while maintaining a keen eye on the progress of detailing carried out on the car's.

2. Attention to detail - Mr. Sidhu personally walked around the car and ensured the PPF and CF wrap installation was completed perfectly. The PPF installation on the front left corner had some bubbles and he immediately got it replaced with a new piece. No band aid treatment or trying to touch-up / correct the imperfections.

I'm going back in a week or two to get the PPF installed on the running board of the car to prevent paint chipping.

Thanks to Mr. Sidhu and to his staff at 3M for the excellent job done on my car. And of course, to Vidyut for booking the appointment at 3M and for sharing my excitement of buying a new car.

[n_aditya]

Initial Driving Impressions:

The first thing that hit me when i sat into the cabin was the amount of space and room available and of course, the excellent visibility from the drivers seat. Yes, there are some blind spots at the A pillar and C pillar and I've been driving pretty cautiously getting a hang of the overall size of the car.

The best part that i love is the seat height / height of the car. It makes me feel like i am sitting in a small truck.

The engine is super silent for a diesel and i can barely tell if the engine is running or not. NVH is minimal and hardly any diesel clatter inside the cabin.

Been driving to work all of this week and the odo stands at 400 kms now. At the time of delivery it had 37 kms on the clock.

When i took delivery of the car last week, the MID was displaying average FE of 13 kmpl and it is increasing steadily. Currently it is averaging at around 14.8kmpl and my guess is that it will only get better

I absolutely LOVE the torque. Everytime the needle on the revv counter hits the 2k mark, i can hear the turbo whistle and the car propels forward. Damn, it pulls like a train. I had never imagined Diesels could be this much fun.

I'm running in the engine carefully and ensure that all gear shifts are done at the 2-2.5k RPM mark.

The handling is excellent. The Ritz has significantly lower body roll than the esteem. Since it is a heavy car, the car feels planted through the corners and the steering is also very precise and provides good feedback. The suspension is spot-on. Road undulations are absorbed a lot better than in the esteem. In the Esteem, i used to grind my teeth and cringe everytime i landed into a pothole. The car used to feel so light and flimsy but the Ritz is amazing.

The brakes are amazingly sharp and a light foot is enough to shed excess speed in the blink of an eye.

The steering mounted audio controls are a nice addition. I no longer have to take my hands off the wheel to change a track or adjust the volume. There is also a button to pause/mute the music and another button to select the media - USB, CD, Tuner, etc.

When the Ritz was introduced I hated the looks, especially the rear and never imagined i would be driving in this car. But i guess it just grows on you. The front looks massive and the side 3/4's look great too. The rear is still quirky and gets getting used to.


Upgrades:

I will be upgrading the headlight bulbs to Osram Nightbreaker Plus H4 or Philips Xtreme Vision in the same stock rating over the weekend.

I also have a pair of Roots Vibrasonic dual horns which are almost brand new, lying at home. I bought these a few years back and fitted them in the esteem but the relay conked off and the horns were barely used so i had removed them and stowed them away. Will get them fitted on to the car this weekend with a relay kit and a switch to toggle between the stock and the roots horns.

[mobike008]

Note from Mod : Thread moved to Initial Ownership Section.

Thanks for sharing it Aditya

[motomaverick]

Congrats Aditya, the color looks real fab. Don't worry Aditya, Sidhu still tells me not to get the Paint sealant done even after 1.5 years as the color is white and plus there are numerous scratches in my case

[iceman7]

Congratulations!!

For me personally, the Ritz is the most VFM hatch out there after the Indica Vista. 2 weeks back a close friend of mine sold his 3 year old Ritz VDi and the resale he got was phenomenal.

Can you also post some pictures of the interior (dashboard specifically). I believe they have made a few changes over the previous model.

[BulZire]

Congratulations, that's a beautiful color. I don't remember seeing Ritz in this color that often.
Wish you have a Hassle free ride for lakhs of miles..
I hope the Ninja would get some rest for few days

[MotoNanu]

My ex-roomie has got the Bakers Choc Ritz and I had got the chace to lay my hands on it.
The most exciting part was to wait for the needle to approach 2k RPM and be prepared for the roller coaster experience thereafter. It pulls crazy! I had so much fun and my wife started complaining that am driving rash I was so addicted to the turbo and its lovely.
The ingress/ egress are one of the highlights of this car and add to it the premium space you get is superb. IMHO, Swift is overpriced and makes no sense to me (no offense to Swift fans); OTOH Ritz is the perfect VFM package currently in the market. The only thing is adapting to the quirky rear design.
Congratulations and keep revving

[GTO]

Congrats on the Ritz, buddy! The Ritz owns the Swift (whether old or new gen) in terms of practicality. Love the subtle enhancements, especially the positioning of the Drive Safe sticker & carbon fiber effect on the pillars.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I absolutely LOVE the torque. Everytime the needle on the revv counter hits the 2k mark, i can hear the turbo whistle and the car propels forward. Damn, it pulls like a train. I had never imagined Diesels could be this much fun.

Welcome to the world of common-rail diesels . Coming from an owner of the erstwhile Esteem, your comments aren't surprising.

I'm running in the engine carefully and ensure that all gear shifts are done at the 2-2.5k RPM mark.

The car used to feel so light and flimsy but the Ritz is amazing.

5 lakh hatchbacks have come a long way. Though smaller, the Ritz is better built, heavier & safer than your Esteem.

I hated the looks, especially the rear

I still can't digest the rear end design. To me, that's the only negative point of the Ritz.

Congratulations again and drive safe! Am very happy that you bought the ZDi with airbags & ABS.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Can you also post some pictures of the interior (dashboard specifically). I believe they have made a few changes over the previous model.

Sure Iceman. Will click some over the weekend and post them.

There are 2 choices for interior colors - red and grey. The red looks hideous except on a red car, too garish for my taste.

The grey interiors are a lot more subtle and blend well.

Originally Posted by BulZire

I hope the Ninja would get some rest for few days

Lol. She has been resting quite a lot for sometime now. Would love to ride more but been busy with a lot of things lately, so i get to ride only once a month or so.

[Schoudhury]

Sirji Congrats once again .
How is the stock music system ? Bdw did you decide on the Bluetooth stuff ?
And that shot of Jnr "Stone Cold Steve Austin" ( you like that now with the french beard) in the boot was just too much .
I am sure 3M/Sidhu just got one more regular customer @ their store .

Cheers

[ku69rd]

Congratulations Aditya, so finally you decided on parting with your old Esteem and getting yourself a much more practical new toy. All the very best and I really liked the CF inserts that you have put on. They look very neat. The color is very soft and pleasing on the eyes. Looking forward to see you have a good enjoyable ownership experience with Maruti.
Good Choice made, did you have the Chevy Sail Sedan in mind or did it catch you off guard?

Where is the party though

You planning to stick to Semi Synthetic Engine Oil or will you change over to Synthetic Oil?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Finally, the delivery:

I was speaking with Supriyo (schoudhury) for a while trying to decide on a bluetooth kit (between Parrot and Jabra Freeway) and mentioned that i was so excited that sleep had taken a back seat.

And he was like:

"You have a bloody Ninja at home man, and you're excited about a Ritz???"

LOL.

Yeah i was feeling like a kid in a candy store.

I had a 5 liter diesel coupon from the dealer and in addition it took another 35 liters to fill the tank to the auto cut off. (Tank capacity is 43 liters)

Schoudhury! That was a good one!

Congrats Aditya once again for the Ritz. Happy that you chose a ZDi rather than the normal VDi variant that 85% people choose. I miss the rear wash and wipe feature in my Ritz which I sorely miss. Adding this aftermarket is impossible.

Waiting to see more pictures of the cars interior.

Anurag.