[Lightning2]

Ritz & A-star both are Ugly & NOT AT ALL VFM

I'd have rejected the Rear Portion of their Design if I had the Authority


1. Rear Portions of both vehicle plays Spoil sports for Very Optimum Design, Style & Structural & Tyre Size of Front portions of them ( i.e Post front seat Doors)

2. Perhaps to keep Mileage "Higher" Maruti chaps have decimated rear portions of Ritz, A-star & also Swift(to some extent) ,, while Maruti chaps TOTALLY FORGOT that this is no European or Western Country where cars are used Personally (rather Individually). These days more & more persons tend to go City Outskirts ,Shopping , near-by parks etc with family in their Vehicles & Back seat comforts MUST not have been avoided

3. Prices are also on Higher side wrt to the Segment/Engine size. Now that TATA,Fiat,Bajaj etc are Vigorous on small cars,Maruti must Gear-up for Reducing their Prices thru Various Approaches.
That their Service & Delivery network is well in place Maruti shud Diversify to 3-wheeler,MUV & LCV segment

[ram_hyundai]

Was a bit busy for the last few days,I had an agressive run with the VDi and the performance should be at par to the swift but this car looks more sure shot (or maybe lighter stearing geometry).overall drive inside city was good but i feel the gearbox is different.GTO how did it feel for you?Tommorow i get my hands on the petrol which i am waiting eagerly.Would put up a detailed driving impression after that.And the price is not yet finalised.It is almost confirmed that it would be higher than swift ,but lets pray it to be lesser than swift for that matter.
ram

[desertfox]

The issue of a dead pedal remains with almost all Indian cars. It is such a convenience, why dont they have them here ?

If the Ritz is a replacement for the Wagon R, then an A/T version is essential as the Wagon R does have one on offer.

Why has A/T not caught on in India ? Roads in Gurgaon are of international class, I am sure this must be the case now in modren Indian cities like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Banglore new development areas. so why are A/T options not available with a majority of vehicle makes ?

[phamilyman]

International class roads? You forget the third class drains that overflow in rains, or even without (Hero Honda chowk, Cyberpark, Devi lal park etc).

Gurgaon and Safari are made for each other. Let the rains come.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Why has A/T not caught on in India ? Roads in Gurgaon are of international class . . . .

My WagonR's has got suspension troubles, all because Gurgaon roads. [edit - not to forget it learnt swimming too]

AT not picking up is simple! No matter how much pride we take in our development, we are still a poor country and AT is expensive and less fuel efficient. Its also not a feature like the power steering that costs 20k and saves you a LOT of effort.

Everyone's used to gear changing so its effortless for most, so why bother about an AT.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by Lightning2

2. Perhaps to keep Mileage "Higher" Maruti chaps have decimated rear portions of Ritz, A-star & also Swift(to some extent) ,, while Maruti chaps TOTALLY FORGOT that this is no European or Western Country where cars are used Personally (rather Individually). These days more & more persons tend to go City Outskirts ,Shopping , near-by parks etc with family in their Vehicles & Back seat comforts MUST not have been avoided

The Splash in Europe and Ritz here, have the same rear-sides. Same is the case for European Alto and Indian A-Star, and Swifts. Maruti has not done any modification to that.

And, what about the rear end of its main competitor and not-at-all VFM i10? That too is really ugly, I think.

[supremeBaleno]

Nice, comprehensive review, GTO.

I just hate the rear of the car.

Originally Posted by Lightning2

Ritz & A-star both are Ugly

Looks are subjective, but I like the rear of the A-star. It is its front that I can't stand - same with i10. And with the Ritz, the front is good, while the rear is yuck.

As if navigating through the MSIL hatchback portfolio was not already confusing, they throw in another car. God help the potential buyer make a decision.

[Lightning2]

i-10 is definately not a VFM

But issue before Indian Buyers is that vehicles Apparently having VFM are not Reliable ( or Dependable) and suffer from either or all problems
like ,,
1. say tata vista ,, any indian will doubt that whether it will end up running like Indica after 1-2 years,,LOL Looks wise also it painfully resembles to Indica

2. Logan ...I have come across many Logans with Coloured Exhaust !!!
....Renault & Nissan are packing their bags and the Parent company Mahindra says "Era of Sedan is Over" ..... hahaha ....I wonder what Senior Officials having Fat pay packages do there

3.Palio - Niggling problems will keep U busy

4.Linea - "Acceleration" or pick-up is not in its dictionary

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

The Splash in Europe and Ritz here, have the same rear-sides. Same is the case for European Alto and Indian A-Star, and Swifts. Maruti has not done any modification to that.

And, what about the rear end of its main competitor and not-at-all VFM i10? That too is really ugly, I think.

[harry10]

@Lightning- No offence but i feel you are looking for a perfect car(like all of us) and so all these didn't qualified, any idea which one qualifies?

Probably None. Every car has advantages and disadvantages. Its upon the user which one is suitable to his preference in terms of quality,specs,features,price(the order of preferences are never same for everyone).

[deepanonline]

Rear end looks so bad & i still think why cant maruti think of some design like beatles

[GTO]

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

Out of curiosity, just looked up the Suzuki UK site for prices:

Swift
5dr 1.3 GLX - £10250
5dr 1.3 DDiS - £10950

Splash
1.2 GLS £9750
1.3 DDiS £10600

So the Splash is priced at the same level as the Swift.

Nice job! I hope it's priced a notch below the Swift. And the lower trim levels (no climate control from the Swift) + 1.2L excise-benefit-ready engine seems to indicate the same.

Originally Posted by desertfox

With Honda Jazz also slated to be launched within this quarter, the competition in the midsize hatchback segment in hotting up !

You can say that again. The 5 - 7 lakh segment is surely heating up. From 2008 - 2010, this segment has / will see the Fabia, Vista, i20, Ritz, Jazz, Toyota's new hatch, VW's new hatch etc. etc.

Only better for the customer, wot?

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

but this car looks more sure shot (or maybe lighter stearing geometry)

Absolutely. The steering is very direct (as highlit in my review as well).

Have you driven the 1.2 petrol already? Eager to hear your comments on the new engine.

Originally Posted by desertfox

The issue of a dead pedal remains with almost all Indian cars. It is such a convenience, why dont they have them here ?

Agreed. I believe the Santro offered it at one time, and the i10 doesn't?

Why has A/T not caught on in India ?

Can't figure it out myself, our urban driving conditions is probably what the inventor of slushboxes had in mind! But then, there is the issue of a higher price, lower FE and perceived higher maintenance (a myth).

[guptad42]

Originally Posted by GTO

Can't figure it out myself, our urban driving conditions is probably what the inventor of slushboxes had in mind! But then, there is the issue of a higher price, lower FE and perceived higher maintenance (a myth).

Has anybody in India ever tried automating the same mechanical gearbox instead of using the hydraulic auto trannies (slushboxes as GTO called them) or the belt-driven CVTs? Relatively Simple solenoid-valve type actuators should be able to produce the motion required to change gears and engage the clutch (clucthes are already fly by wire on a lot of cars - no direct mechanical linkage to the clutch pedal). FE may actually be better than typical real-life usage with riding the clutch and changing gears at non-optimal RPMs. Could even do multiple maps- for economy and power modes of driving.

It'll essentially be an add-on to a the standard gearbox, making it an 'optional' extra on any car model that uses the gearbox. Part of the high cost of current auto trannies is the lack of volumes. A cheap, reliable version that does not cause much of an FE loss may actually become popular.

[fastcar]

Hey,

Very good report


Though I feel that ddis Ritz will definetly be a good bargain if pricing is
right.
May be we will get used to the rear look of the car

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Ritz is the 7th Maruti hatchback you can buy today, and the 6th in the 3 – 5 lakh rupee range (2.5 lakh 800 excluded).

...

In a nutshell, the young unmarried dude will probably still buy a Swift. But for someone with kids / family, the Ritz makes immensely more sense.

Disclaimer : Maruti dropped an invite to Team-BHP for the Ritz test-drive. They covered all the expenses for this trip.

boy are they flooding cars into that segment. I have to say its one Ugly looking car. I dont care who I am - I dont want to be found driving that car.

GTO - Awesome unbiased review. Lots of pride to see that number plate. Why do you need auto mags when you can subscribe to Team-bhp and get great reviews and first hand ownership reports.

[Technocrat]

Check out the funny Flash Animation on the Ritz official website

Ritz Animation