Maruti Ritz : Test Drive & Review

tarunmadhok · 10th May 2009, 21:35

Some time Back, i was waiting for the launch of Splash (Ritz in india). But then i could not wait for long and bought a Swift VDI and frankly now after see real pics of Ritz I am felling happy that i bought Swift and not waited for Ritz. Shape from back is too bad or i should say shapeless a bit like Wagon R.
From front also it looks like the combination of Swift/Astar and few other Maruti models. These are my views, I know many people would be liking it but then every one has a right to share his views.

Pashin · 10th May 2009, 21:38

Great Review GTO. The car looks great except for the motorcycle tyres that spoil the show. It seems Maruti is going the TATA way. Grest looking cars, excellent exterior, and super cheap interiors. Any news on the pricing? I think the ZDI would be too expensive and

Frankmehta : I fully agree with you. I drove a year old swift a few days back and by God, the doors rattled like they were about to fall off.

Volt · 10th May 2009, 22:10

Superb (or should it be 'ritzy') review GTO. And hopefully the rumors that you heard about the pricing being lower than the Swift should be true

.

I may be in a minority here, but I quite like the shape, looks modern and the front end does have an element of style. Dont know if it will age as well as the Swift though.

d3mon · 10th May 2009, 23:40

A little Off topic !

It just struck me that the dash mounted tacho might actually be saving Maruti some money after all!

In mass production, volumes are everything. So instead of having to go with two different instrument clusters for the lxi and the Vxi, they have the same ones.

Cheaper to source, and better to look at!

And as far as mounting the tacho is concerned, it only requires stamping out a hole in the dash !!

Brilliant, right?

PAVAN KADAM · 10th May 2009, 23:57

GTO a superb report, Thank you

Looks like Maruti's have started a new segment "Hunchbacks"

Ritz looks rather ugly, i liked the Wagon-R better.

Maruti's are just riding on the Fiat Engine wave so far.

Sorry Maruti, With great engines you need to produce good looking cars too.

schitre05 · 11th May 2009, 09:20

I have seen the car in person! and for me it does not look bad at all infact it has a "I am different appeal" which i am sure will be loved by many once it rolls out on the road.
I was a bit disappointed to see the overall size of the car and expected it to be a bit wider and roomy.
The interiors look good and the finish is better and improved over previous models in maruti stable. Whether it rattles or not? only time will tell.
Just wanted to ask whether Euro 4 norms specify ABS as a standard safety fitment in cars?

rajneeesh · 11th May 2009, 11:15

Schitre05,

Euro 4 norms are for emissions . They are not safety norms . NCAP norms are for safety. However, I am not sure about the NCAP rating of the Ritz.

tinnieboy · 11th May 2009, 11:24

Yiiikes !!! what really did happen to the rear end of a beutiful nosed car. The rear end seems to have been kicked hard to bear a linfelong dent it seems. Though might still be accepted with time if the mileage and performance score as suggested in the review. The tyres upsize seems to be a mandatory exercise one will have to adopt to while buying this one it seems. Over all I would have expected this as a Wagon R replacement with a premium of maybe 30k but it seems they intend to place it above Swift that might be a little too much to shell out for this dudette (The curves make it look very feminish in my opinion. Just my perspective.)

vivekanand005 · 11th May 2009, 11:31

wonderful review thank you very much.

mahadev_kc · 11th May 2009, 12:11

You know who is in trouble now? Guess....

Autocar, overdrive, bsmotoring etc..

So in very much detail.. much more than the magazines available in the market..

Jeep · 11th May 2009, 12:13

Thanks for the review, GTO. Good to hear that the petrol engine is a gem (who wants to rev up beyond 5k after all in a tall boy?).

The rear for sure looks very ugly to me. My initial thoughts were: This will not fly. Swift looks way better. But then, I thought of the original zen, Santro the same way and then was proved terribly wrong!

Pricing will decide the fate of this car.

The rear seems to have taken inspiration from one of the Renault models that sold in decent numbers in the UK.

p.s. Seems the rear seats do not offer enough thigh support?

finneyp · 11th May 2009, 12:16

Superb review there GTO!
I guess T-BHP should publish a Auto mag, it will be a success!

Another average job by the Maruti Suzuki design engineers, the rear of Ritz looks ugly!
A practical family car indeed.

BMW-X5 · 11th May 2009, 12:17

Great job GTO !!!

I liked the car except for those skinny tyres. Back doesnt look so bad either. If was about to buy my first car I would have defenitley thought of it.

manish7 · 11th May 2009, 13:07

Great review GTO - covered all that I wanted to know. You mean the test car itself had aftermarket touch-screen ICE? I thought that was standard! :(

I didn't like RITz much - the rear is plain ugly. Swift looks much better - I just hope they come up with Swift ZDI with two tone interiors (no blue please), steering mounted controls and Alloys. If they rpice it around 6.5 L OTR, I am queing up with my cheque.

Now, waiting for GP to launch - I hope it will be better in flesh.

guptad42 · 11th May 2009, 13:15

About 25- 30K above the WagonR should work wonders for Ritz demand. I don't think Maruti will try to do anything as spupid as placing Ritz above Swift. This is good time to pick up the latent demand - all the deferred car buying due to the econmic slowdown- and actually increase marketshare profitably. Not many people are keen on paying a premium these days at the mass consumption end of any market these days. Applies to small cars as well.

I found the design interesting, and the package will appeal to families if priced well. The lack of security features as standard is a strong negative in my book, but does not affect sales in India.

Absence of a remote boot release in difficult to understand. It's very common to have security open up the boot while entering an office block or a shopping area these days. Having to shut-off the engine, get down/hand over the key, get the boot checked and then restart the engine for the last hundred meters to park the car -this one is a major nuisance. The scenario applies the most to young professional families - the primary market segment for Ritz.

Maruti, please add the remote boot release.

10th May 2009, 21:35	#91
tarunmadhok BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 182 Thanked: 2 Times	Some time Back, i was waiting for the launch of Splash (Ritz in india). But then i could not wait for long and bought a Swift VDI and frankly now after see real pics of Ritz I am felling happy that i bought Swift and not waited for Ritz. Shape from back is too bad or i should say shapeless a bit like Wagon R. From front also it looks like the combination of Swift/Astar and few other Maruti models. These are my views, I know many people would be liking it but then every one has a right to share his views.
	() Thanks

10th May 2009, 21:38	#92
Pashin BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 128 Thanked: 175 Times	Great Review GTO. The car looks great except for the motorcycle tyres that spoil the show. It seems Maruti is going the TATA way. Grest looking cars, excellent exterior, and super cheap interiors. Any news on the pricing? I think the ZDI would be too expensive and Frankmehta : I fully agree with you. I drove a year old swift a few days back and by God, the doors rattled like they were about to fall off.
	() Thanks

10th May 2009, 22:10	#93
Volt BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 183 Thanked: 5 Times	Superb (or should it be 'ritzy') review GTO. And hopefully the rumors that you heard about the pricing being lower than the Swift should be true . I may be in a minority here, but I quite like the shape, looks modern and the front end does have an element of style. Dont know if it will age as well as the Swift though.
	() Thanks

10th May 2009, 23:40	#94
d3mon BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 776 Thanked: 2,362 Times	A little Off topic ! It just struck me that the dash mounted tacho might actually be saving Maruti some money after all! In mass production, volumes are everything. So instead of having to go with two different instrument clusters for the lxi and the Vxi, they have the same ones. Cheaper to source, and better to look at! And as far as mounting the tacho is concerned, it only requires stamping out a hole in the dash !! Brilliant, right?
	() Thanks

10th May 2009, 23:57	#95
PAVAN KADAM BANNED Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NAMMA BENGALURU Posts: 5,602 Thanked: 2,522 Times	GTO a superb report, Thank you Looks like Maruti's have started a new segment "Hunchbacks" Ritz looks rather ugly, i liked the Wagon-R better. Maruti's are just riding on the Fiat Engine wave so far. Sorry Maruti, With great engines you need to produce good looking cars too.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 09:20	#96
schitre05 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 456 Thanked: 171 Times View My Garage	I have seen the car in person! and for me it does not look bad at all infact it has a "I am different appeal" which i am sure will be loved by many once it rolls out on the road. I was a bit disappointed to see the overall size of the car and expected it to be a bit wider and roomy. The interiors look good and the finish is better and improved over previous models in maruti stable. Whether it rattles or not? only time will tell. Just wanted to ask whether Euro 4 norms specify ABS as a standard safety fitment in cars?
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 11:15	#97
rajneeesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: noida Posts: 1,093 Thanked: 472 Times	Schitre05, Euro 4 norms are for emissions . They are not safety norms . NCAP norms are for safety. However, I am not sure about the NCAP rating of the Ritz.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 11:24	#98
tinnieboy BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 78 Thanked: 4 Times View My Garage	Yiiikes !!! what really did happen to the rear end of a beutiful nosed car. The rear end seems to have been kicked hard to bear a linfelong dent it seems. Though might still be accepted with time if the mileage and performance score as suggested in the review. The tyres upsize seems to be a mandatory exercise one will have to adopt to while buying this one it seems. Over all I would have expected this as a Wagon R replacement with a premium of maybe 30k but it seems they intend to place it above Swift that might be a little too much to shell out for this dudette (The curves make it look very feminish in my opinion. Just my perspective.)
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 11:31	#99
vivekanand005 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 85 Thanked: Once	wonderful review thank you very much.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 12:11	#100
mahadev_kc BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 327 Thanked: 47 Times View My Garage	You know who is in trouble now? Guess.... Autocar, overdrive, bsmotoring etc.. So in very much detail.. much more than the magazines available in the market..
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 12:13	#101
Jeep BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London Posts: 432 Thanked: 60 Times	Thanks for the review, GTO. Good to hear that the petrol engine is a gem (who wants to rev up beyond 5k after all in a tall boy?). The rear for sure looks very ugly to me. My initial thoughts were: This will not fly. Swift looks way better. But then, I thought of the original zen, Santro the same way and then was proved terribly wrong! Pricing will decide the fate of this car. The rear seems to have taken inspiration from one of the Renault models that sold in decent numbers in the UK. p.s. Seems the rear seats do not offer enough thigh support? Last edited by Jeep : 11th May 2009 at 12:14.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 12:16	#102
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,631 Thanked: 180 Times View My Garage	Superb review there GTO! I guess T-BHP should publish a Auto mag, it will be a success! Another average job by the Maruti Suzuki design engineers, the rear of Ritz looks ugly! A practical family car indeed. Last edited by finneyp : 11th May 2009 at 12:27.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 12:17	#103
BMW-X5 BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 188 Thanked: 9 Times	Great job GTO !!! I liked the car except for those skinny tyres. Back doesnt look so bad either. If was about to buy my first car I would have defenitley thought of it.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 13:07	#104
manish7 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 508 Thanked: 0 Times	Great review GTO - covered all that I wanted to know. You mean the test car itself had aftermarket touch-screen ICE? I thought that was standard! :( I didn't like RITz much - the rear is plain ugly. Swift looks much better - I just hope they come up with Swift ZDI with two tone interiors (no blue please), steering mounted controls and Alloys. If they rpice it around 6.5 L OTR, I am queing up with my cheque. Now, waiting for GP to launch - I hope it will be better in flesh.
	() Thanks

11th May 2009, 13:15	#105
guptad42 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 130 Thanked: 121 Times	Good package, needs minor fixes. About 25- 30K above the WagonR should work wonders for Ritz demand. I don't think Maruti will try to do anything as spupid as placing Ritz above Swift. This is good time to pick up the latent demand - all the deferred car buying due to the econmic slowdown- and actually increase marketshare profitably. Not many people are keen on paying a premium these days at the mass consumption end of any market these days. Applies to small cars as well. I found the design interesting, and the package will appeal to families if priced well. The lack of security features as standard is a strong negative in my book, but does not affect sales in India. Absence of a remote boot release in difficult to understand. It's very common to have security open up the boot while entering an office block or a shopping area these days. Having to shut-off the engine, get down/hand over the key, get the boot checked and then restart the engine for the last hundred meters to park the car -this one is a major nuisance. The scenario applies the most to young professional families - the primary market segment for Ritz. Maruti, please add the remote boot release.
	() Thanks

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