[gaddiwale]

Folks got the delivery of my new prized possession Maruti Ritz vdi on 14.12.2009 following is the review of the entire buying procedure –

Background:
An avid automobile fan, had a 1995 Suzuki Shogun (sold) and bought a 2003 Maruti Zen Lx last year from Maruti True Value for 1.65 lakhs, was happy with the performance. One fine day a friend called and asked for suggestions, as he was looking for a pre-owned car with-in the price bracket of 1.5-1.8 lakhs. As I was thinking of an upgrading myself to a diesel car, due to monthly run of 1700-1800 km, quickly offered him my car with a not negotiable price of 1.55 lakhs. The guy liked the car and requested 1.5 lakhs as final price, agreed and transferred the car on 09.11.2009.

I had few cars in my mind, which satisfy my selection parameters and incidentally all the car comes with the much acclaimed Fiat’s 1.3 lit multijet diesel engine – Maruti Swift, Maruti Ritz, Tata Vista, Fiat GP, Fiat Palio, budget was ~5 lakhs.

Screening of cars:
Fiat Palio and GP – Excellent cars, very robust chassis, brilliant highway capabilities but one sore point that actually forced me to look anything beyond Fiat, is the after sales service from the dealer. I asked the TATA-Fiat dealer to send me a quote which took them 3 days to email the same. If this is there attitude before selling a car I would prefer to stay away from them. Thus, no Fiat for me now, though a big fan of European engineering.

TATA Vista – A colleague of mine has Vista Aura and we frequently drive the car to Pune. Fantastically tuned Fiat engine and immensely spacious interior are the USPs for Vista. On the other hand, cheap plastics, centrally located instrument console and most important lousy after sales service from TATA pushed me to the back seat as far as Vista is concerned.

Only option left was Maruti, either Swift or Ritz.

Maruti Swift: An excellent car, even after years of launch still going strong, selling 9645 units/month (Nov, 2009; courtesy Team BHP), leader in the segment. Though My parents were against the Swift’s look that was the only point against this fantastic car.

Maruti Ritz: Fresh car in the segment, with the same Fiat 1.3 MultiJet diesel engine. Tall-boy design – has plenty of space – for rear passengers and for storage. High up driving position. No issues with the design – front ¾ view looks modern and gorgeous, rear would have been more attractive without the boomerang tale-tell lights. Read all the post in the forum (Team BHP) and got hooked to Maruti Ritz Vdi.

Buying Experience:
I had a fantastic experience (both buying and servicing) with Vitesse thus, instead buying the car from neighboring Navi Mumbai dealers, went back to the Worli showroom and asked for the quote. Booked Fire Brick Red (parent’s choice) Maruti Ritz Vdi on 07.12.2009, OTR 5.36 lakhs, got a dealers cash discount of Rs. 15000, negotiated hard and got freebies of Full floor mat + boot mat (1000/-), Mud Flaps (450/-), Body cover (1750/-), Lather steering cover (650/-) and Perfume kit (165/-) and got the No Claim Bonus (2610/-) from my previous car. Expected date of deliver was 14.12.2009.

On 14.12.2009 went to the showroom with a friend at around 5 pm – sales person explained all the papers, gave a box of toffees, Vitesse Puja Box and the keys. Showroom people arranged the puja essentials, performed puja. Sales person explained the car and filled 5 lit diesel. As suggested in the TBHP forum distributed sweet among all the showroom persons and gave a Rs. 500/- note to the person helped in puja, cleaning the car as a token of appreciation.

Finally at around 7:30 started our journey towards home, driving my prized possession the Fire Brick Red Maruti Ritz Vdi.

No money left for ICE, seat covers, Security system - I'll go for these next month.

Initial Driving Experience:
In a word Stunning. So far done little more than 500 km in 4 days, comprising driving in Mumbai city and a trip to Pune. Strictly following the running-in instructions given in the owners manual. Look out this space for details of initial driving experience and FE.

[abhayshanu]

Congratulations, the car just looks stunning from some pics, and i just loved the t-bhp sticker on the ORVM

[kailashnj]

Congrats on the car. Nice colour too. Some more interior pics necessary. By the way did you get the delivery with in a week's time - that's amazing.

[amoghchaphalkar]

gaddiwale !!

congrats buddy so we get to see the car at the next Pune-Mumbai meet ?

[vdiatech]

Its a nice looking car and you have selected a very good colour too.
Please do let me know how it pulls with full load and AC on . ( I mean with all passengers + AC ).

Thanks

[gaddiwale]

Thanks guys.
Hi Amogh, I'll be there in the forth coming Mumbai-Pune meet in my new ritz. See you there.

@ vdiatech - post the initial review after 1000 km, let you know then.

[gaddiwale]

Yesterday I’ve completed 1500 km in my Ritz vdi and I guess the time has come to share my initial ownership experience with all the fellow BHPians. This 1500 kms has been completed in 17 days time i.e. ~ 88 kms per day, this mileage comprises of mainly city driving in and around Mumbai and two trips to Pune. So here it goes –

• The car has really a fresh look, front end looks stunning, rear end – oh! I have to live with it – no choice.
• Huge front wind screen gives a good front view, but the refection of long dash board sometimes bothers.
• Big side view mirrors are a boon, as the thick c pillar some time hinders the rear view.
• Driving position is fantastic, you will feel of sitting in an SUV. ABC peddles are well spaced.
• Seats are comfortable and well padded. Good head and leg room and all around visibility for rear passengers.
• Lots of storage space – glove box though little shallow, bottle holders in both the front door, there is a storage space in the middle of the dash for CDs and pen drives and coins. Liked the bag holder in the boot. Decent boot space (236 lits) for two standard size suitcases/bags.
• Liked the dash mounted tacho. What I really appreciate is the orange-yellow colour back lit of both the instrument cluster and tacho. It’ll never distract your concentration.
• Rear seats back rest has 60:40 splits, but the back rest release is actually a folded nylon strap. You have to pull that to release the back rest. Some time I get nervous of thinking it’ll come out in my hand. Maruti should give a plastic round knobs as release buttons.
• The most interesting part of the whole package is the much acclaimed 1.3 lit MultiJet engine. In a word it is stunning. If you are new to a diesel engine, you have to learn how to drive a diesel car using its huge torque range. I usually up shift at around 1500 rpm in lower gears – 1, 2, and 3 and at 2000 rpm in 4th. Cruse the car at 5th gear - 2000 rpm (speedo shows ~ 85 kmph) with window open you can not make out that a diesel mill is sitting under the bonnet. On highway, cursing at 5th gear – 2500 rpm (speedo indicates ~ 110 kmph) is just amazing. At 2000 rpm the turbo gets activated – once you passed this mark the car become a rocket. Who says diesel cars have clutters, diesel smell in the cabin, sluggish mill under the bonnet, not rev happy. My advise please go and check out the Ritz diesel, you’ll change your mind. One or two occasions on Palm Beach road I have tried to go for a signal to signal sprint. Believe me I never crossed 2000 rpm mark in any of the gear other than 5th, still I saw all the other cars were way behind when I reached the next signal. Yes in lower gear in low rpm you may feel the turbo lag, but intelligent use of gear box is the easiest way to overcome that.
• Gear shift lever is well placed and throw is short and super slick. In bumper to bumper traffic some time I feel nervous to up shift to second gear, as the car suddenly start rolling like mad. In city you have to shift up and down a bit to keep the vehicle in the power band.
• Ride quality is good enough for our kind of roads. It can just glide over small pot holes or low speed breakers. Breaking is not an issue as well as the handling. Steering is precise and don’t give you a feel of too light steering. Because of it’s tall boy design a bit body roll is there but in my two down hill trips from Pune via express highway I took the sharp turns at Lonavala ghats at a speed of 60-70 kmph with out any hassles. Yes 165/80 14 JK tires look skinny and I’ll go for 185/70 14 Michelin tires and alloys, may be after 15000 kms.
• Ritz has a good AC, cool the cabin almost instantaneously. Keeping the AC knob at No. 1 position enough in Mumbai ‘winter’, real test will be in the summer. Tried with AC at full blast with 4 passengers, but no power loss felt.
• Fuel efficiency – tank full to tank full basis on the first occasion I got 21.1 kmpl (661 km – 31.27 lit diesel), second time 19.8 kmpl (577 km – 29.11 lit diesel). Average 20.45 kmpl, diesel cost is Rs. 36.62/lit, fuel cost per km comes to Rs. 1.79. Thus, a 43 lit tank will give you 880 km non stop driving. What else I need than this – super FE with terrific performance – magic of diesel engine. I would say drive it to believe it or the old Hero Honda slogan “Fill it –shut it – forget it”.
• In Indian roads two important things are – horn and head lamp. Ritz horn is not very loud but extremely sharp. Head light (60/55 watt) focus is good but the light intensity not adequate for highway driving, I have to change it to 100/90 watt bulb with a relay.
• No rattling so far.
• Fitted Sony CDX-GT 696UI flip-in HU with four door mounted 300 watt Sony XS-GT69402 (16 cm) 4 way co-axial speakers and Garware sun control film. No money left for seat covers and remote central locking.
• First servicing was done yesterday at 1450 km – only engine oil (2.9 lits) has changed.

Verdict: A beautiful package offered by Maruti with a combination of performance and FE. If the big brother SWIFT is a pocket rocket, RITZ VDi is a gentlemen’s express.

[undead]

Congrats on your new car. Few days back i test drove the ritz from maruti showroom and i really liked the gear shift . It was positioned nicely on the dash and the feel was good and suspension is well tuned for indian roads than the Swift .

[navan49]

Hi Gaddi Wale,

Congratulation on the new Ritz like mine. I see you often in the Forum. Being an active member you gave a new year surprise with Ritz VDI. Wish you all the best and enjoy the VDI with care. Post reviews which will help all of us the Ritzians.

[gaddiwale]

@ Undead - Thanks. True, gear shift is very sleek and throw is short. The shift lever placed conveniently on dash thus, during shifting you can easily find the lever.

@ Navan - Thanks. I'll keep on posting my experience for the benefit of other Ritzians.

[gaddiwale]

Hi folks, this is an update of my Ritz VDi. Got a flip in loading type Sony CDX-GT696UI HU and 300 watts 4 way Sony XS-GT16402 speakers on all the 4 doors. I generally prefers Bollywood songs during driving, this Sony system gives me perfect effect. Seats are now done with Dolphin Black PU seat covers, this comes with one year warranty. So far done around 2500 km and getting a FE of 20 kmpl constantly. Just one concern - oil (Mobil) was changed in 1st servicing (1450 km), till then ran around 1000 km but the golden colour Mobil oil has already been changed to black. Is that o.k.? Checked the viscocity, it still feeling sticky though.
Recently I check ScanGauge II OBD scanner in my car and it got connected and worked. Looking for the same in India as LinearLogic, USA could not ship the product to India. If anybody knows any source to get ScanGauge II here please let me know.

[basilmabraham]

Congrats on the new car. Wishing you many more miles with the car. Drive safe.

[gemithomas]

COngrats on the new car. Indeed a real good vehicle from Maruti. Be careful with the rear doors upper part that protrudes out.

Try to get those leather steering covers (the ones that are stitched to the steering).It will give a much better feel/look.

[gaddiwale]

@ Basilmabraham and Gemithomas - Thanks guys. True Ritz is a really good car from Maruti - Petrol or Diesel both the engines are peppy enough to give you a good driving pleasure and much cheaper to run.

[recshenoy]

congratulations gaddiwale!

Just curious, exactly why you need a ODB-II scan gauge?
you want to monitor any specific parameters?