Maruti Ritz VDI - Excellent car. Review on Maruti Suzuki RitZ

Ritz VDI is my second car, before this I was driving Chevrolet Optra Petrol version.

I wanted a Diesel car with Very Good Mileage. I tested Ritz VDI and was amazed by the power it generates in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear and it seems you are seating in an airplane ready for takeoff.

5th gear is also good, but did not take the vehicle more than 90 KM/hr speed as its new.

I liked it and bought instantly.

After driving for 522 KMS here are my reviews. I have done this driving in city and highway with speed of upto 80 - 90 Km/hr. I have upgraded the tyres from 165/80/R14 to Michelin 185/70/R14 which in actual of a slightly higher height then the JK Tyre supplied with the car. I exchanged the tyres and paid Rs14000 extra for Michelin tyres.

Pros:-

1. The dashboard is bigger than other cars in the same segment.

   
   




2. The Ritz DDIS engine is quick and responds to acceleration very quickly. At the speed of 70KM/hr I have overtaken a Pajero which was thinking to overtake another car by the time it thought I was ahead of it with giving a small horn and dipper.

   
   




3. When I am driving on highway I easily overtake all other cars comfortably. At times I felt that the car is a smaller version of Innova as the seats placements and the car height is similar to Innova.

   
   




4. Very good view of the road as there is enough height the car offers.

   
   




5. I have got a mileage of 15.75 km/l for the first 500 KMs with a mix of highway and also city driving with AC 100% ON ALL THE TIME.

   
   

I expect it to go higher after the first service. Still, I am very happy with this as compared to Optra.(I have upsized from 165 to wider tyres 185, have to wait for the first service to get the true mileage)

1. Ritz takes you easily above 80-90 speed in the 5th gear and you wont even realize. The driving is smooth and the engine is very good.

   
   




2. The space in the front is very good, enough legroom.

   
   




3. The drive is very comfortable on roads withpits as the tyres are big and enough height due to which the underbody doesn’t get a hit and the drive is also smooth as Ritz can handle it with its high tyres. I also noticed that going on small speed breakers is unnoticeable on which I used to slow down in Optra and the base of which used to take a hit on pits roads.

   
   




4. I have upsized the tyres and am very happy with the control I am getting. Michelin XM1+ tyres offer good mileage and don’t stick to the road and very good in turnings. I also have them in Optra and they are worth it.

   
   

Cons:-

1. The blinkers do not come back if you take a slight left turn. This happens when I am driving near India Gate and have to take slight turns at roundabouts. For full turns it surely comes back automatically.

   
   




2. I am used to the buckets seats so the seats in Ritz are not so comfortable when I compare it with Optra but both the cars are of different segment. I have put good seat covers and they are good now. Also the head rest was fitted wrongly when I got the car.

   
   




3. I find the steering little stiff when turning sharply as compared to Optra as mentioned earlier I am used to Optra car for 5 years now so comparison comes automatically. I tried Vista( it was little better in turns) and Swift which was same or little more stiff then Ritz. Here, I am talking about turning sharply at speeds more than 40KM/Hr. I tried Hyundai I 20 petrol version and it was a amazing car with beautiful control.

   
   

I am feeling that the steering is little stiffer at turn at high speed is might be also because the car is Diesel and the engine is heavier and this is the first time I am driving a diesel car.

If I am driving at the speed of 40km\hr or below then it’s absolutely smooth.

1. The car becomes rocket instantly you press the accelerator and I am usually driver very fast and feel that the brakes could have been better to stop at very high speeds. If you are driving 90-100 then its fine but above that speed you really need very nice brakes capable to handle such speed. If you are not driving at that high speeds then the brakes are sufficient.

   
   




2. The HeadLamps of the car is another benefit the car offers. The visibility is greatly improved with the Head Lamp provided in Ritz. I have also noticed that big cars have to come to low beam because of bright light from Ritz and even there hing beam does not come to your face, as it used to directly hit in case of Optra.

   
   

I am very happy with very good visibilty for night driving. It also has Fog lamps so thats another benefit.

Overall – I would recommend the car as I am very much satisfied with the drive. Mileage(which is yet to improve), looks, Space & comfortable drive.

Date - 17th November 2010 4 Months after buying the Ritz VDI

KM reading - 12500+ KMs

Mileage - 18KM\L in city and 22.85 KM/L on Highway

I commute from Gurgaon to Noida so most of the stretch which I get is NH8 and I usually drive at 90 KMs\Hr.

After driving the ritz so far, I am very happy with the mileage and comfort it offers on rough roads.

The thing which I am not happy with is the rear view is not so great and one has to get used to it and then its comfortable. The other thing I was worried about is that the Clutch seemed to be hard as compared to Optra - Petrol, so I have got it checked with 2 Maruti Authorized Service Stations and they said that its Hydraulic and the clutch is in perfect condition but I was not convinced as its hard as compared to Optra. I have also checked the Clutch on other cars like Swift, DZire, Tavera, Getz - Diesel and its the same in them as well.

I have got Nitrogen filled in the Tyres and now I dont have to go to Petrol Startions

for getting the tyre pressure checked.

I have availved all the 3 Free services from Maruti.

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16th June 2014

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Yesterday have booked the same car. Ritz VDI.

Car Price - 6.15 lakhs

Exchange Bonus & Discount - 35000+ 30000= 65000

On road cost - 5.50 lakhs