Ritz - A class of its own.. Review on Maruti Suzuki RitZ

Buying a car - for some it is a dream and for others, it is just another car. I belong to the former one and my dream was realized on Nov 28 2010..that is when we drove home our Ritzy, , ,

Flash Back(month of August 2010). I wanted to buy it out of necessity than for the luxury..it was a dream as I told you before. Initially I had made up my mind for a used car and had seen one. I thought I cud snatch a good deal as cars depreciate fast but the car was quoted a bit high and I decided against it. Sooner or later my mindset changed. A second hand is after all an used one..you cannot love it as your own car..and also there is always a fear on your mind of how well the car was maintained by the previous owner. Maruti by then had launched their new WagonR Blue eyed boy and the K10 called as pocket rocket by some car enthusiasts and so had more choices now.

Of course as any other enthusiastic buyer ..I had done my part of research by searching reviews on various models on net, asked the views of kith kin. Friends and whomever I could...car is an high involvement purchase so you don't want to leave any stone unturned.

My Short Listed were

1. Maruti Alto Lxi

   
   




2. Maruti K10

   
   




3. WagonR New

   
   




4. Ford Figo

   
   




5. Hyundai Santro

   
   




6. Hyundai i10...i20(low end)

   
   

You might be thinking that I am writing a review on Ritz and wonder why it is not there on the shortlist...Yes, it was never ....well let me explain why all the cars mentioned above were ruled out...

Alto Lxi-- the car is very cramped..especially the rear..and loses power with A/c on...so ruled out..

WagonR new - looked modified and less boxy, ..but somehow I did not like its 3 pot engine...for that car

Hyundai santro - good one..but has been in market for long..nearing the end of its life cycle and also my brother had it...so wanted something different..

Hyundai i10...found it a bit costly and felt the design is a bit puny for 1.2L

Ford Figo--this was a real competitor...but heard figo diesel was good and petrol lacked the punch, ..fords after sales service doesnt have a good things to say...

So now comes the Alto K10..the latest one from maruti's stable then...the car boasts of more power..k series engine...larger tyres and much more...this was the car to go for..and we zeroed on this...

We were all set and around the end of August we gave a visit to the Maruti Dealer Mandovi Motors.. The initial dealership experience was very good, well recieved and the sales man showed up very soon and answered to our curious looks and questions, but I felt the sales person itself lacked enough knowledge on the cars.

First look, I was impressed by the K10, the looks were tweaked a little and also the interiors looked better and the best part was under the hood, the K10 1L engine which the Alto needed very much.

Everything looked fine until I decided to test the interior space and comfort. I would say Alto is not a Car if you are looking at a bit of comfort, and is not recommended for tall people. this car is designed for two adults and two children and 4 adult in the car is just not comfortable. I sat in the driver seat, it felt a little cramped and very low, some how you dont get the feeling of comfort. Then I moved on to the rear, this was a absolute disappointment, the leg space is a luxury at the rear. Though Maruti has done some justice by giving some extra space by scooping the back of front seat , it is just not enough for tall people.

I moved on when the sales person was explaining some features to my wife, my eyes fell on the Ritz. I somehow fell in love with that car, when you sit inside the car you feel you are in a car, the space is very pratically used. the driver road view and gear position is very ergonomical.

What you will like the RitZ for,

1. The over all look is pleasing, though some ppl may argue that it has a kicked in back, but looks are very subjective and I liked its looks

   
   




2. Interior space, rear leg room is good even for tall people

   
   




3. Pratical design

   
   




4. Super Smooth Engine - It is an awesome experience to drive this vehicle in its fifth gear, you wont even hear the sound of the engine

   
   




5. Mileage - I would say not very good, but Ok for a 1.2 L engine - I get 14 to 15 in Cities and 17-18 on highways.

   
   




6. The AC is good chiller

   
   

Somethings you may not like.

1. No head rest for rear passengers in the base model.

   
   




2. The boot space might be a let down for some

   
   




3. The handling is not as good as a SWIFT due to its tall boy design

   
   




4. The suspension is a bit hard and ride is little bumpy

   
   

For me the Pros superseded the cons and I booked the Baker Choclate Ritz against my wife's wishes who was totally against the looks.

After booking the waiting for delivery was rather very stretched, made some frequent calls to Maruti to check the delivery date, it kept on extending and finally after 2.5 months I was the proud Owner.

Now I have drove more than a 1000 Kms and I am loving it more, even my wife has started to love this car. Though we have a lot of choices to make today, I still believe I made the right choice and you wont regret it if you make one.

Love your Ritz

Raghav