The Cheetah "Ritz" VDi - My Dream comes true. Review on Maruti Suzuki Ritz Vdi BS-IV

My family is a small family with four members and staying in Bangalore. I wanted to buy the best family car for city driving and weekending long drives. I started the research on Hatchback CARS two years back. I read a lot of reviews on net and finalized SWIFT and RITZ . I did test drive for both the cars and finally decided RITZ VDi Granite Grey. I don' t want to compare RITZ with SWIFT. SWIFT is SWIFT and RITZ is RITZ.

Everybody knows the power is the same in both the cars. SWIFT is made for high speed driving. Handling is superb in SWIFT. RITZ is not made for High speed driving.It is one of the best family hatchbacks.

I want to cover my personal driving experience on  Ritz VDi instead of spending more time on dealer and buying experience.

I got the delivery of my dream car on 8th August  2013.( My Marriage Day) .I felt extremely happy on that day.

I liked the following features in RITZ VDi.

1. DDiS Engine( The Ultimate power plant): RITZ powers with DDiS  Engine, 1248 CC and 75 bhp at 193Nm @ 2000 rpm. This is award winning modern Diesel engine . This is from Fiat and tuned by Maruti Suzuki engineers for better fuel efficiency. The same power plant is used in SWIFT, RITZ, SWIFT Dzire, Ertiga and SX4. This engine is very fuel efficient. I got the mileage of 16kmpl  in City Driving with full A/C on and 21 kmpl on High Way Driving with Full A/C on.

This is awesome. I did long drive for 900 kms in one day with 4 hours break. It was really great experience. Overtaking on high way is very simple.It responds like "Cheetah"  when the engine rpm is in the power band( 2000 rpm) . The torque in Diesel engine is very useful for city driving. RITZ pulls 10kmph in the first gear without revving the engine( Without giving acceleration) . We can simply use clutch and brake in bumper to bumper city traffic. Its really very convenient in city driving. I have tried 2nd and 3rd  and 4 fourth gears also without revving the engine. It just moves.

It is amazing.

1. Tall Boy Design: RITZ has unique tall boy design. It provides excellent space inside( leg room and head room) . It gives a feeling of driving a mini Innova. but Handling is more difficult in corners @ high speed  ( 80kmph to 140 kmph) due to its tall boy design. SWIFT scores more points here. Handing is very easy in SWIFT. We need to maintain 60 to 80kmph in corners to handle RITZ.

   
   




2. Electronic Power Steering and Tilt Steering: It is very responsive and light. It gives good confidence on High speed driving. We can adjust steering wheel according to driver's height. It gives good space between knee and steering wheel after adjusting.

   
   

4.Brakes and Handling: RITZ brakes are adequate to stop the vehicle from high speed. It is a good practice to use Engine braking  ( downing gear shifts) along with brakes to stop the  vehicle. Diesel engines are very high compression engines. It provides good engine  braking compare to petrol engines.

1. Sony XAV 63 DVD Touch Screen System: This system includes two component speakers and  two 3 way Sony Xplod speakers( 420 Watts) and 2 tweeters.  It cost me 30K. This is just awesome.

   
   




2. Rear View Camera: This is really useful while parking and backing the vehicle. This is a must for RITZ since rear visibility is poor. We can see a lot of RITZ with rear dents:)

   
   




3. Seats and 60: 40 Split seats: It has bucket seats. These are very comfortable in long drives.

   
   




4. Dashboard: It has dual color dash board. It looks very good. and Big dashboard gives big car feeling.

   
   




5. Key Less Entry:  My Ritz fitted with Nippon Key less entry and Anti Theft system. Its very convenient for locking and unlocking the vehicle.  It cost me 5k.

   
   




6. A/C and Heater:  It cools very fast. Its really good.I always use A/C on on City and Highway driving.

   
   

11: Looks and Style:  Front looks very stylish . It looks like big car  ( SX4) . now Rear also looks good with factory fitted Rear Spoiler. It gives sporty looks.

1. Visibility: It has all round visibility . We can view other vehicles clearly in City traffic.

   
   




2. Dashmounted Gear Lever: It is very convenient for gear shifting. It is like video game console.Gearshifting is very smooth after the first service.

   
   

Servicing Details:

The first servicing was done at 1000KMs. There was no engine oil change. They charged only 45/- for glass cleaning. Improvements in RITZ:

1. Suspension( Rear and Front) . This is just ok. Some improvement should be needed in this area to provide comfort in bumpy roads.

   
   




2. Interiors  Quality: Plastic material is just ok. It needs to be improved to provide rich interior look.

   
   

I also bought my dream car( Ritz VDi) after reading a lot of reviews on MS and other sites. Thats y I decided to write review on my car. This would definitely help others to take decision in buying RITZ.  This is the best family car. Please reach me on naidu9678@gmail.com if you have any doubts on this.

Thanks

Naidu