Customer Maruti Suzuki Ritz Review

Last month, I had a chance to drive Maruti Ritz for an extended period of time on the highways. Though Maruti Ritz is an excellent car but still it has a few disadvantages and of course many advantages which I am going to mention in my customer review:

Advantages of Maruti Ritz from a customer’s perspective

Seating: Ritz has excellent space utilization mainly due to high seating. It has class leading leg space in front. Even after spending long hours at wheel, I did not feel tiredness.

Plastics/Interiors: It certainly has better looking and better finished plastics than Maruti Swift. Panel gaps are tighter and overall touch feel and finish is a generation ahead of the current Swift.

Efficient Engine: It can maintain blistering pace all day long without showing a single sign of stress. 13 hours sprint from Rajkot to Delhi at speeds of 150 kilometers per hour and relaxed nonstop cruising of the same route in 21 hours is ample testimony to that.

Brilliant Fuel Economy: Even while I did sprint run of 13 hours Rajkot to Delhi run, the worst efficiency I got was 13.8 kmpl. While cruising on the same highway at 80 kmph gave me the fruit of 23.7 kmpl which is incredible.

Good Highway Manners: Though on paper, it should not be able to hold the road at 130 plus speed being a tall boy design but it surprisingly manages that. It stays on the road with firm gripping even at that speed. It is only past 140 to 145 kmph that you feel to get easy on the gas pedal, but yes, this highway confidence has lot to do with 15” alloys as well as the sticky Michelin rubber too. They increased the road manners leaps and bounds ahead of the stock set up. ABS plays a vital role in maintaining that maniac speed, as you have the confidence of stopping and avoiding the object in front in the right amount of time.

Disadvantages of Maruti Ritz from a customer’s point of view

No Rear Wipe: With such a premium hatch, Maruti must have given the option of rear defogger or at least a wash and wipe. It comes handy in rain and winter.

Seat Fabric: It is not the best in the industry as well as gets dirty and stained too easily. Within a mere 15 days of getting them dry cleaned, they get dirty again. Extra seat covers is a sensible option.

Horn: Very low sound. Even a bullock cart owner will not pay attention to you with this horn. So you need to rightly upgrade to roots horns which are standard fitment on Skodas/VWs.

Rear View Mirror: The inside rearview mirror, though Maruti claims has in built dimming function for night, is a useless product.

No Glass Holder For Rear Passengers: In fact even in front, the glass holders in the doors are not easy to operate and the single holder near the gear lever is just not adequate. There should have been two like in Maruti Swift and at least one for the rear.

From a consumer's perspective, Maruti Riz has been a brilliant car without even a single problem as far as product quality, reliability, or performance, or even ownership costs are concerned. It has delivered in power, fuel efficiency, and comfort fronts. Even the disadvantages mentioned above are not that big ones to deter one from buying this car. There have been arguments about the looks, especially the rear, but personally, I find the rear boomerang shaped taillights quite attractive, especially at night. In fact, I discovered that the shape of this car is in your mind for initial few months, in fact few weeks and then it just grows on you. From a customer point of view, it performs well, except the Hyundai i20 CRDi and Maruti Swift. No diesel hatch can match its performance. It sips fuel quite economically, 23.7 kmpl (with AC on) being testimony to that. Ritz does 19 to 20 kmpl in city on a regular basis, handles well, is comfortable, has good interiors, best front seats in its class jointly with Swift, and adequate boot space for a nuclear family. Ritz is also the best car for weekend outings and is economical to maintain. Above all, it is a product of Maruti, something you can rely upon. Ritz is a value for money car for an average consumer.