After the first review about Ritz posted on date 18th July 2010
Maruti Ritz VDI - Excellent car
By: kamleshp20021| Jul 18, 2010 10:33 AM
(Updated Jul 30, 2010 01:12 PM)
Here goes the scond review which would prove helpful for prospective buyers. This review is basically about the Ritz driving experience.
For car details and mileage etc. Please refer my previous review https://mouthshut.com/review/Maruti_Suzuki_RitZ-195424-1.html
https://mouthshut.com/review/Maruti_Suzuki_RitZ-195424-1.html
1st Service – I got it done at 1050 KMs and I paid an amount of only Rs690 for my first service which was cost of oil change as Mauti provies 1st 3 services free of Labour cost. The next service is due at 5000 KMs.
My hunt for getting the “Value for Money Accessories” for my Ritz
Ritz Accessories – I wanted to have very comfortable and good looking seat covers for my Ritz, I tried the Maruti Dealership but it was too costly, they were asking Rs.4000 for the cotton seat cover having little foam cushion. Tried the local markets but did not like anything there. Then I contacted a friend of mine who has a shop in Kashmiri Gate. He suggested me to personally visit him so that I can choose and select according to my liking. I parked my Ritz at Kashmiri Gate Metro station and took a Rickshaw to go to his shop and then he took me to 2 Wholesaler shops where I did not like the seat covers. He then took me to another Wholesaler and it was a big shop having hundred’s of seat covers and he was also manufacturing them. I bought very beautiful and comfortable seat covers for Rs2500. I also bought a set of neck pillow, 2 pillows for rear, tissue paper keeper & a small teddy bear for 325 only which was a steal deal. I got car cover for 350 only. I also got the best floor mat which goes exactly with the grey Ritz for 550. Airtel tune music back horn, for 100 only. Already have the gear lock fitted from Maruti dealership.
Till now the car has done 4000 KMS and it includes a recent trip to Jaipur. I have returned yesterday after 2 days trip from Jaipur.
It’s for those who want to travel to Jaipur or want to know the Highway review then here is my experience if it can be of any help.
Tip:- The Traffic Police in Jaipur would stop you for anything like Pollution check, Seat Belts driving on high beam and specially when they know you don’t have RJ number. So make everything ready when you travel to Jaipur. We did not had pollution check done as it is a new car and since the car had done more than 1 month we have to do pollution check and we got it done at Jaipur and had to visit quite a few Petrol Pumps to find that they can do it for Diesel cars.
We started at 5:20 AM from Gurgaon there was little traffic, in the morning, it seems everyone has got the idea to travel early to beat the traffic. We crossed Manesar then Dharuherra and just before Behror got stuck in traffic for around 45 minutes as a truck had blocked 1 lane and only 1 lane was available to cross it. Anyways, we crossed it after spending 45 minutes in the traffic and it was already day at this point of time. After getting out from this traffic I found empty roads for making up the time. Most of the time I was driving at 100 to 120 KMS/hr comfortably. There was a Honda City which overtook us underestimating it to be a small car and that they can go faster. After some time I had reached near it and left it behind without the intention of racing. Even at this speed the car is stable and you would not realize if this is the speed on which you are travelling and the only way to make it out is to check the speedometer, at times my wife used to check the speedometer and ask me to slow down. The maximum speed I have been for some time was 125Kms/hr.(as wify was keeping an eye of the speedometerJ)
Here is another instance of a jealous Logan driver. The Logan was going on the right side of the road and so I overtook it from left but there was a slow truck in the front so I gave the signals to move to right to come to the same lane where Logan was travelling but he started honking even when there was sufficient space that I could come to right and overtake the truck. So I politely slowed down and let him go first and the Logan driver felt that he is the one who has a big car and deserves to drive like unbeatable and don’t allow others in front of him that too specially a small car, so after crossing the truck and proving that he has a big car he was throwing attitude by moving his hands over his head and relaxing. I didn’t have any intentions of racing with him either but wanted to reach Jaipur early to skip the morning traffic there. So I applied a little force on the accelerator and Logan was left far behind. We then stopped at Hotel Highway King which is a decent place for stopping while travelling to Jaipur; it comes at 160 KMS from Gurgaon. We had a good breakfast and it took us around 45 minutes to an hour. Ahhh, here comes Mr.Logan for breakfast(It seems that he came here for breakfast because this Hotel is the only decent place for stopover)
We reached Jaipur at 11 AM it took us around 4 hours of travel time to Jaipur. The roads were good with some pathes of new construction going on and at places there were 3 lanes.
Return Trip
After 2 days of stay we started our journey from Jaipur at 1 PM, the road was not as good as coming to Jaipur. The construction work is going on for 6 lane highway, they have made new roads at places which are little higher than the old roads and the joins are not smooth and you get a jerk if you don’t slow down. The road also has lot of patches and holes through out. At some point we came across Ford Fusion+ and A Star and they both were moving at a good speed and I overtook both of them and seems that the person driving Ford Fusion did not like it so I gave him way and he was happy as he overtook me and after some time I got 3 lanes as they are making new roads and at places you would get 3 lanes, I easily left it far behind. After some time a Toyota Camry was Zooming next to me and it was gone in a couple of minutes even though when I was driving at 100-110 and it deserved also(my wife did not allow me to increase the speed and asked not to go above 110, so there was no chance to overtake it as it was going at above120). We stopped for lunch around 3 PM at Hotel Highway King which took us around 45 minutes of stop time.
Got stuck while entering at manesar and also at the Manesar Toll Plaza which took around 1 hr and we reached home at 6.30 PM.
After this trip I found that the Highway drive is very comfortable, overtaking is easy.
People who have driven on Jaipur to Delhi roads would know the road condition but with Ritz it was a comfortable ride.
Summarizing the advantages of Ritz
1) Good Suspension due to which it provides a smooth drive.
2) Tyres are big and ground clearance is also higher so the car wont get a hit if you drive over an uneven/water filled road. Its easy to cross it. Yesterday I had been to old Gurgaon and the roads were filled completely with water and I was able to drive through the water.
3) Ritz can go at speeds above 100 easily and you wont get the feel that you are driving so fast. The car is stable at high speeds.
4) Mileage is very good on highways, While leaving for Jaipur I got full tank and I am back from Jaipur and also done local driving for 3 days and got it full tank again for Rs.1100 only.
I have done Delhi - jaipur trips in Optra(Petrol) which costs me around 2800.
All your suggestions are welcome for improving this review which can help others.