I finally booked Maruti Ritz VXi(white color) today after thorough analysis / research of at-least 9 hatchback’s and after test driving Honda Brio, New Swift ZXi(earlier I owned Swift VXi for 5 years but sold lately), Skoda Fabia, Hyundai i20, Hyundai i10 etc.
Below review is my personal opinion after driving a "test drive"(Maruti Ritz ZXi) vehicle for roughly 20+ kms on both i.e. smooth highways and roads full of potholes in Mumbai(Route - Western Express Highway, bad patches near Andheri WE highway junction near Metro work, Andheri Kurla Road, JVLR, SEEPZ, Powai, Internal powai roads, Chandivali etc.) Please note that this "test drive" vehicle was 3 yrs old, already clocked 16, 500 KMS and was not in the greatest of the conditions.
So in one word for Ritz, "Respectfully Awesome". Fantastic space inside, feels like driving an SUV. One can clearly feel the power of K series engine.(as I could compare it with i20 and also old Swift VXi 2007 model may be that too had k series engine, not sure) Good all round visibility from driver’s seat. Good power, even in 3rd gear while driving in low speeds to manage traffic and bad roads.
While test driving, AC was ON and faced no problem in pickup or while revving it on highway or roads with potholes. Gear shifts was easy to perform, power steering was good enough(not as good as i20 or i10 and may be i20 has hydraulic steering? thats what one of the guy at Maruti show room told me:)) and easy to cut edges or drive in high traffic condition. The best part was suspension, I was driving and testing this Ritz like crazy to thump it on speed breakers or bad patches and it absorbed all without any complains or noise, on the contrary we felt like the comfort of an SUV or MUV. Ritz has solid outside frame and body comparatively. Space inside is fabulous compared to other, close match to Honda Brio in front space.
This is my personal opinion and may be you disagree but suspension or absorbing bad patches in Ritz is far better than Swift or i20. I think due to Ritz height and the position of the overall body, we feel the suspension is better? You may correct me and I apologies if you didn’t like comparing it with your Swift or i20s. The back seats were also very comfortable compared to other hatch’s, boot space too seems to be adequate. Quality of interiors is also quite acceptable.
Negatives - My left knee was touching side board of gear panel a bit and I was getting uncomfortable slightly while driving as I didn’t face same issue with my old Swift. But I did face same problem with i20 too and couldn’t relax my left knee properly while driving. This might be more due to my driving style and not due to any issues with the way interiors are designed or placed in the vehicle. Leg room at driver’s seat is sufficiently good in Ritz compared to other hatch’s but somehow I was getting a bit uncomfortable with the knee touching and positioned near left panel of gear box. Would have been fantastic if Maruti could have provided SRS bag at-least for driver in their VXi variant. BTW I booked VXi variant just becoz it was available for delivery within 2 weeks against the waiting period of 5 to 6 weeks on ZXi. Otherwise I wanted to go for ZXi variant. But even in the top end ZXi variant the features were not value for money (to name a few - no power adjusted outside mirrors, automatic climate control etc.)
I will provide more reviews and details once my Ritz is delivered. Otherwise this would be an impartial review as I would like to add more about mileage for petrol variant, comfort during long drives on highways if I go for more than 200 Kms non stop, overall safety and road presence.