This weekend I had a test drive of the recently launched maruti ritz (ZXI) and here are my findings. Also I am providing the comparisons with Swift ZXI to have a clear picture of what’s in the package and what’s out. As always there are 3 variants in petrol but the diesel is in 2 only, ZDI being scraped.
Exteriors: The look is new for Ritz (accepted well in Europe though). If u look at the front its gives you a Innova/CRV like feeling but slightly smaller in size but I personally do think that the front grill part could have been done a bit better (may b a chrome finish somewhat like swift desire). The headlights and body curves are descent. Going to the rear view not all people would like it though. Personally speaking it’s a bit of a radical design which I am not sure how it would go with the Indian crowd. The boomerang shaped rear lights looks good though. But what I didn’t like is if you start from the front view and slowly go to the rear view it leaves you wanting for more ... as if the rear is chopped off. Front and rear fog lamp, child lock and central locking are default in V and Z variants. The ZXI version also has alloy wheels, rear defogger and wiper. Overall the exteriors are ok but could have been better.
Interiors: The interiors are refreshing with the the dashboard having new 2 shades blue and black combined and also the texture is nice. The central console is same as ZXI Swift. The extra feature is the tachometer on the top of the dashboard on the left side (somewhat like A-star but better placed) and the gear stick integrated in the central console like i10. The steering wheel and driver seat is adjustable and is pretty comfortable. The only thing which is missing for me is the gear stick has a rubber cover unlike leather cover in swift the latter gives a posh feel. The car is fairly roomy as compared to its counterparts. The legroom is almost same as that of swift but bcoz of the tall boy design you don’t feel crampy even with 3 ppl in the rear seat. The rear seat also has 60:40 split unlike previous maruti cars handy if there is some extra luggage. The boot space isnt too big (205 trs) but its much not small as compared to swift (232 ltrs), good enough for daily use. Overall the interiors are satisfactory.
Safety: The ZXI varient comes with dual frontal airbag and the ABS EBD for V and Z variants same as swift.
Drive: I test drove both ritz and swift the same day. The seats are really comfortable and there is easy in getting in and out of the car. The ritz is a little slow on the pickup but the drive is really smooth unlike swift which is a little coarse. The swift has a really nice pickup and handling though and you can race it in no time.
Price: All the varients of ritz is almost 40 K less than the corresponding swift variant (ZXI Ritz 5.4 lacs and ZXI Swift 5.8 lacs on road price chennai). So it’s competing head-on with i10 and swift. i20 astra (medium varient) is 6.4 on road and i20 magna is basic version is priced at 5.4 (same as Ritz ZXI) and missing out on a lot of features. I am not too fond of i10 so no comments on that.
*Comparison with Swift
Pros:
*More rommy interiors, better dashboard, 60:40 rear slit seats, better mileage (17+ claimed), smooth drive
*Cons:
*less powerfull, no automaic climate control, less boot space, rear look (some ppl may not like it)
So if you are looking for space, mileage and riding comfort and ok with the looks go for Ritz.
This is my first review in MS so please excuse me if my findings are not up to the expectations and do post your comments.