The eight child of the Maruti Suzuki has been delivered, in fashion. The new small car Maruti Suzuki Ritz a.k.a. Splash in Japan has been launched in the Indian car market. Ritz is positioned as a family car, expected to replicate the success of the Swift hatchback. The swift hatchback has sold 3 lakh units in few years. Ritz is Suzukis fifth global model and the first car in India to comply with Bharat Stage -IV emission norms.
Maruti has aptly priced at Rs 3.99 Lakh up to Rs 5 Lakh, a bracket that generates the highest volume of sales. Currently, Maruti holds a market share of 58 percent in the small car segment while the rest is shared between Hyundai Motors i10 and General Motors Spark and other small cars.
Maruti Suzuki Ritz is built on 3.7 meters long wheel base and is 18 meters longer than WagonR. The heart of Ritz lies in the newly developed K12 M engine. The petrol versions with 1.2 litre 4 cylinder engine delivers 85 bhp and the 1.3 litre DDiS diesel engine churns out 74 bhp power. The engine is mated to the 5 speed manual transmission. Suzuki has not developed engines larger than 1.3 litre diesel that was lats used in Swift Diesel hatch and Swift Dzire sedan. Ritz is the only other small car after Tata Indica Vista and Skoda Fabia to offer a choice of either petrol or diesel powertrains.
Ritz is available on three petrol engines LXi, VXi and ZXi and two petrol engines LDi and VDi. Built on the Swift hatch platform, Ritzs tall structure promises a spacious interior that can seat four adults comfortably. The tall roofline offers an airy cabin and enough headroom for tall adults.
Maruti has designed to suit Indian tastes by adding features like reflectors and RR fog lamps on the rear bumper, boomerang taillights and piercing headlights. The strong flowing lines and the upright rear tailgate is heavily influenced by European styling.
The neatly laid out dual color interior trims appears sporty. The colour coded graphics on the instrument cluster are bright and clear under all ambient light conditions. Ritz has been given a high seating position which aids the driver to get a better all round visibility. The hard plastic in interiors is proof enough of value for money. The ambience allows passengers to immediately relax. The 500 litre boot space is large enough to store small suitcases.
Ritz practical design offers more space to families, as expected from Maruti Suzuki. Ritz is expected to take away this class of customers away for Swift, or other premium hatchback like Hyundai i10 and i20.
Ritz will offer more in terms of space and practicality to families and is expected to take this particular class of customers away from the
Maruti Swift.
Ritz gives true value for money as all three models come with air conditioning and power steering. The high end petrol variant comes standard with tilt adjustable steering wheel with mounted audio control. Power windows are on all but the base model. The ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution system is optional on VXi and VDi but is standard on ZXi.
A fully loaded ZXi is Rs 35,000 costlier than Swift, but the difference is in the new fuel efficiency. The manufacturer claims that the petrol engines deliver 17.7 km/l and the diesel engine offer 21.1 km/l fuel economy.
Also Ritz is a more attractive buy for urban families. The affordable pricing will help Maruti Suzuki eat into the market share of its rivals with the new Ritz.
