Vikram Malik

Maruti Suzuki Does a Waltz on Indian Roads with the Ritz!

India’s foremost car maker, Maruti-Suzuki India Ltd., has sizzled Indian roads this summer by launching its first Bharat Stage-IV compliant passenger car Maruti-Suzuki Ritz on May 15, 2009. It is the eighth new model launched by Maruti in the last four years after Swift, Zen Estilo, SX4, Swift Diesel, Grand Vitara, Swift Dzire and A-star. Ritz is placed in the premium Hatchback segment which is now already congested. In fact, even Maruti has two models in this category: Swift and A-Star. The launch of Ritz after the success of A-star will definitely strengthen the position of Maruti-Suzuki in India. The Ritz with a contemporary European design has been positioned in the premium A2 market and compact car segment. The company already holds the largest market share of 58 percent in the A2 segment. Built along the lines of the Swift, Ritz shares plenty of components with the smashing hit. So, how is Ritz unique?

Although Swift has pleased and drawn customers of all age groups, it was basically meant for the youthful, sporty and vibrant crowd looking for an ultimate driving experience whereas Ritz is a more sensible car focusing on space, comfort and driveability.

Since, it has been launched as a family car, special attention has been given in the area of seating comfort. The rear seat has been designed to comfortably seat 3 passengers.

Some people might say that Ritz is a clone of “Splash” running in the international markets but there are some special features in this car that makes it more suitable for the Indian market. Small changes here and there make Ritz quite different from Splash. Notable alterations on the exterior have been made keeping in mind the Indian mindset that includes a redesigned rear bumper that holds Reflectors and RR Fog Lamps. In addition to this, a modified Gear-Box uses gear ratios to match its driveability in Indian traffic conditions. It has a taller body-design which gives a feeling of spaciousness in the cabin and proves to be its biggest achievement.

One more feature of this car that makes it unique from the rest of the Maruti-Suzuki collection is its K12M engine. It is an advanced version of K10B that powers the A-Star. So, it carries the same vital quality of being light-weight. Overall, it is being expected to be fuel-efficient, high on performance, have less noise vibration and harshness. Maruti-Suzuki MD and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi is very optimistic and all praises about this engine and says “K12M engine is another example of Maruti-Suzuki’s commitment to take engine technology in India to the next level.”

The car will come in a total of six variants, three in petrol and three in Diesel. The power specifications for the petrol and diesel variants will be, for Petrol - 85bhp/114Nm and for Diesel-75bhp/190Nm. It will be available in two different engine options: a new K-series 1.2 litre, four cylinder, 85 PS petrol engine and a very successful 1.3 litre, 16 valve DDiS, 75 PS diesel engine.

Keeping in mind, the requirements of the target group the car has been designed with style, design, comfort, space and savings. The ground suspension clearance of 170mm has been tuned to Indian road conditions.

Detailed attention has been given to the designing of the Ritz. Comfort and convenience has not been put at stake. Ample leg room has been provided for rear seat passengers. The car also comes with power windows and AC climate control as standard. Also, the styling of the car is very elegant. There has been no concession on the safety feature. These include - Air bags, Fog Lamps, Electronic Brake Distribution, Anti Lock Brake System and Power Steering.

The price of the Maruti Suzuki Ritz is close to that of the A-star, around INR 400,000 to 570,000 (approx. USD 8,510 to 12,128) which will compete with Hyundai’s i series.

The key features of Maruti-Suzuki Ritz can be summarized as:

Fuel efficient K12M engine
Dual Airbags
Attractive looks
ABS Brakes
Fog Lights
Well-designed Tail lights
Bharat Stage IV Compliant
Power Steering and Windows
Central Locking

Technical Specifications of Maruti-Suzuki Ritz:
ENGINE
ENGINE TYPE: Petrol and Diesel engines available in 1.2 and 1.3 litre types, respectively
CYLINDERS: 4
DISPLACEMENT: 1197cc Petrol and 1248cc Diesel
MAX. POWER (Ps at rpm): 85ps @ 6000 rpm (Petrol) and 75ps @ 4000rpm (Diesel)
MAX. POWER (Nm at rpm): 113 Nm @ 4500 rpm (Petrol) and 190 Nm @ 2000 rpm (Diesel)

TRANSMISSION
TRANSMISSION: 5 speed manual
BRAKING-SYSTEM: Anti-Lock Braking system (ABS)
BRAKE FRONT: Ventilated disks
BRAKE REAR: Drum
STEERING SYSTEM: Power Steering
WHEELS: Alloy Wheels
TYRE SIZE: 165/80 R 14 on Lxi, Vxi, Ldi, Vdi. 185/70 R 14 on Zxi

BODY
BODY: 4 Door and 5 Seater
DRAG COEFFICIENT cw: 0.30

OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS

LENGTH (in mm): 3715
WIDTH (in mm): 1680
HEIGHT (in mm): 1620
GROUND CLEARANCE (in mm): 170

WEIGHTS
KERB WEIGHT (in kg): Lxi-1005, Vxi- 1015, Zxi- 1030, Ldi- 1100, Vdi- 1110
TANK CAPACITY (in litre): 43