Maruti Suzuki Ritz set to make a Splash

It’s a well known fact that every second car sold in India is a Maruti and the lion’s share of all car sales are in the A (and off-late) A2 segments – hatchbacks to you and me. It’s a segment where Maruti already has six offerings – 800, Alto, Wagon R, Zen Estilo, A-Star, Swift – and will now be joined by a seventh – the Ritz.

You may recognize this as the Splash, the car launched towards the end of 2007 in Europe. But in India the rights to the name lie with another manufacturer and insiders say that an obscene amount of money was demanded for the name. So it’s called the Ritz and it’s meant to convey an upmarket image; that of elegance, class and style.

And style it definitely has. Internationally the Splash was a replacement to the Wagon R but in India there are no plans to retire the Wagon R especially since it’s now the second best selling car in the country.  In any case you won’t be able to connect the two. The Wagon R was from an age of uninspiring and slightly weird Japanese styling whereas the Ritz is a product of the same team that did the Swift, a car that marked a complete turnaround for the brand. You might not notice it but the tall-boy proportions have been retained – it’s 1.6meters in height which is mini MPV-like. But the height is well disguised by the clever styling that is cute yet contemporary. The large expressive face is cheery and distinctive but it is at the rear that she’s most unlike any other small car, the boomerang shaped taillamps being standout feature. The flared wheelarches add a hint of sportiness to the design but this is a car targeted at a more mature buyer, a buyer who would consider the Swift to be a touch too radical or sporty, and a buyer for whom practicality and space efficiency is of primary importance.

The Ritz rides on the same platform that underpins the Swift with a slightly smaller wheelbase and the same Mc Pherson struts up front and torsion beam at the rear. The increased height though has allowed the designers to position the seats higher and still liberate considerably more headroom at the front and rear. The acres of headroom make the cabin feel roomier than it actually and old people will appreciate the fact that you don’t have to crouch to get into the car – you simply walk in and out. It’s a big plus point, as it the fact that better packaging has given it a claimed best in class head and leg room.

The interiors too are very well designed and petrol variants get blue inserts on the top of the dash and in the doors, while the same blue is used for the seat fabric. Along with the silver-effect surrounds for the air-con vents and the central console it makes for a very fashionable and modern cabin. There are some funky touches too like the large white-faced speedo which reminds me of that in the Mini and also the tachometer mounted in a separate pod like in the A-Star (but here it is positioned better without obstructing field of vision). The gear lever is also integrated into the central console like in the Hyundai i10 making for better ergonomics and liberating space for knick-knacks between the front seats. Quality too feels better than in the Swift though some of the plastics do feel hard and brittle.