Maruti’s Ritz is a very potent car in itself but it has always been overshadowed by the Swift. Launch of the new Swift and slew of other launches by various car manufacturers have made things worse for the Ritz. Ritz has been in the market for quite some time now and Maruti is planning a facelift for the car.
The facelifted Ritz is presently undergoing testing. Seen in the pictures is the highly camouflaged Ritz which was spotted in Delhi. The rear of the car looks identical to the old car. It has the same bumper, badging and boomerang styled tail lamps as the present Ritz. The side profile too is the same.
The front of the car was heavily camouflaged thus the exact changes are not revealed but it is clear that the majority of the changes to the facelifted car will be in the front. The car will get restyled headlights and fog lamps with new fog lamp housing. The other changes will be an altered bumper, new grille and altered Bonnet . The changes to the front are being made to make the Ritz look fresher. The overall design of the car though will remain the same in order to preserve the conventional design of the Ritz.
On the Engine front the new Ritz will get variable valve timing (VVT) for the petrol motor along with minor tweaks to the engine. The diesel engine will be re-tuned and is expected to be more smoother and quieter than the present motor. The facelifted Ritz might get better features like Automatic climate control, day/night internal rear view mirror for the ZXI variant which are absent at present. Also on cards is the inclusion of the fully loaded diesel ZDI variant.
The Ritz is a comfortable car with decent interior space. The seats in the Ritz are placed at a good height thus ingress and egress is easy. The car has the same engines as the Swift and also shares parts with it. Ritz is good in terms of quality and being a Maruti will ensure that it is cheap to maintain. It is cheaper than the swift and is good value for money. With the introduction of the new Swift the prices difference between the Swift and Ritz has increased and it has made the Ritz even better value for money. The upcoming facelift could be an icing on the cake for Maruti and will help it to sell the Ritz in good numbers.
If the production of the car is not affected by the closure of Maruti’s Manesar plant then the launch of the facelifted Ritz will happen during Diwali. Expect a marginal price hike between 5,ooo to 10,000 Rs.
Picture Source: Team BHP
