Maruti Suzuki Ritz production stopped; could be re-introduced as Ritz Tour in the coming months
Maruti Suzuki has stopped producing the Ritz hatchback from local manufacturing facilities as demands for recently launched products like Baleno premium hatchback, Vitara Brezza subcompact SUV and Ciaz mid-size sedan have increased. However, the leading car maker in the country could re-introduce the Ritz with a Tour badge especially for Taxi market in a similar fashion to the Dzire Tour.
The Ritz Tour could be moved from regular dealerships to newly arranged commercial sales outlets as Maruti Suzuki plans to retail around five products from those showrooms in the next two to three years. It could be accompanied by Eeco Flexi and Omni Flexi as the maximum potential of the entry-level vehicles are taken to full use. The production of Ritz was reduced when the Baleno came into the picture itself.
Maruti is currently offering the nimble hatchback in the base Lxi and Ldi trims as opposed to Zxi, Ldi, Vdi and Zdi variants previously. Mainly used for taxi purposes, the entry-level Lxi is priced at Rs. 4.31 lakh and Ldi at Rs.5.51 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom Delhi). The six colour schemes in which the Ritz has been made available are Superior White, Bakers Chocolate, Silky Silver, Mystique Red, Breeze Blue and Granite Grey.
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Customers have the option to choose between single petrol and a diesel engine. While the petrol variants were bought with either a manual or an automatic transmission previously, the diesel trims only offer manual gearbox. The 1,197 cc, inline, MPFI, four-cylinder engine is good enough to produce a maximum power output of 85 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 113 Nm of peak torque at 4,500 rpm.
It is coupled with five-speed manual as standard and four-speed auto ‘box as optional but right now only the manual is available. The manual version is claimed to return 18.5 kmpl and the automatic was rated to provide 17.1 kmpl. The 1,248 cc, DDiS, turbo-four, diesel motor generates 73 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm torque at 2,000 rpm. Driving the front wheels is through a five-speed manual gearbox only. It is rated to give fuel efficiency of 23.2 kmpl.
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The Ritz measures 3,775 mm in length, 1,680 mm in width, 1,620 mm in height and features 2,360 mm wheelbase with ground clearance of 170 mm and kerb weight of 1.1 tonnes. The bootspace capacity is at 236 litres and the fuel tank can hold 43 litres. The hatchback can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 14 seconds before topping out 163 kmph.