Maruti Suzuki Ritz is one of the most underrated cars in brand’s line up despite being excellent performance, solid build quality and a great bang for your buck. The car hasn’t able to set sales chart on fire like its stable mates Swift, Celerio. Eight years since its existence Ritz received just a single update in 2012 and hasn’t able to attract buyers. Ritz has been selling at 3000 units a month which is pretty low compared to other cars of the brand.
Now if reports are to be believed, MSIL has stopped the production of Ritz to make way for the Ignis hatchback. This is not for the first time we are hearing the news of Ritz’s production halted, earlier too it was in news for the same vary reason. The carmaker might introduce Ritz only for the commercial taxi market as Ritz tour similar to Dzire tour.
The hatchback was powered by two conventional engines- 1.2l petrol and 1.3l Fiat sourced diesel engine. The petrol mill delivered 86bhp power and 114Nm of torque while the oil burner used to make 74bhp power and 190Nm of peak torque. Both the engines are linked to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard along with 4-speed automatic for petrol trim.
Coming to the Ignis which was showcased at 2016 Auto Expo is expected to hit Indian shores by early 2017. Touted as Micro SUV, it will be pitched against Mahindra KUV100 and will be sold via Nexa dealerships. Ignis will board same engines of Ritz- 1.2l petrol and 1.3l DDis engines while transmission options will include a 5-speed manual and an AMT gearbox.
The tall boy hatchback measures 3700mm in length, 1660mm in width, 1595mm in height and sits of the wheelbase of 2435mm and offers 180mm of ground clearance. It will be loaded with some premium features like touchscreen system with Apple car play and Android auto, premium upholstery, automatic climate control and much more. The Ignis is expected to come in the price range of Rs. 5 and 7.5 lakhs (ex-showroom).
