New Ritz ZXi vs. Honda Brio VX MT

[sumit27jan]

Hi All

I am a completely newbie when it comes to automotive. Finally scumming to worldly possessions I have decided to buy my first car. The use would be mostly limited to city drive or weekend getaways
I had following factors/parameters to choose my first vehicle
-Frugality/Low Maintenance/cost of ownership/ass
-Safety
-Comfort & spacious
-Decent Features
-Petrol & Hatch back
-Budget~6 L

Ritz Zxi = 6.15 l otr
Brio VX Mt = 6.3l otr
Based on these factors/reviews/test drives , I have narrowed down to Brio VX MT & Ritz Zxi (both have been recently refreshed). Now I cant decide further, please let me know your suggestions.

My take
Brio pros
-Driving and good mileage(on papers)
-Honda brand

Ritz pros
-Tall boy model and spacious
-Maruti ass


PS:Cars I considered Hyundai 120 & Swift but not sure to stretch to 7/7.5 lac. Not impressed by ford figo or i10.

 

[Gurrala74]

I vote for Brio, it is really a peppy car and fun to drive in city, where you need to get used to drive the Ritz in city for some time though it is also an excellent car with superb driving position and excellent space inside.

I am bit doubtful on the A.S.S cost of Brio, as I was reading some spares and service cost of Amaze on the other thread and on other hand Ritz is complete peace of mind as I own a Ritz diesel and the maintenance cost is zero apart from regular service cost and consumables.

So finally it depends on your choice what type of car you like a peppy and smart devil or a big SUV type spacious car. Drive both of them and take a call

 

[amit1km]

My vote is for Honda Brio.
Handling
low maintenance.
peppy engine.

 

[sumit27jan]

:)

Thanks Gurrala

And this is where I am stuck. Drove both of them and contrary to all beliefs I personally liked ritz look as well.
Now couldnt decide that should I go for peppier onr or spacious one. Have drilled down their specs till fine details but couldnt find anything substantially different which make inclined towards one of them.
Or Am i missing something?

As an experienced owners , what would you guys prefer?

Should i consider any other brand-> model...lot of confusion

 

[sumit27jan]

Thanks guys
I have drilled down these cars for specs in detail. I couldn't find anyone of them having any edge on other which could have helped me in deciding.
Its going to be my first car therefore some how I am inclining towards maruti value and at the same time brio handling is great

how is honda ass an maintenance ?

My take on cons
Ritz - roll in body
Brio - rear glass/fiber door doesn't impress me too much & boot space (on the contrary I liked ritz new looks)

still confused...am i missing something? Should i be considering any other brand/model

 

[ADS99]

Hi mate, congratulations for your good selection. Please go for Ritz. It is a good choice. But one thing do upgrade its tire from 165 to 185.

I like Ritz than Brio, because personaly I dont like its shape(REAR).

 

[sumit27jan]

I am planning to go for Ritz Zxi which has factory fitted 185/70 R 14 tyres

But last one new swift zxi or ritz zxi keeping price as one parameter , I mean is it worth to shell out that extra 80k for swift.

 

[Gurrala74]

@Sumit

If you want a sporty car feeling then go for the swift shelling out those extra 80k bucks, check for the brakes in new swift as I have read some reviews about less bite there

If you want a complete practical car in every aspect, then go for Ritz ZXI

Both Maruti's will offer you complete peace of mind on maintenance part.

If you are okay with the boot space and space inside the car and fan of Honda engine, then go for Brio

If you want to consider any other car, then drive Sail UVA, Liva new model, Punto Petrol and decide. Sail offers a good driving experience + 3 year warranty and 5 year warranty on engine

 

[ronz_2507]

Hey sumit it's great that you have narrowed down to the two great cars. The opinions of different people vary on these cars. I for one love the looks of the Brio. But considering that being subjective, I would say that the fit and finish of the honda coupled with the smooth engine is great. Not saying the k12 block in the ritz is any bad but some how the Hondas engine is a tad better. Secondly as you have pointed Honda badge, also consider the waiting times of the ritz considering its a maruti.

Now considering the ritz definitely ingress and egress is better than the brio and you are more comfortable with a metal hatch than the glass one of the brio. Definitely more space in the ritz considering tall boy design. Not saying the brio is any smaller, but the ground clearance on the brio is definitely less than the ritz. Also in the brio you don't get CD player in the head unit.

So to be very honest in between the Brio and the Ritz the choice is more like Design vs a little added practicality.

Both are again truly great cars hope my inputs help

 

[Ajay Sreedhar]

I would suggest you to prefer the honda brio vx mt.

Now since you are opting for a petrol motor, Anyday "HONDA" is better.

as u are planning to upgrade your tyres, that will have an effect on your cars mileage.

I myself was in this position a few days back. after tremendous research i have opted for brio.

You will feel the difference among them if you drive the honda once. My view is with all respect to maruthi ritz. its a good car but brio leads in my view.

But yeah you will have to compromise on bootspace in brio when compared to ritz. in rest of the cases brio ahead.

 

[manish09]

Totally agreed with Ajay. Between Kseries of suzuki and IVTEC, IVTEC is the champion both in terms of mileage and power.

BRIO is class apart, different from the race

 

[Petroholic]

sumit27jan;

well i was in the exact same position two months back and now own a ritz coincidentally my cousin bought a brio a month back.Having experienced both the cars i will give my opinion

*brio is an unconventional car it is the smallest in its segment and has been designed keeping cost in mind by honda this has resulted in some compromises such as glass rear hatch to save cost, asymmetrical and cheap looking dash , lack of bootspace , less space(compared to ritz), uncomfortable front seats....... so it somehow felt overpriced for what it offers
* both k12 and ivtec are comparable.K12 lacks low end grunt in the city but again this is a problem with brio too.
*ARAI mileage of brio is 18.4 and ritz is 18.5........so same again .At first i thought that brio will give better mileage than ritz........but my ritz gives 14.5 in city with AC on continuously.And i know for sure that brio doesnt give any more than that ( according to my cousin )

So they r evenly matched.But if you dig further these r the differences-

why ritz is better?
1 more space for passengers and in boot
2 better front seats
3 easy ingress/egress due to tall design
4 much bigger ( almost seems half a segment above brio )
5 conventional hatch and boot
6 cheaper accesories for fitment
7 more number of dealers in your city so u can find the best one for service
8 very good Ground clearance compared to brio
9 Ritz feels better built than brio ( sheet metal /sturdiness vise )


Why brio is better than ritz
1 a little more refined ( honda petrol is the best in this )
2 smaller turning radius than ritz
3 lighter controls especially steering
4 Honda brand ( i own a car from this brand and respect this brand a lot )
5 U will find less crowd in service centres during services( details huh )
6 much better visibility all around
7 less prone to rattles ( i have heard this problem in marutis )
8 no ankle pain due to higher set peddles as in ritz

Cant seem to remember any more....

how is honda ass an maintenance ?

Excellent but expensive than maruti ( i know because i own both brands ).Regarding ASS both brands r comparable.

One more thing i would like to add.... i chose ritz over brio even though i didnt need the space/boot space at all? somehow it felt more VFM.

Also i would suggest u to take long test drives of both these cars and see which you personally find better to drive and seems more comfortable to you.decision making will become much easier and u will come to know which car suits you better

 

[Gurrala74]

Nice comparison PH, what is that ankle pain in ritz ??

 

[Petroholic]

Nice comparison PH, what is that ankle pain in ritz ??

Well the acc,clutch,brake are set a little bit higher in ritz/wagon r so many people experience a little ankle pain in ritz during long journeys......by your question i dont think you have any such problem with the car

 

[sumit27jan]

Thanks a lot Guys

I am 90% sure for Ritz now.
Some how i liked the design over honda...as all of you said both are almost same VFM and it all boils down to personal choice.
This 10% still remains just because that swift standing besides to Ritz in the Maruti showroom. :)
I think I will book ritz next week