I still remember the date—18th of Jan 2000. Chacha (my uncle) was back after a long trip to London, and because the trip was highly successful, he thought of buying a big car. He straightaway ran to the phone and called up Dad. And my dad, very dutifully passed on the receiver to me saying “Sunny (my pet name) ko sab pataa hai....better talk to him”. I was expected to have all the answers, being an avid car-magazine reader I was. Chacha told me he won’t mind plonking 8-9 lacs on a car. I had just read two positive road-tests about Baleno, so instantly I replied—Chacha, we’ll have a look at Baleno. Its good u know. He said Belan—what??? I said it’s a new car launched by Maruti Suzuki. He seemed impressed. The next day, we were out in our Santro to a long trip to Delhi (You can’t expect car-dealerships in Rishikesh,can you?) The first showroom that we entered was Competent Maruti in Connaught Place, and must say that the dealership was so well maintained, and the staff so courteous, that we fell for a Silver Baleno instantly (The price we got on-road was 7,15,000, which was way below Chacha’s budget). But did the Baleno satisfy me and my Chacha? Let’s see...
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EXTERIORS: ** No Madhuri Dixit on four wheels
Let’s face it—Baleno is the most conservative looking cars on Indian roads. Give a child a pencil, and tell him to draw a car—the result won’t be much different from the real Baleno. I have always loved Baleno’s front end. Its snouty nose, jewelled head-lamps, silvered air-grille and muscular bonnet--it does look gentlemanly. This was the new front end that Baleno got when it went through a cosmetic surgery in 1998. But the compliments for the car’s looks are short as it looks completely ugly from behind. I call it lunchbox. Its as if the boot has been slapped into the rear of the car. The side profile is again boring—it just looks like any other car on the road—I think for a car more than 5 lacs, you expect something more...Look at Accent, Ikon, Lancer for proof. To me, how a car feels is also very important. Thankfully, Baleno does feel rigid and has none of those tinny feel that the other cheap cars from Maruti’s stable come gifted with.
INTERIORS: Very Comfortable but Look Outside for Colour
Its all a bright shade of grey when you step inside this big Suzuki. No colour anywhere, except grey, grey and more grey. Quality of plastic on dashboard is okay, but that on the doors seems to be sourced from Karol Bagh. Also, the door trim tends to become very dirty, and door pockets can’t hold anything properly—even a magazine. You do get Power mirrors, rev counter and a few more features as standard, but for this money, you just get velour upholstery—no leather, which is a shame. Moving on from aestheticism to comfort, Baleno impresses. I simply love the broad front bucket seats, which come with all sorts of adjustments. They have the right curves where needed and provide excellent under-thigh and back support. The general meaty feel of even the steering and gearbox is fantastic. Step into the back and you are in for another surprise. Terrific legroom, fabulous head-room, just-the-right seat angle, and tonnes of head-room. So, no worries even if you are more than 6 feet tall. And hey, how can I forget the AC. Its got the efficiency of a refrigerator and the cooling power of an arctic wind. Its one of the best I have felt in any Indian car, including Mercedes.
PERFORMANCE: It’s a Japanese mill, so bound to be excellent
The best thing about Suzuki’s engines are that they are fun to rev. Remember Zen. Ditto for Baleno. The mill we have here is a pretty high-tech 16 valve, MPFI SOHC unit pumping out a potent 94 bhp at 6000 rpm. Don’t worry if these numbers don’t make sense to you. The tagline is that the engine is refined, almost noiseless (Suzuki’s claim of incorporating 18 Noise-Vibration-Harshness dampeners are spot-on) and won’t run out of breath even at 170 kph. For city driving conditions, this mill is again spot on thanks to a numero-uno gearbox, the car operates like an automatic. There’s no need to downshift everytime the traffic slows down and the engine’s utter flexibility means you can kick the car from as low as 10 kph in the third gear. All this just reaffirms the fact that Japanese build the smoothest and the best car-engines in the world.
ON-ROAD (Ride, Handling and Braking): Again, a perfect five (except those weedy tyres).
The reason why I gave Baleno a full five-star rating here is because it strikes just the right balance between its ride and handling. The ride is so comfortable in city and on highways, that words like travel-sickness go out of the window. On the other hand, handling of the car, thanks to a brilliant steering is so supple that you don’t mind reaching for the throttle pedal (rather than the brakes) on every U-turn. The only gripe I have is that Baleno comes with as-thin-as-Urmila tyres, which look and feel completely out of place in such a big car. My advice is, when you go out to buy this one, get 175/70 R13 shoes fixed in. There would be a marginal difference in the fuel-efficiency, but it’ll be made up in the on-road characteristics.
SAFETY:** Is Baleno the safest?
Please, please, please, my advice to every Indian buying a car is to look into this feature seriously, and then make a buying decision. Remember that you are plonking lacs on a car, but it would be like throwing your money in the dustbin, if you are not safe in it. Remember, your safety, your life is of utmost importance. That said, I am not really impressed by Baleno. For a car of this money, there are no air-bags, no anti-lock braking systems (ABS) or other high-tech safety equipment. And what’s more irritating is the fact that Suzuki doesn’t even provide them as an option. One look at https://euroncap.com shows that the British Baleno is one of the worst when it comes to crash tests. Why all Indian auto-journalists and Maruti itself is hiding this fact is doubtful.
OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE AND FUEL-EFFICIENCY:
The first thing that springs into an Indian mind is “Gaadi ka average kya hai?” Thankfully, Baleno has the answer to it. Just like any other Japanese-made engine, this mill can give you figures touching a stupendous 18-19 kmpl on a highway with A.C. on and a commendable 13-14 kmpl in the city. I think its one of the most fuel-efficient cars in its range.
Buying a car is one thing, and maintaining it is another. It is of foremost importance that the company has a good dealership network, easy availability of spare parts and of course cost-effectiveness in service and replacements. Again, Baleno impresses, what with it being supported by one of the largest dealership network. Although experience differs from region to region, my Chacha’s experience with Competent Maruti, Sikands and a few other dealers in Delhi has been top-notch. Service charges are okay, but spare parts are definitely expensive. Except for the oil filter, everything else cuts a deep hole in the pocket. Most disappointing are the costs of front and rear bumpers (Rs 15000 each), headlamps (Rs. 7000) and door mirrors (again Rs.7000), which is definitely looting, in simple words. I still can’t fathom if Maruti uses gold instead of aluminium in making spare-parts!!!
CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION....
