Business Class on Wheels. Review on Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Hi, I purchased a new Baleno LXi about 1.5 month back and though would pen donw my 1st thoughts on the same. I earlier owned a Tata India DLE (Euro II) for 6 yrs and drove it for 76,000 k.m before deciding to sell it. Buying Decision I was tired of the increasing maintenance on my Indica and decided to change the car. This time around was looking for a bigger car (say C Segment if u may call it that way) within a budget of 6.0 – 6.5 lakhs. With this budget constraint evaluated the Tata Indigo, Hyundi Accent, Ford Ikon, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Petra. I had decided not to go in for a diesel car this time around and so Tata Indigo was out of contention. Ford Fiesta was a new launch, and I did not have the guts to experiment, so this was also out of my list. Fiat Petra is a technically good car but was not certain about how the tie-up with Tata Motors would help, so with this uncertainity did not look at it, but my opinion is that technology and performance wise this is certainly a great car. This left me with Baleno, Accent and Ikon, the Ikon was rejected owing to low fuel economy that I heard from some of my friends who own this machine. The final list was now narrowed to Baleno and Accent and the following favoured a Baleno purchase (a) Good space for the driver and front seat passenger, same case with back seat passengers also (excellent leg room). (b) A/C is very effective (although the blower is noisy if U increase the fan speed) (c) Driving comfort, good power steering and space for driver i.e. arm does not hit the side passenger while using steering and changing gear lever. (d) Fuel Economy as got from MS reviews and feedback from some users at my workplace and other friends. (e) Good boot space, low maintenance cost (f) Attractive price and good discounts from the dealer. (g) Low noise levels inside the cabin. (h) Last but not the least, it is from Maruti What I Like in about this car (a) Very roomy and comfortable for 5 people. (b) Great A/C (c) Decent fuel economy of 13km/l in city (considering at 1.6L engine), have not yet drive on highway so shall update it later. (d) Great to drive even in stop and go sort of traffic in Hyderabad. The engine is very responsive in stop-go traffic conditions also. U do not feel the pain of driving, just rollup the windows, put on the A/C, listen to music and drive. (e) Very low noise levels in the cabin. (f) Very comfortable ride (even if the road has potholes or no a pucca road). I think this is attributed to the suspension. (g) Electronically controlled mirrors. (h) Large boot space. What I Dislike about this car (a) The 14” wheels should be standard equipment on all variants of Baleno. (b) The quality of plastics used needs improvement. The plastic cover given to cover the seat rail of the front seat often comes out. The pins used to pin down the carpet and other stuff often come off. (c) The rear view for the driver is a blind spot i.e., the rear view for the driver is not good, so need to be careful while backing up the car etc. (d) Absence of ABS and SRS. For a car of this size and the segment in which it is sold these should be standard equipment or at least there should be an option to get a car with these. (e) Low seating , especially for driver. Driving Experience The driving has been really very comfortable and good. The best straight-line speed I have driven so far is between 90 – 100kmph, and the car is rock steady (have not yet driven it on highway to get the feel of the real power). In city the driving has been really good considering the traffic congestions. Even in traffic the engine response is good (I guess this is due to high torque) with the A/C running i.e., no problems of engine stopping, or lack of power. The power steering is really good and very comfy to maneuver in congested traffic and narrow roads. The suspension is good and very comfy to sit even when U drive over potholes and dirt roads. The slightest touch of the accelerator and the car zooms, this is great considering that I earlier drove a Tata Indica (Diesel), but it is good in comparison to other similar cars. The problem I have had so far is with the gear lever. There seems to be a problem (once in a while) in engaging the 1st gear. The 1st gear will not engage smoothly and I will have to force it (not sure why). Have addressed it to the service engineers when I went for 1st service but not improvement. This happens only once in a while, so shall check on this and update. The breaking is excellent, it has happened on a few occasion when I had to break from 80kmph and the car breaked well and no skidding, wobbling etc. Should I buy this car or not This car is a value for money and as my review title suggests is traveling business class on road. The car is huge in size, so should be careful while parking and maneuvering. I strongly recommend this car. This car is not for you if you want jazzy /new/modern look, baleno has a traditional and dated looks. If you want a zippy car this is not for you. As I said the car is huge in size, so in case u have problem with parking, maneuvering and reversing(blind spot) this car is not for you – look at other cars in this segment. Overall Rating Performance: 9/10 Fuel Economy: 8/10 A/C: 9/10 Drive/Riding Comfort: 8/10 Exterior Looks: 7/10 Interiors: 8/10 Overall: 8/10 (Value for money and a must buy car.)

Update after long drives

Recently I have been on long drives (200-300kms) with my car and thought it would be nice to update my review with findings. These trips were done with the car loaded with 5 adults and the trunk loaded with luggage. I should say that the car handled really well. I hit top speed of 120 kmph (did not dare to go above that, with senior citizens and my kind inside) and drove on that speed steadly. Beleive me it was really great, the pickup on highways was excellent, i.e. even if I had to slow donw and then come to speed, it was quick and overtaking was easy. The head light leveler provided prooved very handy while driving in the nights. Now to the fuel effecieny - it returned a decent 14-15 kmpl with 100% A/C running.