Maruti Suzuki Baleno Review

The headlights on the lower trims of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, in fact look a lot like the Swift's, while the fancier ones have a chrome element cutting through them, that continues on to become the chrome edge of the front grille. The LED signature is also a nice touch, and gives the car a distinct identity and Maruti could've benefited big time from carrying this through across variants. There is a flowing design (Suzuki literally calls it its Liquid Flow design concept) to the sides of the car, with a muscular bulge running through the waist and flaring out at the rear fender. The rear in fact is the car's best looking element. It gives the Maruti Suzuki Baleno a wide stance, and has a pronounced chrome element that accentuates the width. The taillights do provide the car some identity too. The rear quarter glass sits after the rear door's shut line, and this enhances the sense of space and airiness inside the cabin. That's a smart and functional design feature indeed.

I drove the CVT first, and was immediately struck by two things. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno came across as stable, smooth and very well packaged. You get a good sense from the car's build quality - which isn't always true of Maruti's is it? The downside was that even though the CVT was smooth, overtaking or accelerating had the engine always at maximum revs. This meant too much noise, and too little punch. The 1.2 petrol though comes across as refined and agile. I think the CVT will take some getting used to - like all CVTs do. The unfortunate thing though? The CVT is only being offered in the Delta trim - which is one up from the base Sigma trim. A lot of buyers who opt for automatic gears these days are not simply looking for the convenience of that choice, but also want to pamper themselves a bit. I totally get Maruti wants to offer an attractively priced CVT, but should consider an Alpha (top trim) or Zeta (second trim) CVT variant as well. The CVT was a boon in Jaipur's maddening street traffic, but yes on the highway is where it falters, as it lacks the punch to deliver an all-round sporty package. Maruti does claim 21.4Km/l mileage on both the CVT and the manual petrol - which is a nice number to throw around.

Also Read: Made-in-India Suzuki Baleno Launched in Japan

But if the petrol was fun to drive, the diesel is an absolute hoot. I was reminded of what a revelation the Swift diesel had been when it first arrived. I will never forget that first drive, and even though the Maruti Suzuki Baleno isn't quite as sporty, it gets close. And the surprise element is that this is pretty much the same engine too! Maruti could've opted for the 90 bhp version of the 1.3 engine, but has stayed with the 74 bhp version (possibly for the higher mileage number - a superb 27.39Km/l!). But I didn't think that was showing up as a big gap in the strategy at all. The diesel has a slightly more planted feel, and really seems to invigorate the car's every pore. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno DDiS is super fun by comparison, and does everything you want it to. I must mention that the steering and suspension have been given a lot of consideration, and it shows (true across variants).

The car has a mature feel about it, and ride quality is pretty good - front and back. The suspension has been tuned for comfort, but remains taut enough when you throw the car about a bit. Handling is also good, but slightly fatter tyres would've felt more satisfying. Yeah I don't have to tell do I - that's another sacrifice at the altar of fuel efficiency! The 190Nm of peak torque on the diesel unit comes in at just 2000 rpm. The result is that you need not frequently change gears in city traffic, and the car will pull along happily in 4th or even 5th gear. But I have to say the diesel could've benefited from a 6-speed manual gearbox instead of 5. The engine makes enough torque to justify the extra gear, but I suspect it was a financial decision that saw Maruti staying with its tried and tested (and large volumes) 5-speed manual - possibly to subsidise the CVT? Okay, so I am kidding about that last part!

And finally I want to come to the aspect of safety - usually my pet peeve. But Maruti has impressed me by making safety standard on the Baleno. I think it's a good strategy - all products coming from the Nexa showroom (which is meant to be premium and better than the rest of the Maruti portfolio anyway) will likely have dual airbags, ABS and seatbelts with pre-tensioners as standard. The Baleno also throws in a bit more on the higher trims with fog lights, auto headlamps, parking sensors etc. But offering what I see as basic safety features as standard is a coup in this segment. Neither the i20 nor Jazz has airbags or ABS standard. Kudos Maruti Suzuki - now a company that has truly come a long way since the days of Maruti Udyog Limited.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno will benefit from economies of scale as Maruti plans to not just sell a bunch here, but export many too. Suzuki aims to sell the Baleno in 100 countries and a large bulk of that supply will go from India. Export volume will steadily increase as the company's Gujarat plant goes on stream. For Maruti to have that much needed success for its Nexa plan (the S-Cross hasn't done what it needed to has it?) it needs the Maruti Suzuki Baleno to be a super-duper hit. And it is a hit for sure - though I am not sure we can call it a huge blockbuster - yet. So now I return to the title of this piece, for the big hit to happen Maruti needed to undercut the bestselling i20 and blow the competition out of the water. And to some extent Maruti has done that. The petrol manual starts at Rs 4.99 lakh and the diesel range starts at Rs 6.16 lakh. It was a nice little Diwali surprise from the country's largest carmaker folks. A Baleno blockbuster in the making the as it was one of the country's highest selling cars in November 2015. And so far Maruti has received 44,000 bookings for the Baleno, and claims 120,000 inquiries.