Petra 1.6 ELX vs Baleno LXi

[shuvc]

Which of these 2 would you buy based on a 6L budget ?
Have compared these two versions as they cost almost the same.

Lets just focus on voting for the better car on the following parameters (I have deliberately left out A.S.S / Maintenance from the parameters).

Performance
Ride
Handling
FE
Space
Interiors
Build
Looks
Comfort

ps: Mods, if this poll has already been covered please close it.

[speedsatya]

except FE and *** ,its the petra that wins in all departments.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

except FE and *** ,its the petra that wins in all departments.

I thought so too ..

May I emphasise again, that just this once, lets keep A.S.S out of the picture. That way we can focus on the merits/demerits of the cars.

[vivek.singh.73]

I would go for Petra too

1. Overall build quality, solid built and built to last compared to Baleno. Baleno BTW has poor crash records, check out UK baleno sites.

2. Performance, Baleno is not really bad..very -2 driveable with almost flat torque curve

3. Ride - Petra hands down. You feel safe in there even going over pot-holed roads.

4. Handling - petra a clear winner again.

5. FE - Baleno would be marginally better then Petra, esp coz of extra 200 kg weight of petra

6 Space - difficult to pick one agianst another.

7 Interiors - ELX has much better interiors then Baleno LXI

8 Looks - personal choice and my choice is petra

9 Comfort - with better handling, performance, interiors - obviously better comfort with Petra -:-)

[ritik123]

I would buy (in fact already bought) the Baleno.

Performance: The petra is slower to 100 kmph than the baleno. Even if this is immaterial and only city driving / cruising matered my feel is that the Maruti engine is more driveable.

Ride: If you upgrade the tyres in the baleno to 14" tubeless, the Petra does not stand a chance. It has non independent rear suspension, the Baleno featuring a Independent four link setup.

Handling: Change the tyres in the Baleno and u have a winner.

FE: No brainer....its Baleno all the way.

Space: Baleno, by far larger

Interiors: Subjective. Baleno has electric air flow controls, electric rear view mirors, an a/c system others can only dream of.

Build: Fiat is better here, but the Baleno is also a well built car.

Looks: Subjective again. Both are dated designs.

Comfort: Baleno for me....Bigger car, more powerful a/c

Even though u have left out ***, remember there is nothing more frustrating than a troublesome car.

Having said this...buy the car YOU like. The one u feel u will be happy in.

And dont forget to share the pics here once u get her home !!

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by shuvc

I thought so too ..

May I emphasise again, that just this once, lets keep A.S.S out of the picture. That way we can focus on the merits/demerits of the cars.

Well you are gonna keep the car once you buy it-
So *** counts very heavily in terms of merits & demerits

You cant just knock out one of the parameters!!!

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by ritik123

I would buy (in fact already bought) the Baleno.

Congrats !

Originally Posted by ritik123

Performance: The petra is slower to 100 kmph than the baleno. Even if this is immaterial and only city driving / cruising matered

True .. I believe in citys' the 0-60times matter more .. if one is inclined towards performance ..

Originally Posted by ritik123

Ride: If you upgrade the tyres in the baleno to 14" tubeless, the Petra does not stand a chance. It has non independent rear suspension, the Baleno featuring a Independent four link setup.

Handling: Change the tyres in the Baleno and u have a winner.

I'd say lets stick to the stock versions of the cars .. once we get into mods it can become a different ballgame altogether ..

Originally Posted by ritik123

FE: No brainer....its Baleno all the way.

How big is the difference here ? I mean is it a 1 or 2 kmpl diff or a 4/5 kmpl diff ?

Originally Posted by ritik123

electric rear view mirors

They seem to have added this to the ELX.

Originally Posted by ritik123

Having said this...buy the car YOU like. The one u feel u will be happy in.

Bottomline .. very true..

[greatDrive]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Performance: The petra is slower to 100 kmph than the baleno. Even if this is immaterial and only city driving / cruising matered my feel is that the Maruti engine is more driveable.

I doubt it... Can you tell me the source which compares it.

Originally Posted by ritik123

Ride: If you upgrade the tyres in the baleno to 14" tubeless, the Petra does not stand a chance. It has non independent rear suspension, the Baleno featuring a Independent four link setup.

Handling: Change the tyres in the Baleno and u have a winner.

Upgrading to anything means spending money .. even after that I dont think Baleno can provide that ride on bad roads.

Originally Posted by ritik123

FE: No brainer....its Baleno all the way.

I Agree because Baleno is lighter and has less BHP. Petra has not compromised with safety features so FE is less in petra but still feel that it can almost match Baleno FE on highways.

Originally Posted by ritik123

Comfort: Baleno for me....Bigger car, more powerful a/c

A bigger car need a more powerful AC for sure .. but cooling ieffect is same in petra.

And dont forget the 500 liters boot and with foldable seats it can increase upto 650 litres..


cheers

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by greatDrive

A bigger car need a more powerful AC for sure .. but cooling ieffect is same in petra.

Not true, Baleno A/C is legendary.

Your poll is similar to car comparison list by car makers, who leave out parameters that are weak in their model. In A.S.S which you chose to leave out, Maruti beats the hell out of Fiat. Also, for city driving Baleno has an excellent low-end torque which Petra can't match by a mile, that's another parameter you left out. In the handing department, isn't Baleno (with upgraded tyres) a better contender? Any Baleno buyer with an eye on handling would surely upgrade tyres. If you upgrade tyres in Petra, I think you lose warranty on suspension.

The areas where Petra beats Baleno clearly are High end torque(Highway driving), build quality, interiors (ELX only) and looks (depends on the beholder).

[lamborghini]

Petra all the way.
The baleno beats it in performance but just marginally but most baleno owners will get scared once past the 125 kmph mark from wheron the baleno starts flying (not in terms of performance. I mean literally)
The ride of both is kind of equal but the Petra's interiors and all have a more BUILT TO LAST feel.
The baleno's interiors feel as though they will start rattling in less then 10 K km.
FE - The 1 kmpl difference between these two but then what would you choose? Safety or FE?
The Petra is anyday a better product and who cares about A.S.S and maintainance in comparision to Baleno.
The Petra is not that tough to maintain and A.S.S? Get it done from outside after all 3 free services are over. That's what we are doing and NO COMPLAINTS.
Also there are some cases of bad Maruti A.S.S. and Good FIAT A.S.S.

[typeOnegative]

Hey Lambo,

My Petra is rattling already .. LOL. I think it is more because of the roads. Plus have not serviced it for some time. That being said, I have still voted for the Petra. It looks better, handles better and definitely gives me more value. The only places where the Baleno beats the Petra is the A/C, out and out acceleration and Maruti A.S.S.

Regarding the A/C I do not have complaints about the Petra. Regarding acceleration, I might get beaten to 100 kmph, but I am not here to prove anything. Regarding A.S.S, I have not had any complaints yet. Besides I have seen some horrible jobs done by Maruti on my wife's car.

[Samurai]

Maruti has a website for Baleno where you can check out the brochure, specifications, photos, features, etc. Try beating that...

[deepakhon]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Maruti has a website for Baleno where you can check out the brochure, specifications, photos, features, etc. Try beating that...

Wait for few more days (read it as eternity). You will surely see Petra website with brochures

[Max]

what about the resale value ?

I think baleno would win in resale value.

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Maruti has a website for Baleno where you can check out the brochure, specifications, photos, features, etc. Try beating that...

Well then you are going off topic .. because we are talking about the Petra and the Baleno and not about Fiat and Maruti.

Max, the Baleno may win in resale value. But by how much?