Baleno - 35K kms(in 2 1/2 years)

[madhukar_n]

Hello all..
i am in this forum for about a year and i was really feeling bad that i did not know about this when i bought my car..(also i fee it(this forum) is a little addictive)

anyway, in 2005 i went to rns and booked a swift. after a month later he told i may have to wait for 6-8 months as i had booked a zxi. i did not have the patience and cancelled it and then booked a baleno as i was specific on the maruti brand(also not much choice then in 5.5-6.5L range).

i got a baleno by chance but have never regretted it. it has been a good experience since then.

i recently completed 35K. the engine has been very smooth. i have not pushed it the limit anytime. the only thing sometimes the gear change especially from neutral to 1st is a little hard. when i gave it to the service they have sort of rectified but i am still not too happy. i have not tested the brakes to the limit but has not put me into trouble till now.

my travel time is a lot daily 64 kms. travel thru the city and highways.. i get a FE of about 13. i put all sorts of petrol - HP, shell and IOC xtrapremium. i have also observed that when i take it out of station too the mileage is about 14..i have never got 15(which many people claim). i have taken it to udupi/mangalore, karwar/goa, ooty, many times to mysore, tirupathi etc.

but overall a very satisfied user of the car and i have no ideas to sell it out for atleast 1-2 years. as part of the 35K completion ceremony i did some small modifications:
1) changed the seats to art leather. steering, gear and door pad with real leather.(combination of tan and off-white)
2) changed the tires to 185/70 R13 - bridgestone gIII. this i did actually after 25K only.
3) changed the engine oil to castrol magnatec
4) K&N stock replacement air filter(on the way - not yet installed)

i hope the above changes makes it feel i need to keep it longer than 1-2 years. i will put out some pics later.


thanks.

[kjdesigns_2000]

Congrats dude, even though i don't own one but have always liked this car. Please write something about the body work or the rattles from body panels if you have encountered any.

Also some info on the suspension, would be nice

[sqwall]

The baleno is an excellent car, very popular in this forum as well.
Good on you to treat it well.

[madhukar_n]

after 30K kms there was some noise from somewhere in the lower body. that was mainly bcos i had just returned from the dreaded NH17 goa trip. the road was pathetic. after the 30K service it has gone.

there are some noise from the dashbord or door panels if the the road is a little bad. but that i am assuming it is common for all the cars. the vibration is also very less. the car was very stable even at about 130-140 kms.

the suspension is terrific man. the best compliment came from my friend's wife and my wife after the Goa trip. though the roads were like meteors struck, they said they were fresh after a 4 hour ordeal on that road. in 35K run on my car, i have been in the backseat for only 10 kms.

i guess the only issue is GC.. need to manevour the road humps very very slowly.