Baleno or Swift for me?

santosh.s · 20th June 2006, 14:02

Aseem, I don't have doubts about more crash worthy structure of switf. But anybody would accept the fact that head and chest injuries would be improved to a great extent by front airbags, side air bags, curtain airbags, pre-tensioner and load limiter of the belt. This is also mentioned clearly in both front and side impact tests in the NCAP report, and those are among strongest points. In india, only ZXI has a few of those extra features. I think it has only front aribags and pretensioners, not sure about anything else. Regarding LXI/VXI, they don't even have height adjustments for the belt, right? I would expect the default height designed for developed countries would be excess for indians, which will reduce the belt's effectiveness, especially for people having short stature. Therefore my personal opinion about LXI/VXI swit is not more than 3 stars worth...

I was wondering whether or not baleno's body design has undergone any safety improvements recently (after 2000 time frame)... does anybody have any idea? because I got a general feeling while browsing euro-ncap website- all the cars tested before year 2000 tend to have poor ratings as compared to tests done after that! BTW, liana (which is based on baleno's platform) has not been tested by euro-ncap. Is there any other crash rating available for this car?

santosh.s · 20th June 2006, 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveendhyani
yes it will certainly b inferior 2 baleno on a highway.

1. taller than baleno : more prone 2 crosswinds, more prone to rolling over (in case of sharp turn to avoid an obstacle or accident).
2. smaller than baleno : where do u want 2 keep the extra luggage that we usually carry on highway travels, in a small boot or the roof?

i m sure there wud b many more benefits of having a baleno on the highway over swift, baleno owners whats ur say?

BTW, on a highway BALENO says [IMG]../images/smilies/I%20Rule.gif[/IMG]

Dont go by looks alone... Swift has a wider track Front (1470 mm) /Rear (1480 mm) compared to baleno's Front (1440 mm) /Rear (1430 mm), its more aerodynamic and has low CG, then there is the suspension which makes it a good highway car.
Another point is Swift has a more squat stance than the Baleno since its as wide as the baleno (1690mm) with a wider front and rear track, while at the same time being much shorter.

Taller should definitely mean more prone to cross wind. Wider tracks are beneficial but what matters is its ratio w.r.t. CG (its height), do you have that data too? Similarly, do you have any quantitative data to say that one car is more aerodynamic than the other... how do you judge?

Regarding suspension, yes stiff suspention at low speed may turn out to be better for high speed. However, did you know that baleno has special low-speed valves in shock absorbers to minimize body roll?

About length (I assume wheel base), shorter may help reduce turning radius and make low speed turns quicker. But it has adverse effects on handling, high speed stability as well as ride. It can worsen dive/squat (car leaning forward or backward under braking or acceleration). What exactly do you mean by "squat stance" and how does it help?

20th June 2006, 14:02	#106
santosh.s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,077 Thanked: 70 Times View My Garage	Aseem, I don't have doubts about more crash worthy structure of switf. But anybody would accept the fact that head and chest injuries would be improved to a great extent by front airbags, side air bags, curtain airbags, pre-tensioner and load limiter of the belt. This is also mentioned clearly in both front and side impact tests in the NCAP report, and those are among strongest points. In india, only ZXI has a few of those extra features. I think it has only front aribags and pretensioners, not sure about anything else. Regarding LXI/VXI, they don't even have height adjustments for the belt, right? I would expect the default height designed for developed countries would be excess for indians, which will reduce the belt's effectiveness, especially for people having short stature. Therefore my personal opinion about LXI/VXI swit is not more than 3 stars worth... I was wondering whether or not baleno's body design has undergone any safety improvements recently (after 2000 time frame)... does anybody have any idea? because I got a general feeling while browsing euro-ncap website- all the cars tested before year 2000 tend to have poor ratings as compared to tests done after that! BTW, liana (which is based on baleno's platform) has not been tested by euro-ncap. Is there any other crash rating available for this car?
	() Thanks