[veyron1]

@Samurai: Perhaps maxbhp meant the Esteem. But even then, the MPFI's are better than the carb'd ones...

[maxbhp]

oops Smaurai you are spot on !!!!

[Ram]

Outdated, outdated! I keep hearing that magic buzzword again and again.

Why do I hear, "Outdated",
from Esteem/Baleno buyers who would think the Aerio/Liana outpriced?,
from buyers of 21st century re-issues of the 1954 Willys CJ-3B who would think the coil-sprung Wrangler TJ outpriced?,
from people who happily bought a 1959 Fiat, over four decades years later as new in 2001, who would have balked at the price to shell-out for a Fiat Siena/Petra,

from people who glibly mouth...
words like Murcielago without understanding what it means!
words like VTEC and ABS without a clue about the pitfalls of variable-valve timing nor antilock braking?
from people who stampeded into the ocean to sample the miracle "sweet" water, whilst yak-yakking about how a Ferrari drifts in a power-slide!

Is it really consumer intelligence or plain urban hypocrisy, to turn the Nelson's eye on the Baleno's price-performance ratio, durability, maintainability, longevity and quad-McPherson suspension amidst lunar-landscape roads, weaving motorcyclists, wrong-side drivers and adulterated fuels?

When I bought my July 2006 Baleno VXi over the competition, what goofy thoughts was I thinking? Took a long hard look in the mirror.

Aren't we Indians a little outdated ourselves, maybe?

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by pastmaster

That said, the Baleno does feel like an overgrown 800 when the speeds increase

Sounds funny but whats that suppose to mean??

[ancer]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The Octy and Baleno looked luxurious and big, while the lancer and fiesta looked like mere wannabes..

come on you cant be serious the baleno is a ugly car alteast the rear side is unless you have a classic black or dark blue i think the car could use a new body as for the lancer just as outdated but not that bad a looking car (2000 stock) although i have to say the rear of the cedia is ugleee.on that note have to say the civic is a mean looking car from 3 floors up.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by ancer

come on you cant be serious the baleno is a ugly car alteast the rear side is unless you have a classic black or dark blue......that note have to say the civic is a mean looking car from 3 floors up.

Why do you think I was not serious? From the angle I was looking I could only see the front and top, more like from 60 degree angle. From the front Baleno does look more majestic compared to Fiesta or lancer.

Actually the ugly Baleno rear (which I don't notice anymore) is an asset to Baleno owner, a true feature. When we routinely pass other cars and force others to look at the baleno rear, they won't get that mad. They will say "Damn! that car was fast, passed me like a rocket, but look at that ugly rear." It will soothe their bruised egos and we won't have any road rage. Peace reigns.

[Ram]

Hi friends:

I was looking at the Suzuki Baleno Factory Service Manual

Apparently there are Balenos out in the wide world outside with Air-Bags,


ABS




and

four-wheel-drive.





The four-wheel-drive Baleno with ABS also had an inertial "G"-sensor for sensing deceleration.
This G-sensor was bolted to the floor under the console, in a 4-wheel-drive Baleno.

And the ABS-equipped Baleno Altura had EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution ) too!
EBD regulates the brake-fluid pressure to the rear wheel brakes, based on signals from rear-wheel transducers. This takes into account varying loads that the Altura Wagon may be subjected to.

Maruti should introduce these features too.
Would silence the competition even more effectively, what?

Ram

[sbasak]

Wow! A 4-wheel drive Baleno! I wish Maruti had introduced it in India.
We could then boast of having a scaled down Subaru

[Rtech]

Ram, while the Baleno is a decent enough car, you must face the fact that it is a couple of generations behind. The reason it is quick is that its body is inheritantly light, and that is because it didn't really have to worry about NCAP tests in those times.

Also, to get a true picture of how well built it is, you must speak to the rally guys who prepare Baleno's for the INRC. The stories they can tell you about the variance in tolerances, assembly, weights, even the thickness of the actual steel goes is unbelievable.

Lets be clear on the facts:
- It is quicker than the competition, but only because it is not built to the same safety levels as the current generation of cars such as the Fiesta or even the Swift.
- Its speed comes solely because it is 300 kg's lighter, and not because it has a superior engine!
- The fact is that the Indian made Baleno was (and is) so badly made, that its parent company refused to let Maruti use the existing homologation form which was prepared for its Japanese made unit.

Yes, it has its positive points just as any car in the market has, buts lets not go overboard shall we. And then we all complain when manufacturers do not launch their latest products in India. How can they when they are up against the costings of a 15 year old model?

[Ram]

So another big deal with Maruti Baleno (besides the fact that it offers serious value for money as it is) is that dedicated modders could order up OEM Suzuki components to mod up their Indian Balenos.

Ram

[kdb]

Why don't you consider Ford Fusion.. its cheaper than the Fiesta 1.4 EXI and has the 1.6 Duratec powerfull engine with bigger tyres and good ground clearance and also a great presence on road. Do give it a test drive ...

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by ram

So another big deal with Maruti Baleno (besides the fact that it offers serious value for money as it is) is that dedicated modders could order up OEM Suzuki components to mod up their Indian Balenos.

Ram

That holds good for almost all cars these days. However, according to these same tuners, its easier, and cheaper to an extent, to get high performance parts for the Fiesta as its a current model. The Baleno has not been used in active motorsport for many years now, so whatever was there has all but dried up. Only avenues now are mostly with dedicated Suzuki shops in SE Asia and Australia to some extent.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by veyron1

The Baleno is a fantastic car, but it doesn't command as high a high resale value when compared to the City. 2000 model Balenos, which were being sold for 8.3 (just about the same as City's were being sold for back then) lacs, are now going for about 2.2 in the used car market. A 2000 model City 1.5 still retails for about 3-3.5, depending upon condition.

Veyron are you sure about teh resale figures. I am asking becaue a few weeks back one of my colleague wanted to go for a used Baleno & he said he couldnt get any model below 3 lac not even from the first batch. this was in Pune

Hmm gotta tell him to look up Mumbai's Used cars market.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Ram, while the Baleno is a decent enough car, you must face the fact that it is a couple of generations behind. The reason it is quick is that its body is inheritantly light, and that is because it didn't really have to worry about NCAP tests in those times.

Also, to get a true picture of how well built it is, you must speak to the rally guys who prepare Baleno's for the INRC. The stories they can tell you about the variance in tolerances, assembly, weights, even the thickness of the actual steel goes is unbelievable.

Lets be clear on the facts:
- It is quicker than the competition, but only because it is not built to the same safety levels as the current generation of cars such as the Fiesta or even the Swift.
- Its speed comes solely because it is 300 kg's lighter, and not because it has a superior engine!
- The fact is that the Indian made Baleno was (and is) so badly made, that its parent company refused to let Maruti use the existing homologation form which was prepared for its Japanese made unit.

Yes, it has its positive points just as any car in the market has, buts lets not go overboard shall we. And then we all complain when manufacturers do not launch their latest products in India. How can they when they are up against the costings of a 15 year old model?

is it really true that the baleno has compromised on safety to give FE & performance ?? can you give some real facts about that, comparing the fiesta or any other current generation car please ?

[Rtech]

You are reading that wrong. Baleno has not compromised on safety, its just that at that time when it was produced, the standards were not so strict. Its just a natural progression in the auto industry.