[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Guys this is my take on Baleno.....

Pros:
Handling is brilliant even at 980kg it goes like a stink

Sorry, handling is one of worst points of Baleno. It may go like a stink (it does not actually, engine does not like to be revved much above 5k rpm) but try taking a turn with it. A friend had brought a Baleno on a hill station holiday and I had my OHC. When behind him, I was wondering why he was taking the curves so slowly. My OHC had oodles of grip and twice (to avoid loosing momentum) I overtook him on the inside of the curve. Later, when I drove it around the curvy roads, I realised it had very little grip on turns. It had more torque, but engine was a bit harsh and in my 1.3OHC, I could easily outrun it any time.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ram

I1985 onwards, when I was your age, I lived and travelled in California, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, in these cars:
Ford Maverick, Ford Tempo, Dodge Aries, Buick Regal, Ford Fiesta, Ford Escort, Ford Sierra, Ford Taunus, Ford Scorpio, Volvo 340 and 360, Opel Corsa, Opel Kadett, Opel Ascona, Opel Rekord, Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Caravelle, Mercedes [COLOR=#000000]190-E W201[/COLOR], Renault 19, Renault 25 and Peugeot 505.
BTW, Corsa, Fiesta and Polo are B-segment cars in Europe.
..................................
Some high points for me were test-driving a new Jaguar XJS and a new Ferrari Testarossa in 1986 in Holland.

Excuse me for sounding like an old man. I am one -- with many lakhs of global driving miles on me.

ALthough we have respect for your experience and many km of family car use, many of us have driven similar and even more accomplished vehicles. No one's particular experience singles one out as the ultimate expert.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

My OHC had oodles of grip and twice (to avoid loosing momentum) I overtook him on the inside of the curve. Later, when I drove it around the curvy roads, I realised it had very little grip on turns. It had more torque, but engine was a bit harsh and in my 1.3OHC, I could easily outrun it any time.

I believ it could be due to the skimpy stock tyres provided by MUL. Somehow I found the car easy to throw around when I had taken it for a spin. But then OHC is OHC Just curious you have type 1 or type 2 I believe type 1 could be slightly better handler due to relative shorter length. Correct me if I am wrong here

[yogi1771]

Originally Posted by sharu

guyz,

read in this month auto car or overdrive abt the service exp faced by a delhiate for his honda.........belive me own a maruti and u will have hassle free service. absolutelu no worry abt the spares...i own a zen and have absolutely no complaints. We also own a palio...fantastic car...but service n spares are pain....last time visited the bosch service station...feels like good...lets see....but maruti customer service is top class...and one fantastic reason to own a maruti

there r enough horror stories about maruti a.s.s also

[Fl|rty]

well here goes my 2 cents..

I own a baleno too.. 2005 MOdel.. no mod done as of now .. i was in a same delima as u are at the time of purchasing a new car.. i was upgrading from Zen and dad has CRV that i never drove..

baleno has best of the engine and its pretty safe.. and yes i have tested it.. i banged my 4 months old baleno in a truck head on.. @100 KPH.. and was sitting inside scrach less.. the impact didn't cross the appron part.. and nothing happenend to engine as well.. that was alucky part.. radioter assmbly, AC kit and all were crushed .. so yes baleno is a safe car..

the tyres were stock so cudn't complained if i had upgraded them then may the impact cud have been less as the car wud have slowed down a lil bit..

anyway you are not gonna drive the car for whole of ur life.. buy it.. use it.. enjoy it and sell it.. anyway the second hand market is crashing down these days.. you go to the buyer and he will anyhow will show u 1000 defects to scale down the price.. i know this when i tried to sell my ZEN.. at that price that he offered me.. its better my youger bro drive it..

so Baleno is a safe peppy car.. put some nice performance enhancement and no other car can match that..

just my 2 Cents

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

I believ it could be due to the skimpy stock tyres provided by MUL. Somehow I found the car easy to throw around when I had taken it for a spin. But then OHC is OHC Just curious you have type 1 or type 2 I believe type 1 could be slightly better handler due to relative shorter length. Correct me if I am wrong here

My OHC type1 was only on stock tires as well - the bridgestones 175/70. Was there a difference between OHC types 1 and 2? I though the changes were only cosmetic, including the length. Wheelbase remained the same.

Yes, well I could have thrown it about a bit more than my friend did, but there was simply no confidence in doing so. I initially thought he was a very poor driver, why is he slowing so much and loosing momentum up the curve (especially when it was not a blind curve) but I realised even I could not really push the baleno at all around curves. This also resulted in exceptionally poor FE for him as compared to my OHC - I got 15 overall, he got 12 kmpl.

BTW, the Swift is also quite exceptional at curves. I felt the ZXI can go faster than my OHC for the same curve.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

It had more torque, but engine was a bit harsh and in my 1.3OHC, I could easily outrun it any time.

It's a little bit the car, but lots more the driver behind the wheel that matters. I would definitely love to see a 1.3OHC trying to outrun me.

[suman]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I would definitely love to see a 1.3OHC trying to outrun me.

Ooops, here we go, you asked for that one Sandeep!! What say.....a Chennai vs Mumbai?

[khaadu75]

Originally Posted by suman

Ooops, here we go, you asked for that one Sandeep!! What say.....a Chennai vs Mumbai?

Hey, Why dont we get a a route from Kanyakumari to kashmir ... and have a Baleno vs OHC race -- that should end the debate which keeps popping up !!! Mine is bigger .. oops better theory ....

Cheers

[Rtech]

Hey guys, let not get into that please. This thread seems to have outlived its life now.

[kpzen]

Give Baleno some good rubber(GIIIs i got) n fatter than what MUL gives then i dont see many cars able to outrun it....
OHC is an amazing car no doubt but it terms of handling the Baleno is not that far apart......According to me of all cars i have driven i personally feel Ikon, Baleno n OHC are the best handling cars n they set a different standard...


Hey khaadu bhai..!!!! Nice avatar again...

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

My OHC type1 was only on stock tires as well - the bridgestones 175/70. Was there a difference between OHC types 1 and 2? I though the changes were only cosmetic, including the length. Wheelbase remained the same.

Baleno like all MUL cars is famous for poor stock tyres & tahst why the mention. Hmm I alwyas thought the type 1 was slightly shorter but then I could be wrong :-)

[quote=sandeep108]
Yes, well I could have thrown it about a bit more than my friend did, but there was simply no confidence in doing so. I initially thought he was a very poor driver, why is he slowing so much and loosing momentum up the curve (especially when it was not a blind curve) but I realised even I could not really push the baleno at all around curves. This also resulted in exceptionally poor FE for him as compared to my OHC - I got 15 overall, he got 12 kmpl.
[quote]

Since you drove both I will agree to what you say, btw I had driven the OHC 1.3 once & had absolutely loved that car great package of performance + mileage, sad that it got discontinued

Originally Posted by sandeep108

BTW, the Swift is also quite exceptional at curves. I felt the ZXI can go faster than my OHC for the same curve.

Going OT: My friend at car India tested the Swift along side a Fiesta & said Fiesta handles high speed turns much better than the Swift which created near death situations on ghats but he also said that MUL blamed that to the poor stock tires, so MUL themselves ackowledge that tehy give poor tires ona premium hatch :(

[esteem_lover]

[quote=Technocrat]Baleno like all MUL cars is famous for poor stock tyres & tahst why the mention. Hmm I alwyas thought the type 1 was slightly shorter but then I could be wrong :-)

[quote=sandeep108]
Yes, well I could have thrown it about a bit more than my friend did, but there was simply no confidence in doing so.

I initially thought he was a very poor driver,

why is he slowing so much and loosing momentum up the curve (especially when it was not a blind curve) but I realised even I could not really push the baleno at all around curves. This also resulted in exceptionally poor FE for him as compared to my OHC - I got 15 overall, he got 12 kmpl.

Since you drove both I will agree to what you say, btw I had driven the OHC 1.3 once & had absolutely loved that car great package of performance + mileage, sad that it got discontinued



Going OT: My friend at car India tested the Swift along side a Fiesta & said Fiesta handles high speed turns much better than the Swift which created near death situations on ghats but he also said that MUL blamed that to the poor stock tires, so MUL themselves ackowledge that tehy give poor tires ona premium hatch :(

your friend is a poor driver. gimme that baleno & see what happens, ghats or plains, my friend, this beauty only needs a decent driver to make her respond to your feet.

[Technocrat]

Esteem_lover: For Whom was that reply for My friend drove Swift & compared Swift to Fiesta

[SLK]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Yes, well I could have thrown it about a bit more than my friend did, but there was simply no confidence in doing so. why is he slowing so much and loosing momentum up the curve (especially when it was not a blind curve) but I realised even I could not really push the baleno at all around curves. This also resulted in exceptionally poor FE for him as compared to my OHC - I got 15 overall, he got 12 kmpl.

Its just the tyres....
And about the FE!... you are comparing a 1.3L engine to 1.6L!!!

When going fast its more about the driver than the car...

Give me your OHC 1.3... I am sure I'll be slower than what I can be in my Alto... point being .. you need to know the car inside out before you start throwing it around (just explains why you couldn't push the baleno)