[krsna777]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

While we all are criticizing Maruti for not giving powerful engine, we all should remember that the priorities of Maruti and general market is definitely mileage.
=====
While I agree that the market needs Hot Hatches, lets wait before the actual sales numbers of Polo TSI and Abarth T-Jet comes out and how much it is % of total sales of Premium Hatch Segment.

I don't agree with you. Ford Aspires 100 ps super refined engine(much better than 1.3MJD) gives a mileage of 25 odd kmpl. Even Maruthi's Own Ciaz is delivering more than 25 kmpl.

I don't see any other reason except that Maruthi wanted to have higher margins on this car.

[WRXXX]

Originally Posted by chncar

Not sure what they are trying to say here. First they praise the Baleno for 'razor sharp' handling, and then they go and compare it to the i20

I wonder what they are trying at!
Looks like these guys have a weird way of describing handling of various cars,
especially they never say anything bad about any cars handling!!
(Check out their website)

Has a computer written the review? (Although I like the review, it seems far from what it actually is)

And one more review is here :
http://www.topgear.com/india/car-new...leno/itemid-50

While this may incline a lot of you towards believing that the Baleno may end up being pricier than the Ciaz sedan, it's not a given. Apparently, Nexa isn't just about being expensive, but more about the experience. That apart, the Baleno will interest people considering cars like the Swift, i20 and even the Ciaz.

And the Ciaz may be the biggest hindrance in the path of the Baleno. Okay, the hatchback has plenty of things the Ciaz doesn't - a dead pedal, auto headlamps, a far superior audio system and a more thorough in-car interface. But the nearly stretched limo dimensions and the boot of the Ciaz are strong pulls for most Indian buyers.

Maruti Suzuki could have made a watertight case for the Baleno if they provided it with more powerful engines. Now it's all down to the price. If it's similar or less than the Ciaz, the Baleno could have a memorable second innings. If it's more than the Ciaz, then as much as we appreciate its safety features, family members like the Swift and the Ciaz and outsiders like the Hyundai i20 are going to make life difficult for the Baleno.

[CRtorquefan]

Finally, a 75PS DDiS not so premium engine for this so called Premium hatchback. But even then Maruti Suzuki needs to refine it further on its already class leading NVH, just to impart more premium feel. Then another is power delivery, really it would be better if this car features a bit linear power delivery, that's again for consistent driving feel, leading to premium feel than an abrupt one.
By these changes incorporated, i believe this engine can be justified for this car but still i'd say this car deserves soft sounding 90PS DDiS200 engine, atleast in its top & second last to top end variant.

Btw, a no one pointed out in thread yet !
'Kitna deti hai aspect'.
As relatively heavier Swift & Dzire delivers 25.1 & 26.59 kmpl respectively, i think this car can promise 26.8-27.1 kmpl under similar conditions.

Btw again, Boosterjet petrol like Hi-tech engine for global markets & same set of old engines for India !
Must be a strong case of competitive pricing.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by CRtorquefan

Btw, a no one pointed out in thread yet !
'Kitna deti hai aspect'.
As relatively heavier Swift & Dzire delivers 25.1 & 26.59 kmpl respectively, i think this car can promise 26.8-27.1 kmpl under similar conditions.

Spot on. As per the reports from the media drives, claimed mileage on the Baleno diesel is 27.39 kmpl(segment best), petrol is 21.4 kmpl.

[sunsetorange]

Originally Posted by CRtorquefan

Btw, a no one pointed out in thread yet !
'Kitna deti hai aspect'.
As relatively heavier Swift & Dzire delivers 25.1 & 26.59 kmpl respectively, i think this car can promise 26.8-27.1 kmpl under similar conditions.

A premium car that's lighter than the Swift. How safe would it be on the highways in strong crosswinds?

I understand that there are quite a few cars that are lighter but this being touted a premium car should have strong and durable build.

Does it have that thud we get when closing the doors in a Polo or the previous generation Figo?

I wish that every car is released with a NCAP test score.

[volkman10]

Baleno test drive and reviews continue, day 2




Baleno reviewed by evo-India,



Mixed review - interiors.

Step inside and things improve dramatically. The all-black colour scheme is a welcome relief from the sea of beige and does look upmarket, even a touch sporty. When we first saw it at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month the interiors didn’t feel all that great but, out in the real world, it does feel very nice. Only thing is some soft-touch plastics would have made it feel genuinely upmarket. Also the cabin uses far too many bits and pieces from the existing Maruti Suzuki parts bin and that makes it look very familiar, taking away from the newness of it all.

Loaded, and how!

Equipment - No Cruise Control? - A tad high boot loading lip

The Baleno does not skimp on equipment, that’s for sure. Lets start with safety – all variants get twin front airbags and ABS. On the exterior there are 16-inch wheels, day-time running lamps and projector headlamps on the top-end version. While on the top end variant the interiors get climate control, a 4.2-inch touch screen with a rear parking camera, navigation and Apple CarPlay (a first for this segment). There are steering mounted controls for the stereo and mobile phone, keyless entry, push button start/stop, a large TFT screen between the speedo and tacho that shows all sorts of cool info, and a coating on the glass area cuts UV rays by up to 85 per cent.

Another thing Maruti have got spot on is space. The front seats are wide, supportive, very comfortable and height adjustable and allied with the steering that adjusts for both reach and rake it makes for a lovely driving position. The rear knee room is extremely good, something that could not be said about a Maruti hatchback up until now. In comparison the shoulder space seems a little tight but overall the cabin is very spacious and the boot is also large at 339 litres.

Safety - being lighter? Rides well with fun to drive factor?

The Baleno is based on an all-new platform that is 100kg lighter than the Swift but 10 per cent stronger to meet future crash safety norms. The Baleno is a global Suzuki product, not a hatchback engineered only for India, and as such has to meet safety standards in force in Europe and other parts of the world. In fact the Baleno will be exported to 100 countries from the mother plant in India and India is the first country to get the car underscoring our importance in Suzuki’s global scheme of things. This is also a modular platform that will underpin a whole range of future Suzuki cars including the next generation Swift due next year.

What is very unlike the Swift is the ride quality. This is the first Maruti hatchback to have a ride quality that can be termed as good, without having to resort to high-profile tyres. It rides with genuine sophistication and only sharp bumps has the suspension crashing into it noisily, betraying its light-weight ethos. At the same time it hasn’t lost the Swift’s fun-to-drive genes and can handle corners with aplomb. The electric steering does have some feel and you can genuinely have fun with the new Baleno. The brakes are also sharp but progressive, again giving the driver lots of feedback and confidence.

Verdict

Out on the road though the Baleno makes for a rather impressive package. That diesel engine is a gem and when mated to a chassis that is lighter and stiffer it shines even brighter. The Baleno is the first Maruti hatchback to ride properly, while the handling continues to err towards the fun end of the spectrum. The Baleno is also the first Maruti with abundant space on the inside and the cabin – which misses out on soft-touch plastics – is well put together and feels premium.

The only remaining to be answered is the Pricing- No discussion on it after the recent fiasco of the DDiS320!

http://evoindia.com/maruti-suzuki-baleno-driven/

[deetjohn]

Looks good. Except for all that blue inside the instrument panel and the silver finish on the dash around the ACC module, I like what I am seeing. Needs projectors for sure, else that face doesn't work.

Is it really 16" wheels on the Alpha? Maybe the super wide body is making the wheels look puny in comparison. And like all MSIL stock alloys, they are sitting too far on the inside. Some aftermarket wheels with offset will enhance the stance of this Baleno with ease.

[RavenAvi]

Specs comparison between the 5 leading premium hatchback offerings.

DIESEL


PETROL

IAB

[bansal1987]

Agree that this does not look as bad as the spy pics earlier suggested. However, the looks have been enhanced to a huge extent by the sheer width of the vehicle, 16 inch wheels and projector headlamps. Probably without projectors, this still doesn't look good i would say.

On the other note, If the second (from bottom)version is priced in the Swift ZXI range - I see lot of safety conscious buyers lapping it up, as you will just loose out on the alloy wheels that one gets in Swift ZXI. However, i am not quiet sure how safe is this car in terms of crash worthiness. I don't see Maruti as a company that will invest $$ in making the car lighter and stronger. I see them making cars lighter and ones giving more kmpl.

No Matter how premium the car in our country, Mileage would always please the buyers. I would still say that i20 looks better and has better interiors and probably is a more safer car as well. The mileage part, it cannot win from Maruti. The best thing i can see right now is, hyundai might be compelled to equip Elite i20 with ABS and Airbags right from the base version

[chncar]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Specs comparison between the 5 leading premium hatchback offerings.

This seems to indicate that, probably for the first time in the segment, the petrol manual version might not be under-powered. Of course, those are paper specs and how it drives might be different.

Check out the high-res image of the projector headlamps:
http://indianautosblog.com/wp-conten...India-spec.jpg

I could not spot a halogen type bulb in there. Does that mean that it has HIDs?

Oddly, none of the reviewers have commented on what type of projectors they are, and I also could not find any photos of the boot posted! Maybe some kind of restriction by Maruti on the type of photos and info they can release?

[jetti]

This awkward teenager (spy shots) turned into one cool dude. Totally like the colour shades - the Ray Blue looks amazing.
Which variant comes with the Chrome strip on the hatch? I don't like that. The one without it looks clean and graceful. Alloy wheels up close do not look very bad but the diamond cut ones are amazing (that we'll not get ). Come on Suzuki, Hyundai gives cool looking diamond cuts on the i20.

Originally Posted by chncar

Not sure what they are trying to say here. First they praise the Baleno for 'razor sharp' handling, and then they go and compare it to the i20

That is why I take all these other reviews with a pinch of salt. The only review I trust is our own Team-BHP Official Review.
Eagerly waiting for that.

[amreekan]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

A shot of the CVT box, courtesy Hormazd Sorabjee's Twitter:

I'm not surprised by his response about the CVT. I had one on my Nissan Rogue in the US. His observations about the noise levels and revvs while overtaking on the highway are true. Heck, I'd even venture to say the CVT behaves pretty much the same even in local conditions, not just the highways.

[WRXXX]

Originally Posted by bansal1987

Agree that this does not look as bad as the spy pics earlier suggested. However, the looks have been enhanced to a huge extent by the sheer width of the vehicle, 16 inch wheels and projector headlamps. Probably without projectors, this still doesn't look good i would say.

Sorry! We can't strip every vanity of the car and see if it looks beautiful. Very few cars will look good when you remove everything I should say!

Petrol variant has a very nice power to weight ratio, I have experienced this in Ciaz Petrol.

Now it is time to sit and watch for Maruti to announce the price.

[koushik]

The kerb weight of Maruti Swift diesel which is 1060 kg has been reduced to 960 kg for Baleno diesel. With the change in body weight by 100 kg and still retaining the same engine and gear box , I guess Maruti has changed the final drive ratio for Baleno to about 3.576 to improve mileage and top speed. Though the engine power is 75 PS...torque output of 190 NM for a 960 kg car is impressive.

[thatsdileep]

Originally Posted by chncar

I could not spot a halogen type bulb in there. Does that mean that it has HIDs?

The one showcased in the HQ pic might be the export version heading to Europe possibly. I don't think the Indian version will get HIDs. MSIL is staged against a tough competition in this segment and the pricing will be critical. Adding HIDs I dont believe will help their pricing strategy, although they could offer it as accessory.