[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by chncar

You are extrapolating something related to individual freedoms, to product quality standards.

Nobody gives the benefit of doubt to a machine, otherwise there wouldn't be any point to standards, tests or certifications.

Not to mention that Maruti has a track record of making unsafe cars and showing a negligent and patronizing attitude towards the safety of Indians, as exemplified by the statements and excuses given by their senior management in the past. They might be trying to change things now by introducing airbags in more variants, but they will have to prove themselves first, and some time will have to pass before they can get rid of their reputation.

No, I am not extrapolating. Baleno is said to have high tensile steel in its chassis, has airbags and has ABS and I just want to believe that it is a positive step.

They are actually exceeding the set standards. It is our government's fault that the standards are kept so low.

At least 90% of the so called machines running on Indian roads are unsafe and 99% of our population is bound to give them the benefit of doubt as they have no other option. At least Maruti is correcting itself by providing ABS and Airbags. Whatever statement Mr. Bhargava made, at least they are not implementing them.

Talking of track records, which Indian manufacturer has a decent track record? Even VW is caught cheating the world with its emission data. I just don't understand why do we single out Maruti? Would you stop trusting a VW now as they have now a reputation of slowly poisoning us? Shall we stop trusting Honda because of constant recalls?

Baleno is as safe or unsafe as any other hatchback that has no safety certification and I believe it is still safer than other cars without ABS and airbags.

Adding response to .Albatros: We all are experimenting with our lives/trusting cars that have no safety certification. Ans yes, if I was in the market for a hatch back, I will not write off Baleno because of an assumption that it is not safe.

[HolyDriver]

I visited 2 Nexa showrooms in the past few days. Let me share a few things:

Nexa Showroom 1:
Visited them on Dussehra to inquire about Baleno in advance. The RM and staff were polite and tried to answer all my queries. He even explained all the features of S Cross with demo when asked about it. Overall good first experience of Nexa. Only let down was when RM said that Baleno would have same ground clearance as that of S Cross (ie 180).

Again visited the same showroom after Baleno launch. Another guy gave info of the car. He was also polite but somehow felt he was not up to date with facts and figures.

Here are some pics from showroom 1 ( I hardly had 15 minutes free time so clicked as much as I could):
Alpha Variant (Ray Blue):
Nexa seems to be promoting the Ray Blue colour and it does look great.




No variant badging at the rear. Alpha comes with rear camera so is easy to spot but initially created confusion if the other model was Delta or Zeta when viewed from the rear.

Boot space (339L) with high loading lip:

Old Price list:

I think this one was Sigma (Rotary knobs,smaller display) and the dummy button next to the hazard is present in all variants:

I think this one was Zeta (Audio with FM/CD/Mp3 + Leather wrapped steering wheel):

Another closeup shot (I didn't like the silver colour finish on auto climate control; could have made it more 'premium' looks-wise in contrast to the completely black dash). AC vents didn't seem to shut completely:

I noticed a button-like cutout in the area highlighted below (in the rear door) in a car in the second showroom. Design-flaw maybe?

Gear lever,handbrake,non adjustable front armrest. Co passenger seat too close to central console. Will have to check out if it rubs the centre console the same way as in Ford Figo Aspire:

Driverside door switches(non illuminated):

Another colour (Fire Red). Looks awesome! Wheelcaps are an eyesore.Alloys aren't great either:

Different switches for different variants:

Base variant rear view (No rear camera, parking sensors, chrome strip,wipe,UV glass):


Nexa Showroom 2:
Went in the evening around 5-6pm and it was way too crowded. The salesperson I met was exhausted and said the crowd is the same everyday.
He was so exhausted, I could hardly hear what he was saying. But he was very patient,polite, answered all my queries. The showroom was thronged with men wearing heavy gold ornaments and cheap sunglasses, totally spoiled the so called 'premium experience'. Didn't click many pictures as the crowd was just too much,only clicked 2 after almost one and half hours into the showroom.
Again this showroom had Ray blue variant kept as road side display and a white one in the showroom.

LED DRLs in action (Petrol Alpha/Pearl Arctic White):

So much empty space in the engine bay! I could actually see the white marble floor underneath. Wonder why? Can it act as a buffer in case of minor frontal impact? Or is it to accommodate larger engines (Boosterjet?) at a later point of time?

Updated price list with minor price hike (RM said the price has changed 2-3 times in just this week. This does not include the expected price hike post festive season. Sales guy from showroom 1 said it would "hardly" be Rs5000; not much for Nexa customers):


After I met the sales guy, a lady approached me saying that she was watching me for quite some time (maybe while I was checking out S Cross and waiting for someone). She said she was the RM and explained all the features very calmly. Since she seemed to be a senior RM, all other sales guys backed off and gave me ample time inside the car to understand all the features. Finally got some "premium" experience in the crowded showroom. Patience pays off!

[carwatcher]

Thanks for the pictures.

I guess the dummy button you are referring to should be Rear defogger switch as the button seem to have inbuilt indicator too.

The cutout at the rear-door should be the Mobile phone holder which is the norm nowadays.

Also one good thing you did is taken the pic of Base variant as we actually have a post requesting the pic of Base variant of a Ford car which was not available for display as well as booking and generally all manufacturers go all the way to refrain the buyer opting for base variant the pricing of which attracts the buyer by the stunning effect it creates in first place and also hide the non VFM factor of the higher variants.

Who knows this pic gets you many good wishes from the future Base variant prospective customers who would be denied booking as well as display car by MSIL after few days.

Originally Posted by HolyDriver

I visited 2 Nexa showrooms in the past few days.

I think this one was Sigma (Rotary knobs,smaller display) and the dummy button next to the hazard is present in all variants:

I noticed a button-like cutout in the area highlighted below (in the rear door) in a car in the second showroom. Design-flaw maybe?

Base variant rear view (No rear camera, parking sensors, chrome strip,wipe,UV glass):

[GTO]

Mod Note: No more off-topic posts please. When crash test results are available, we'll discuss them. Until then, lets focus on the car & the information we have today.

Thanks!

[SRK]

I have been checking out the Baleno almost everyday for the past 3 days.

Got a test drive today of the petrol variant in Alpha trim. My initial impression for it is that the car is quite nice to drive. If I compare it with the Elite i20, I liked the Baleno more for its drive-ability. The i20's steering feels lifeless. Both cars are wide and it will take some time to get used to the width if you are used to driving smaller cars. The pickup of the petrol motor is quite good and one would enjoy it. High speed stability would be nice as the steering feel is more connected. I don't I touch triple digits but the car is stable. I also tried stopping the car at an incline with 4 people on board and I was able to easily climb it even in the 2nd gear.

Exterior wise the design is good but it is each one's personal preference. As all know, alloys don't look that good, the i20 wins here. The UV coated glass give a nice tint to the side glasses.

The DRLs stay on always, unlike some cars where they act as pilot lamps. I tried the projector setup in a dark basement. Not used to using white lights hence can't comment much on it. But I think HIDs require sometime to warmup to get to the correct temperature. I wonder how good it will function during monsoon.

Yes the interiors are not comparable to the i20 which look and feel more premium. Maruti should have worked hard here. The design is good but the switches and a few stuff used from the Swift could have been changed. The plastic quality is flimsy, it bends when you apply a light force but doesn't feel it will break or fall apart.

The Smartplay system might be having most of the features but the screen quality isn't good. A good HD display and better looking UI was required. Maps will come on a SD card. The sales person said they are from MapMyIndia, which I doubt.

The On road price for the Baleno Alpha 1.2 is around Rs. 8.37 Lakhs. Waiting is said to be between 6-8 weeks. Ray Blue is the most sought after shade as per the sales guy.

Overall I liked the car. Maruti has a good product at hand provided they do not increase the prices by a huge number. In simple words this is the next-gen Swift. If you like the Swift you will like the Baleno

Will I buy it? Still confused

[WRXXX]

Originally Posted by SRK

Yes the interiors are not comparable to the i20 which look and feel more premium. Maruti should have worked hard here. The design is good but the switches and a few stuff used from the Swift could have been changed. The plastic quality is flimsy, it bends when you apply a light force but doesn't feel it will break or fall apart.

Thanks for your views on this car!

I think the point you have made above is key in decoding which one occupies your garage. Some people like premium interiors and some want the ride and handling. And those who want both and good A.S.S will be disappointed

Either Maruti or Hyundai have to work hard in the departments they are lacking.

I am still confused
fortunately I am willing to wait it out like I have done for last 15 months.

[niv26]

Did anyone test drive Automatic version? I would like to get some feedback. we are thinking to replace our Santro-AT for long time and this could be one good option.

[HolyDriver]

Continuation of my previous post and answers of some queries of fellow BHPians:

With reference to the Petrol variant,
Front and rear legroom is excellent.
No engine cover.
No hood insulation.
No under body protection.
The glove box is small.
The seat height adjuster was flimsy compared to the one in Ford Figo Aspire.
Nexa loyalty card worth Rs 1140 lets you earn Nexa points which you can use to buy accessories, insurance renewal etc.
1 point is equivalent to Rs 0.72 if I remember correctly. Though I suggest you verify.
In both the showrooms that I visited, I asked for a demo for the CarPlay system and was told by both that the system requires an "Activation Card" which is given only at the time of delivery and hence they can't give demo.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Wonder what that square button under the tailgate is for? The one beside electromagnetic button for the tailgate.

RM said the square button is the keyless button to unlock the tailgate.

Originally Posted by SRK

The Alpha model parked in the showroom had its battery drained completely. Which meant none of the operations on the car could be done. The boot which opens by pressing the request button could not be opened. Not sure how can one open it in case of an emergency. I asked the sales person and he had no idea. The car was literally dead, not sure if jump starting a Start Stop button equipped car can work to revive it. Experts can throw some light on how to tackle such situations.

RM said that if battery drains out or in emergency situations, it is possible to open the boot by first opening the driver side door. I don't know if it works but he said it very confidently.

In the earlier Nexa showroom that I had visited, the guys were busy reviving an S Cross by jump starting from another one. Also, the batteries of both the Alpha Balenos on display had drained and so they were not able to open the tailgate to show the boot space.

Originally Posted by bansal1987

Here are the Pune prices for the Baleno !!Attachment 1432408

You can refer to my previous post for the updated price.

Originally Posted by samaspire

1) Does the Baleno have Anti-Roll Bars?

Yes, as per the RM it does have anti roll bars though I didn't ask if every variant has them. I was interested in features of Alpha variant only.

Originally Posted by carwatcher

Thanks for the pictures.

I guess the dummy button you are referring to should be Rear defogger switch as the button seem to have inbuilt indicator too.

I had pressed it but didn't seem like a switch. When asked, the RM himself said that it was a dummy switch. I will check it again next time.

The cutout at the rear-door should be the Mobile phone holder which is the norm nowadays.

I am aware it is a small pocket/mobile holder but the square cutout I mentioned was the size of a 50 paisa coin inside this mobile holder.

Also one good thing you did is taken the pic of Base variant as we actually have a post requesting the pic of Base variant of a Ford car which was not available for display as well as booking and generally all manufacturers go all the way to refrain the buyer opting for base variant the pricing of which attracts the buyer by the stunning effect it creates in first place and also hide the non VFM factor of the higher variants.

Who knows this pic gets you many good wishes from the future Base variant prospective customers who would be denied booking as well as display car by MSIL after few days.

Thanks, Glad I could help.

[hnp]

Baleno bangalore pricelist

[nikhilkulk]

After pre-booking one day before launch, finally took a test drive today.

Felt kind of underwhelmed with the drive. I am looking for a petrol, and have driven, i20, jazz and zest in the past couple of weeks. The Baleno felt a tad under-powered and the least fun to drive among the four. The look and feel in person too is not extremely eye-catching and don't expect people to notice the car and turn around and ask you about 'the new car in the market' especially the Zeta model I was interested in. Plus small things like lack of illuminated switches, not so beautiful alloys, etc take away the premium feeling to an extent. Add to that the concerns expressed here about safety, Baleno is more or less out for me.

Also the experience at Kalyani Nexa left a lot to be desired. The RM accompanying me (diffferent from the one who took my pre-booking) in the car was completely silent and non-responsive. When I told him gear shift feels clunky - No response. When i said it feels under-powered - Again no response. I know there were 2-3 people in queue, but the RM insisted on taking a u-turn less than 500 m from the showroom. I refused and took it a little longer. But he kept on insisting and finally had to turn back. The total drive would have been around 1.5 km. Maybe it's a good car, maybe gear shifting would be easier once i get used to it, maybe the car would not feel under-powered on open stretches - But I never got a chance to test it. The only time the RM spoke during the test drive was - Sir Take u-turn please. When I told my regular RM about the gear shifting feeling clunky - His response - Sir, nobody else has complained till now. Ok, maybe I am a bad driver then!

Plus with other niggles like RM not answering phone calls, not sending the receipt as promised over email, and other things this was nowhere near to a premium experience. Heck, The folks at Concorde motors were more courteous and well-informed than Nexa.

PS: The waiting period for Ray Blue is 4-6 weeks even after pre-booking. I think the white and silver are readily available for customers who had pre-booked. Also there were 2 diesels and 1 petrol car available for test drive. Both the diesels were mostly vacant, while there was a queue of 4-5 for the petrol.

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by niv26

Did anyone test drive Automatic version? I would like to get some feedback. we are thinking to replace our Santro-AT for long time and this could be one good option.

I have been trying to get hold of one. Manual cars for test drive after all the RTO clearences are available only today at least in Bangalore. From what the Nexa Sales person told me, it will be another week to get an automatic one for test drive.

[spsam]

This was my same experience with Bimal NEXA in Bangalore. Before pre-booking, they were courteous, prompt, and now despite asking additional money for confirming the booking again, no response to calls, requests for receipts etc. Appears that the attention obtained by the Baleno has got to the head of these dealers.

The experience with Bimal NEXA is plain average and nothing better than a regular Maruti dealer. Basics like payment receipts and telephone/email replies are not too much to ask despite how popular the car maybe,

Originally Posted by nikhilkulk

After pre-booking one day before launch, finally took a test drive today.

Felt kind of underwhelmed with the drive. I am looking for a petrol, and have driven, i20, jazz and zest in the past couple of weeks. The Baleno felt a tad under-powered and the least fun to drive among the four. The look and feel in person too is not extremely eye-catching and don't expect people to notice the car and turn around and ask you about 'the new car in the market' especially the Zeta model I was interested in. Plus small things like lack of illuminated switches, not so beautiful alloys, etc take away the premium feeling to an extent. Add to that the concerns expressed here about safety, Baleno is more or less out for me.

Also the experience at Kalyani Nexa left a lot to be desired. The RM accompanying me (diffferent from the one who took my pre-booking) in the car was completely silent and non-responsive. When I told him gear shift feels clunky - No response. When i said it feels under-powered - Again no response. I know there were 2-3 people in queue, but the RM insisted on taking a u-turn less than 500 m from the showroom. I refused and took it a little longer. But he kept on insisting and finally had to turn back. The total drive would have been around 1.5 km. Maybe it's a good car, maybe gear shifting would be easier once i get used to it, maybe the car would not feel under-powered on open stretches - But I never got a chance to test it. The only time the RM spoke during the test drive was - Sir Take u-turn please. When I told my regular RM about the gear shifting feeling clunky - His response - Sir, nobody else has complained till now. Ok, maybe I am a bad driver then!

Plus with other niggles like RM not answering phone calls, not sending the receipt as promised over email, and other things this was nowhere near to a premium experience. Heck, The folks at Concorde motors were more courteous and well-informed than Nexa.

PS: The waiting period for Ray Blue is 4-6 weeks even after pre-booking. I think the white and silver are readily available for customers who had pre-booked. Also there were 2 diesels and 1 petrol car available for test drive. Both the diesels were mostly vacant, while there was a queue of 4-5 for the petrol.

[avishar]

Went to check out the Baleno at Nexa Bangalore with a friend who considering an upgrade to his Santro. Posting some pics first. I will post my friend's impressions later since we TD'ed the Baleno diesel and Figo diesel back to back.

Apologies, coudnt cover everything that i wanted too, since the showroom, like my teacher would have said, resembled a fish market!

This color looks gorgeous in flesh. Note the traffic jam on the surrounding roads. If you are heading to Nexa St Marks road, go on a weekday.


Very sexy behind. Has great presence on road.


Alpha, with the projector headlights.


The red is rather fetching too.


Chrome strip on the boot.


Rear washwipe, defogger and parking camera.


Notice the high boot sill. Will be quite a task hailing suitcases over it!


Alloys and apollo alnacs. 195/55 16.


Chrome door handles and keyless entry.


Interior dashboard. The person is reaching for the steering rake and reach adjust, has both.


Centre console and infotainment system.


Infotainment system on.


Close-up of the buttons and the brushed finish.




Driver's seat and height adjust.


Footwell and ABC pedals.


Engine start stop. Notice hard plastics.


Fully closing AC vents


Steering with the controls.


Gear lever and cubby holes.


Armrest and seat padding.


Leather steering wheel


Driver side controls.


Blue lit dials.


Color MID


Back seat space with a 6 footer. Notice lack of underthigh support.

[rajpandey10]

Today I TD and booked Baleno Alpha Petrol.

I was looking to upgrade my old Zen Estilo and in past did TD for all other cars like Jazz, Zest, i20 aspire etc.

In all these cars I have seen, I was impressed with I20 looks, interiors etc. those were really premium but was not convinced with its petrol engine, however one can feel that it struggle to catch speed but in city driving it may be good, and also i was not convinced with handling and steering. While TD I noticed the clutch on the harder side, which put me down.

Coming to baleno, Once I saw its first picture, thought that its worth to wait and started watching this thread and read all the post

My experience with NEXA, they call it premium but it is more or less same what people experience with other showroom of Hyundai or Maruti.

Around 3 days back i went to nexa gurgaon to see Baleno in flesh, and i was fully impressed with the looks and its features, it offers almost everything which I thought about my next car should have, however what people mentioned about the doors are somewhat true, but it is not a deal breaker. However it feels light but not that light, of course it is better than Swift/Dzire and little less than I20. I asked the RM that i am interested in baleno and he explained me all the details, feature etc, and said him that i have promised myself that i wont book until i TD car. To which he told me that i can come early on Saturday and he will arrange the TD for Petrol.

On Friday i called him and asked him at what time I can come, to which he confirmed 9:30 am. And I was there in showroom at 9:45 with family, There was a big meeting going on of RM's (around 18-20), so my RM came asked me to wait for sometime, I waited there for around 30 mins and looking around the car etc. And then the meeting ended and RM asked to to wait more 5-10 mins as car is on the way. To which I politely agreed. And then the bomb dropped, he told me sir there is some issue and today TD may not happen. After listening this I was fired and told him that you should have informed me this earlier, and I was waiting here for 45 mins wasting my time and now you are saying TD will not be available, and said that this is my 2nd bad experience with NEXA and very disappointing. (First when I did the TD of Scross, in the mid of TS Fuel alarm wake up and I was not able to TD to my satisfaction and now this.)

There was another RM on phone in counter and was listening me, he interrupted in between and said sir wait for 2 min Car is on the way near sahara mall and will reach to showroom in another 5 min. So I agreed and finally the car came within 5 mins.

TD Experience, Car beautiful inside out, seats are comfortable and its very easy to find the right driving position, dials are awesome, DRL looks great and give attention to car. Then I started the car and driving, after couple of kms, I felt the car is lacking some punch, then I realised that I am driving this car as I drive my estilo where I change gears early, then I changed the driving style and felt the car started responding nicely, it has decent power and pulls nicely, we were seating 3 with my 4 year old daughter. I am impressed with handling, feels planted when driving at 100 speed. Soaks bumps with ease, have lots of space inside in front and back seats, pedal area doesn't feel crumped, dead pedal is boon. Did the TD for around 14-15 km, and noticed the FE around 16 with ac. Overall car is a VFM and looker, while TD I noticed people on the road are noticing the car.

Finally came back satisfied, and ask for waiting period which was around 8 weeks and RM said that you may get at the end of Dec. Then I asked him that I don’t want in dec instead I want in Jan with 2016 model, as the factory is GGN itself so probably I may get car between 15th-20th Jan. He agreed and i given cheque and booked Ray Blue Alpha .

[bansal1987]

Just for anyone in pune who wants to see the baleno, Nexa at Shivaji Nagar (next to sancheti hospital) has 3 variants on display( alpha, zeta and sigma) . Delta is not on display.

I wanted to book Delta but the RM said it was not available to see and I would have to book it without having a look at it. It seemed he was pushing me to go for the zeta and not go for the delta.

Also he told that delta did not had a tachometer and seemed very confident about it. Lol to that. The car looks big and dominating and certainly very enticing to buy. Just after seeing baleno I went to Hyundai showroom to check the grand i10(which I had shortlisted earlier) and frankly I felt this car have me a true premium feel. The soft touch plastics make the difference.

The baleno comes with terrible seat covers. They look down right cheap and not for something Maruti wants to sell as premium. Baleno Zeta comes to 7.52 on road pcmc. Gi10 after Asta(O) comes to 6.5 on road with still some room for discounts plus free accwcories(seat covers etc). Now in a fix which one to go for