So here are my impressions after a longish test drive and spending coupe of hours with the car over 2-3 days.
Background : We have a 2008 Swift VXi ( 1.3L engined one) that my wife uses as her daily commute ( about 30-40Kms /Day ) , given its been almost 7.5 years we decided to replace it. My wife wanted a compact, but premium & fun to drive car - so we have been systematically considering / test driving pretty much every thing in that price bracket.
Test Drove
- Tata Zest XT (Petrol)
- Elite i20 Asta ( Petrol)
- Fiat Abarth Punto (Petrol)
- Figo Aspire 1.5 ( Diesel)
- Honda Jazz SV ( Petrol/Manual)
- Baleno Alpha ( petrol )
Considered but rejected with out even test drive
- Xcent, Dezire & Amaze
- Bolt
- Punto ( diesel)
- Polo GT ( Since VW has now stopped doing deliveries )
Here is the impression of the Baleno Petrol Version ( Alpha )
Engine , Steering & Gearbox
Of all the 1.2L commuter petrols ( except for the turbo charged Zest), the Baleno was the most responsive & fun to drive engine - with an exciting midrange. The car is very eager after 2500 RPM and keep it in the 2500+ RPM band and you wont complain about the engine response.
It also had a pretty good steering response and feedback - despite being super light ( compared to our old 1.3L Swift - which was probably a hydraulic unit? ), had pretty good weighted-feel once you speed up and an extremely small dead center. Compared to the i20 this was miles ahead (The i20 we drove felt like it was a toy steering), but definitely not like the old Swift or the new Punto. I, infact preferred this to the Ford Figo Aspire.
Gear shift is where the swift retains its edge over every other car i have driven, its not just smooth , but has a nice sporty slotting feel and *click* to it. For me this is really important - no other car I drove in the above list had a gear shift which felt that nice to me.
Breaking is pretty good, but really can't say much since the max speed we hit is only 100 kmph.
Features & Gadgets
For the sub 8L on road price ( of zeta petrol model) , the baleno has way more in this department than any other car. Music System with bluetooth, alloy wheels, airbags, abs/ebd & automatic climate control - check , check and more checks! and then some more - fancy graphics display on the speedo area, electronic IRVM, auto head lamps & keyless start/stop. Feels good !
The sound system feels good as well, with very good quality speakers - something that most OEMs including Maruti used to compromise on ( My 16L XUV has really bad speakers compared to the Baleno at half its price! )
Cabin Space , Ambience & Fit & Finish
While the interiors are much better than most Marutis - it is definitely not segment benchmark. The door panel plastics flex considerably,Dashboards do not have any soft-touch or dual texture finishes - it seems good but not great! I also felt maruti could have made the rear seats more deeper, added a bit more under-thigh support and some contouring. But if you are planning to use it for daily commute then as a driver's car you won't complain.
Build Quality & the sheet metal complaints
Now for the much debated, burning issue - is this car badly built and a tin can on wheels ? The answer is no, definitely not !
Granted its no Fiat Punto ( The bonnet in Punto easily feels like it weighs as much as my XUV) - but its not bad either. Maruti has done some bits well, but missed out on small stuff that could have made this question irrelevant.
The interiors have well screwed together dashboard bits, rubber beadings on both sides of the door etc. - The doors do close with a *thunk* , which is a slightly muted version of the Punto's *THUNK* - but way better than the Figo aspire's metallic *CLANG*
The door is light but *not* hollow - It feels light if you compare it to a SUV or a really heavy car like the Punto, but felt no different to me from a regular swift or i20 - remember Maruti also makes the swivel action smoother and that makes people feel that doors in other cars are of heavier metal. What really leaves you in the dump is the annoyingly hollow sound from the door open lever's recoil action , banging against the door - metal and metal clanging makes you feel like there is a lot of hollow metal.
The rest of the body panels are no different from most other premium hatchbacks, save for the punto in my opinion. Bonnet did not flex even with a lot of pressing and some thumping ( got a lot of stares in the showroom though
) , body panels gaps are even and acceptable in most places in the showroom car & the rear boot feels nice to open and close.
B,ut there are the odd bits that Maruti did not focus properly on - for e.g. the driver seat height adjust lever is a plastic stuck to some hard metal as an after thought - feels super cheap, ready to break off if you force it slightly ! Not cool maruti , not cool ! They could have also added some damping material to the door open levers to prevent that hollow clanging sound every time you open the door form outside.
On an otherwise, extremely well put together car, this lack of extra 5% effort shows up .
Final View
The Baleno seems like a pretty good car, something I would put my money on and buy it. Sporty looking , peppy petrol engine, lots of space & tons of gadgets for convenience and feeling pampered - this one is my top pick in the sub 4 mt category.
Also, having owned a maruti for 7.5 yrs - can't believe the resale value it commands. Now before people start jumping on me for bringing up the resale word while buying a new car - let me mention why I am impressed with this.
I bought my swift VXI in 2008 for 5.4L on road, after 7.5 yrs - maruti showroom is willing to pick it up for 2.7L ( It shows its age with scratches, dents and worn out tires). On the price of a new baleno zeta - I need to pay less than 5L + my 8 yr old swift and I get a new baleno , better specs and more spunk - I wish other cars would hold their value so much after 8 yrs.
In the absence of a comprehensive team-bhp review, I am going to rely on this thread and my own observations ( honed by Team-bhp reviews) and go ahead and book one !