[Karthik Chandra]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Do you have the slightest idea how good that 1.4 Ltr with 145hp on tap is to say Baleno would be as FTD?

That is why I said - It might be and never said it would be. And yes, a 3 cylinder motor would never match up to a proper 4 cylinder one.

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

It might be as FTD as the Abarth with better ergonomics and service back up @ a lesser price - sweet deal, ain't it?

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

I agree on the ergonomics part and cheaper to own part though.

, Service back up?

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Do you have the slightest idea how good that 1.4 Ltr with 145hp on tap is to say Baleno would be as FTD ?
...
Baleno's dull steering and softer suspension don't stand a chance to be as FTD as the Abarth.
...

Dull steering ? Soft suspension ? Have you even driven the Baleno ?

Well, Aditya Patel & OverDrive have & they do not agree with you !

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by im_srini

Dull steering ? Soft suspension ? Have you even driven the Baleno ?

Yes I have driven the new Baleno. And I don't care what others have to say about it. I have owned a M800, an Esteem, the old Baleno, the Palio, 1st gen Swift and now the current gen Fiesta. I have driven all these cars excessively to drive any new car and make the judgement myself and I am sure that all these cars had/have stiffer suspension and more responsive steering than the new Baleno. Yes, the likes of i20 has got an even worse steering and suspension setup but this doesn't make the Baleno look sporty, does it?

PS: There will always be people who drive a car and give their verdict. You shouldn't just blindly trust all these reviews. I trust teambhp official reviews and nothing else. I don't recall any instance where what I feel about a car was even slightly off than what the official teambhp review said about it. The Ignis is told most some Indian reviewers to be having a good ride whereas it has got bumpy ride according to some European journalists. Better, wait for the teambhp official review and/or drive it yourself. Narayan Karthikeyan was involved in developing the Tata Zest and you drive it yourself and see that the steering doesn't have any feel, just no feedback at all. I have nothing against these champ drivers but it has been proven to be a marketing gimmick.

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Yes I have driven the new Baleno. And I don't care what others have to say about it.

Buddy, we belong in a minority here. I'm still surprised how others find these Maruti's suspension good. For example, GTO calls Swift more FTD than Baleno and in the Swift's review, says "Above 60 kph, and at any speed on the expressway, the Swift rides F-L-A-T. The rear end, especially, feels like that of some European cars I know."

I've driven latest gen Swift on Mumbai-Pune expressway. At 70 kph, it was most frightening experience I ever had in a car. May be stability of these Maruti cars are relative to most cars in the market. For example, I remember how unstable Brio is. At merely 50 kph on a flyover, Brio's rear wheels keep going airborne over expansion joints and land slightly sideways, skidding a bit in process.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Narayan Karthikeyan was involved in developing the Tata Zest and you drive it yourself and see that the steering doesn't have any feel, just no feedback at all.

Slightly off topic, but I guess he was closely involved in Tiago's development.



Link-http://indianautosblog.com/2015/07/t...n-spied-185306

Regards,
Shashi

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Slightly off topic, but I guess he was closely involved in Tiago's development.

Regards,
Shashi

He was involved in Bolt/Zest development also, just google about it. My point is that we have been loosing FTD cars since I can recall. The old Baleno, the Kizashi, the new Fiesta have all been flops and they were the best driver's cars in their respective segments. The new Baleno is rubbish in steering feedback, chassis and suspension department compared to the original one. Just because we don't have real FTD cars anymore, we shouldn't start calling what we are left with as FTD. Even the Polo GT TSi has got a DEAD steering and soft suspension. Just a great engine doesn't make a car FTD.

[Prodigy07]

So, what's happening with Baleno RS?

There were rumors that it would be launched by Feb first week.

Any news from our birdies

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

So, what's happening with Baleno RS?

There were rumors that it would be launched by Feb first week.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS to be launched in March 2017.

ET

[RavenAvi]

The Baleno RS will be launched by Maruti-Suzuki from it's Nexa dealerships in the first week of March 2017, according to Autocar India's sources.

The RS will be powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Boosterjet turbo-petrol engine developing 102hp and 150Nm of torque – a detuned version of the motor currently on offer on the Baleno in international markets which develops 111hp.
The car will be offered with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard with no option for an automatic as of now.
The RS will also feature disc brakes at all four corners.
It will also be heavier than its other petrol siblings with the model weighing in at 950kg as against 935kg – for the CVT petrol model.
On the outside, the India-spec Maruti Baleno RS will come with different front and rear bumpers, unique mesh grille and black painted alloy wheels.
The Baleno RS will be available only on the top-spec Alpha trim, which means it will mirror the standard Baleno Alpha’s feature list.

[adneeraj]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Buddy, we belong in a minority here. I'm still surprised how others find these Maruti's suspension good. For example, GTO calls Swift more FTD than Baleno and in the Swift's review, says "Above 60 kph, and at any speed on the expressway, the Swift rides F-L-A-T. The rear end, especially, feels like that of some European cars I know."

I've driven latest gen Swift on Mumbai-Pune expressway. At 70 kph, it was most frightening experience I ever had in a car. May be stability of these Maruti cars are relative to most cars in the market. For example, I remember how unstable Brio is. At merely 50 kph on a flyover, Brio's rear wheels keep going airborne over expansion joints and land slightly sideways, skidding a bit in process.

I would completely agree with GTO's post here. I had the first gen 1.3L mild face-lifted Swift and it was a hoot to drive.
We got a Baleno in the family at the same time we had the Swift and the Swift's drive was much more confidence inspiring than the Baleno's. Not that it was awfully frightening, but just that the Swift handles better. I haven't driven the new gen Swift a lot so cannot comment much on that.

I had the VXi variant which came with the infamous JK Tornado 165 section tires which I had later swapped with Apollo Acceleres 185 section (wanted the Michelin but budget did not permit). The added rubber and softer compound had completely changed how the car drove. So much I loved that car that I would be torn to choose from my Fiesta and the Swift on expressway runs.

Baleno is a car that Maruti has made to do the job and in turn get a nicer feel for the owner. It is similar to what is being discussed on a parallel Ciaz thread. It is no game changer but gets the job done. In my personal books, I would not term the Baleno as a FTD car. It just does not fit the bill

[silverado]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Yes I have driven the new Baleno. And I don't care what others have to say about it.I trust teambhp official reviews and nothing else.

I will defer with Team bhp review on ride quality of Baleno. Being a owner myself having driven it more than 8k, I wouldn't rate ride quality of Baleno above ZEST/Vista/Bolt. It is surely on harsher side, I am talking about 16' variants.

Originally Posted by adneeraj

I would completely agree with GTO's post here. I had the first gen 1.3L mild face-lifted Swift and it was a hoot to drive.
We got a Baleno in the family at the same time we had the Swift and the Swift's drive was much more confidence inspiring than the Baleno's. Not that it was awfully frightening, but just that the Swift handles better. I haven't driven the new gen Swift a lot so cannot comment much on that.

Baleno is a car that Maruti has made to do the job and in turn get a nicer feel for the owner. It is similar to what is being discussed on a parallel Ciaz thread. It is no game changer but gets the job done. In my personal books, I would not term the Baleno as a FTD car. It just does not fit the bill

There is no punch early on, neither do we have a steering which has great feedback ( eg : Gen1 Figo/Ikon ), but it does not scare you at 120kph and is immensely flickable being light in weight.

[dipen]

Originally Posted by silverado

I will defer with Team bhp review on ride quality of Baleno. Being a owner myself having driven it more than 8k, I wouldn't rate ride quality of Baleno above ZEST/Vista/Bolt. It is surely on harsher side, I am talking about 16' variants.



There is no punch early on, neither do we have a steering which has great feedback ( eg : Gen1 Figo/Ikon ), but it does not scare you at 120kph and is immensely flickable being light in weight.

The 15" also have the same harsh ride. The higher profile does not help. The suspension design itself is faulty or the spring rates/ bushes are not in sync.
The lower 15" variants apparently also report poor braking.
The Baleno will definitely not age well. Only thing it excels is upto 10% higher FE than the Jazz and the likes.

[Avikbrio]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

For example, I remember how unstable Brio is. At merely 50 kph on a flyover, Brio's rear wheels keep going airborne over expansion joints and land slightly sideways, skidding a bit in process.

What? I have never experienced this issue after driving my Brio for more than 14k Kms, neither has other Brio owners I know have as well. It is a pretty stable car, and stability increases with speed. Never ever faced any such issues even with speeds above 50 kph over innumerable flyovers.

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by Avikbrio

I have never experienced this issue after driving my Brio for more than 14k Kms, neither has other Brio owners I know have as well. It is a pretty stable car, and stability increases with speed.

My friend's Brio is base model. May be smaller tyres, three people and a particularly bad patch on flyover made the Brio jump a bit. Sorry for generalization based on a single incident.

I'm not sure about increase in stability with speed. I've done hundreds of km in Amaze and City thanks to Zoomcar. I've hated how both the cars bounce too much at 80 kph if the road goes up-down slightly. Figo, in comparison, dampens bouncing a lot with speed. Even my passengers, who are not car enthusiasts, complained about getting scared in both the Honda cars.

I've not driven Baleno for a trip so no comment. But I've driven latest gen Swift and Ciaz. Ciaz is somewhat stable (SUV-ish ride with bigger understeer than expected) but Swift is not stable at all. So I don't have much hope for Baleno RS.

[swiftnfurious]

Off-Topic:

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

... For example, I remember how unstable Brio is. At merely 50 kph on a flyover, Brio's rear wheels keep going airborne over expansion joints and land slightly sideways, skidding a bit in process.

Curious, Have you seen the tyres being airborne? Or does it feel so when you are in the car? To clear the air, the tyres wouldn't be airborn unless you jump over a speed breaker, definitely not over expansion joints. I doubt the Brio will have it wheels in air even when trying stunts like the Moose test.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

...My friend's Brio is base model. May be smaller tyres, three people and a particularly bad patch on flyover made the Brio jump a bit. Sorry for generalization based on a single incident...

Brio's ride is choppy and it's all the more pronounced on bad, uneven roads. The car moves a lot up & down, probably due to the soft suspension set up. It's zippy & FTD and is good while on good, smooth roads though.