Team-BHP - The Maruti Baleno RS: 1.0L turbo-petrol engine. EDIT: Launched at Rs. 8.69 lakh

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Originally Posted by SoumenD (Post 3907135)

2. Equipment level: Better brakes as the light car with such power would need better stopping power.All disc, Side & curtain airbags would have been icing on the cake but doubtful.

Well the car on test as well as on display had rear disc brakes so Maruti has looked into it. Airbags et all needs to be seen when it gets launched. Maybe they will pull a rabbit out of the bag and plonk 6 airbags.please:

Good stuff maruti, though would have definitely prefered the engine to be a 4 pot, could have taken head on with Polo GTI, With a cheaper price.

Now i have a Vento TSI and with just an ECU remap i can think of reaching around 125-130 bhp with torque moving in around 210 nm range. Would we be able to tune this engine also, or this would be probably the max we can squeeze out of the 3 pot. I am just thinking on lines of a remap and not by hardware modifications.

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3880274)

I'm just wondering if Maruti actually wanted enthusiasts to notice the Baleno turbo and create hype around the car.

Think about it - they could have very well tested it without badges & in one of the existing body colours. No one would've given it a second look. Why mask the badges, use a black body colour & different wheels? It's as if Maruti is saying 'please look at this car, something is different about it'.

You said it. I wouldn't remap a small engine that is already producing a lot of power. Stress levels would be high.

+1 to that GTO. I don't know why people (that is people in general, not the car enthusiasts) never fail to notice a MS car while much superior cars from other brands are begging for attention. I don't think its just the price. I have heard more people talking about the Baleno and S-cross than a Polo GT or an Abarth. When I told my colleagues that I bought a Polo for 7 lakh OTR all they had to say is "Have you gone mad? Why didn't you buy a Swift Diesel for that price?".

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Originally Posted by Mithrandir (Post 3907213)

Stereotyping and narrow-minded thinking runs free everywhere mate :D Don't think I never got the same bewildered look from a lot of people when I chose to buy my Kizashi. Unfortunately the less informed nearly always assume they know too much.

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Originally Posted by reignofchaos (Post 3886442)

It will still drink more fuel than a smaller 1.6 turbo producing similar numbers and will be significantly heavier. Just as a sample - my volvo v40 uses a Ford 1.6 ecoboost that produces 185 PS with 240Nm of torque and an overboost function to 270Nm. There is also a polestar remap to up the power to over 200bhp which still maintains factory warranty. I plan to get this once I complete 10000km. I was an NA guy all this time but after seeing the brutal way this motor delivers power, I am completely convinced that direct injection turbo petrols are the future. The power coupled with surreal refinement levels and nice fuel efficiency (10km/l in the city in bangalore traffic) seals it for me.

Lot similar to you RoC, I was however a turbo diesel Cruze fan with it's kickass acceleration albeit gravelly engine. Now with my new Octavia TSI AT with 178bhp & 250 Nm and the 7 speed DSG, the sheer acceleration is surreal, super smooth and akin to a modern airliner taking off from a short runway :-)

Turbo petrols with advanced technologies are the future. Fairly or unfairly, Diesels will probably trend downwards now at least in metros due to knee-jerk activism, possible diesel cess and narrowing gap in petrol diesel prices.

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Originally Posted by Teesh@BHP (Post 3907311)

By the way, why are they calling it a 'concept'?

Well the body shell may be the same but power train might well be under development and there are various homologatory requirements to clear before you can call it a production version.

Woohoo. This is a car to wait for. :)
Somehow Maruti seems to be reluctant to bring the engine earlier.
One more hot hatch joins the party. Those who don't like the Abarth Punto will soon have another choice.

Can Honda introduce a Jazz RS and take the first mover advantage? They have the car and the engine ready.

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Originally Posted by itwasntme (Post 3907290)

Absolutely! Once you get addicted to acceleration of a modern direct injection turbo petrol, everything else feels like a relic from the past.

Even the Honda i-vtec in my Brio which is supposed to be a rev happy engine feels positively pedestrian compared to the ford engine in the Volvo.

These newer engines have all the fun of an old school turbo but none of the lag and or other painful drawbacks.

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Originally Posted by Mithrandir (Post 3907213)

When I told my colleagues that I bought a Polo for 7 lakh OTR all they had to say is "Have you gone mad? Why didn't you buy a Swift Diesel for that price?".

Not just while buying a car, in every aspect of life most people always play safe. That is why most students want to become doctors or engineers, most budding players want to play cricket and most buyers want to buy Maruti cars. Unlike in developed countries, only a very small percentage of people in developing countries actually can take risks. So this is normal.

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Originally Posted by Dhruba_Nazira (Post 3907522)

One of the highest selling models (cars) in the US are the Camry and Accord. Those are by no means exciting cars and can be seen as playing safe since they are reliable and have a low cost of ownership as well. This is USA we are talking about and these are the largest selling family cars.

One can't just have a product and expect the market to buy it. You develop a product for the market and watch it sell. It is good to understand the buyer's preferences as well while we are at it.

Maruti sells 1 Lakh cars every month. Some are struggling to do 10K. It shows there are buyers in the market but those cars and their ownership experience just don't cut it.

It is time we give the buyers a little credit. They are not fools to plonk their hard earned money into some piece of junk.

As much as you respect your decision in not buying a Maruti, you will need to respect the decision of the people who chose to buy it too.

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Originally Posted by SchumiFan (Post 3907541)

As much as you respect your decision in not buying a Maruti, you will need to respect the decision of the people who chose to buy it too.

I have not understood how you have interpreted my post. When I say buying a Maruti is safe, and most people play safe, it definitely does not disrespect Maruti buyers. Neither does it mean that wanting to become Doctors or Cricketer is foolish, when I say most people don't want to take risk. And the fact that Camry and Accord are most popular cars in the US, doesn't nullify the fact that people in developed countries take more risks than that of developing countries.
And personally a car brand really doesn't matter much to me as long as it is not notorious :)

Good to see these super efficient petrol motors being planned for our market. It will be a hit both on the fuel efficiency front and the power it delivers on road.

Given that the Baleno is a very light car to being with, the effect of this powerful engine would increase its performance multifold.

However the gear ratios have to be spot on for real driving conditions since the turbo lag could crop up and spoil the game like the EcoSport 1.0 Ecoboost motor.