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-   -   The Maruti Baleno Facelift, now launched @ 5.45 lakhs (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/197791-maruti-baleno-facelift-now-launched-5-45-lakhs.html)

Birdies are chirping that the Baleno facelift might be coming by Q1 2019. It will ditch the 1.3L MJD in favour of Suzuki's new in-house 1.5L diesel. Production of the Baleno facelift might tee off from September 2018 onwards.

This could be the first step in Maruti's whole fleet moving to their own indigenously developed 1.5L diesel. MSIL (Maruti-Suzuki India Limited) is planning to set up a separate plant to produce the 1.5L diesel engine for the mass market.

Also, construction of 2nd production line for Maruti-Suzuki's Gujarat plant is now underway. Planning is for 3rd production line to be underway by 2021.

This raises a lot of questions:

1. Ciaz and Ertiga are supposed to come before this. What engine will they carry? 1.3 / 1.5?

2. Has Maruti decided between the Fiat 1.5 multijet and their own 1.5L diesel mill?

3. Why they need a new plant for 1.5 diesel when the current diesel engine plant can be utilised, because effectively it is the 1.3 L engine that is going to take a hit.

So assuming that now they wont have to pay royalties to FIAT, will the 1.5D Baleno see a flat price or will there be a substantial price up?

If anything, I would imagine the former. I haven't known any manufacturer to release an upgraded model with reduced prices.
Plus once marketing has had it's say, we'll all be lining up with iur cheques to pay a premium!

So what kind of power and torque figures are we talking about here?

Near the 100bhp mark and torque of 200Nm+ would be nice for such a light car as the Baleno. Should make for an interesting car!

Unless the white body of Baleno including the platform is stabilized for better crash testing standards, it would be incorrect to increase the bhp and torque figures through introduction of 1.5 litre engine.

The interiors of Baleno are quite loaded and as such I find it a comfortable premium hatch, just that I go jittery looking at the overall shell strength of what MSIL has offered to premium customers.

I think with a 1.5L engine, this small car can be a hoot to drive!

As pointed out by another member, should we expect the prices of various cars with the new engine to increase, stay the same or decrease?

Increase can be so as to recover the additional RnD cost that would have gone in developing these new engines. Decrease can be due to no requirement of royalties to be paid to Fiat. Price can also stay flat so as to keep a comfortable profit margin or not to disrupt the market.

Please Remember that MSIL already sells the Baleno RS (petrol) in higher engine tunes.
Now, I definitely agree that the Baleno could do with a stronger platform, but will the car maker listen to us is a whole different story.

Personally I think that if the new 1.5 does make its way to the Baleno, it'll definitely make for an interesting hatch (assuming there is a bump in power figures).

Do you think that the platform is very fragile, and will "bend" if it is subjected to more power? Remember that the cars built on that platform like Ignis are used in the Dhakshin Dare rally, and not heard of any such incident. Also, Maruti is readying its 7-seater car Ertiga on the same platform.

@i74js, I think it is not the platform but the strength of the sheet metal that is being questioned in the above discussion.

On another note, with the 1.5D offering similar power and torque figures as the RS, Maruti might need to drop the RS's price.

Are there any details on the 1.5 diesel's construction?

What I would find interesting is the weight difference compared to the 1.3 MJD. On the lightweight HEARTECT platform hatchbacks, there can be significant impact on weight distribution, necessitating suspension adjustments to re-balance which would ultimately impact ride & handling.

MSIL is producing the FIAT 1248 cc multijet (as DDIS) in house through a license agreement with FIAT. It is quite possible that the 1.5 litre oil burner has been developed taking cues from FIAT multijet; more so MSIL also laid its hand on FIAT 1.6 litre engine for the previous iteration of SCross; it would have given them several insights. lol:

Hopefully MSIL should design a good Slush box for this in house 1.5 diesel instead of AMT's for their Nexa Line.

Current Baleno comes with CVT, not AMT. I think it is all about market positioning. AMT is cost-effective so it does duty in the entry to mid hatch segment. Baleno is more premium-ish so it gets CVT. Ciaz, S-Cross are higher up in the chain so they can't have AMT, hence they don't get an auto at all. Renault is only manufacturer who doesn't look at it this way I reckon lol: