[Mafia]

Is it me or does the GC looks more in the images?

The infotainment system has a very large support behind it, looks tacky in the photograph in a post above.

Holding back on any judging comments as I am not sure what the final product will look like.

I do hope this can revive the interest MS has lost in enthusiasts,

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki Baleno: The flagbearer of premium hatchback cars.

Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India:

The new Baleno will also be the first premium hatchback to get a heads-up display; it will get the new K12 engine with idle start-stop technology, “and will deliver more than 22 km/litre fuel efficiency"[

Link

[audioholic]

And what happened to the talk of more airbags? How come that isnt highlighted so far as compared to that HUD which wasn't even a big deal breaker?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by audioholic

And what happened to the talk of more airbags? How come that isnt highlighted so far as compared to that HUD which wasn't even a big deal breaker?

Ya it's surprising, but it's confirmed that Zeta and Alpha are getting 6 airbags.

May be Maruti knows it's target customers well, and thus no focus on multiple airbags.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Ya it's surprising, but it's confirmed that Zeta and Alpha are getting 6 airbags.

Very interesting to note you can get them even on the top-1. I wonder whether the same thing is true for ESC or it will be bundled with the automatic gearbox like in the Swift?

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

May be Maruti knows it's target customers well, and thus no focus on multiple airbags.

Most likely because the typical result when there's any communication from Maruti on safety is that the comments go wild with people hurting 'tin can' and related pejoratives and posting gruesome accident photos.

It should be part of the press pack during the launch but I don't think you'll see them advertising it too much on social media.

[theAutomaniac]

Originally Posted by audioholic

And what happened to the talk of more airbags? How come that isnt highlighted so far as compared to that HUD which wasn't even a big deal breaker?

One reason could be because if Maruti highlights safety aspects of the new Baleno, people will start questioning their other products and they would have no answers to that! Heck they never mentioned the Brezza's 4 star NCAP score anywhere for the same and neither the first in segment Hill Hold Control of the Celerio.

I believe we will never see any communication from Maruti regarding safety aspect of any of their cars until a majority of them (especially the expensive ones) get good crash test scores and active safety features. And that is because Maruti is no Tata (read marketing blunder doer) who will advertise safety of a lower segment car (Tiago) when the expensive ones still have to prove their safety {read Harrier (and XL), Nexon (and EV)}

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by audioholic

And what happened to the talk of more airbags? How come that isnt highlighted so far as compared to that HUD which wasn't even a big deal breaker?

There are other features like 360 degree surround view cameras, Alexa Integration, etc also they have not publicised yet. Yet is the key word. With 6 airbags likely to be present in appx 50% of all New Age Baleno (Top variants Share), it is highly Suzuki will not publicised that. Will publicity consist of Chest Thumping, Taking pot shots at Rivals or shouting from Roof Tops? I don't think so. It will likely be subtle and as a matter of fact.

[rohanjt96]

Originally Posted by audioholic

And what happened to the talk of more airbags? How come that isnt highlighted so far as compared to that HUD which wasn't even a big deal breaker?

HUD is a flashy feature which draws eyeballs, looks great in ads and is a segment first. I think HUD are a real useful feature as it helps keep a driver's eyes on the road, which is the most important part of safe driving, especially on Indian roads where anything can change in the blink of an eye.

Airbags, on the other hand, are usually a checklist item with the question that matters to most customers being "Does it have airbags? (Y/N)" and not "How many airbags does it have?". It is difficult to communicate the value of additional airbags to customers as a selling point.

[volkman10]

2022 Maruti Baleno Spied during the photo shoot., Rear Quarter Revealed,

The sole image that could be clicked of the sighting gives a clear look at the rear quarter and alloy wheel design.

Link

[TheWanderer]

Originally Posted by theAutomaniac

One reason could be because if Maruti highlights safety aspects of the new Baleno, people will start questioning their other products and they would have no answers to that!

Agree. The issue for Maruti is that the percentage of models which can be highlighted as "safe and rated" is much less compared to the "less safe" ones. For other manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra (who wants to sell based on the safety rating of their cards) have a better ratio (even if they have models without great safety ratings).

And, for the market that Maruti is targeting, a "segment first feature" will bring more sales than claiming that they "also have 6 airbags". And, these target customers did not care about the number of airbags earlier as well! So, a new "cool" feature like a heads-up display will probably increase their sales much more compared to an increase of airbags.

[theAutomaniac]

Originally Posted by volkman10

2022 Maruti Baleno Spied during the photo shoot., Rear Quarter Revealed,

Link

This reminded me of sharing this Baleno rear quarter design someone shared to me via Instagram last year (dates back to Feb last year I think!)



Guess the design of the entire bodyshell is changed!

[volkman10]

Spied again, now in white being readied for the photoshoot!






Link




Link1

[udaikalra01]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Spied again, now in white being readied for the photoshoot
Attachment 2272418


Link1

The last picture looks fake. Look at the trunk lid panel gaps.

[hagarthenormal]

Is it just me or do others also find something off with this showroom shot? The car's rear lights flow into the boot without any disconnect. Could this be a photoshop render made to look grainy on purpose? Or am I not squinting hard enough?

[AutoConsultant]

The basic structure looks a lot like the old Baleno only. This is more of a facelift (both from the inside and outside) than a new generation. I was hoping that MS would have improved their safety aspect after rumours that indicated this might have a 4-star rating but doesn't look like it.

This is going to be a feature-rich car and is again going to sell in huge numbers. Hope there is some sort of improvement in the safety aspect.