[sukhbirST]

Thanks for the lovely thread. Bought moonbeam silver Baleno in Aug 03 and got its life extended till 2023. Had to empty my provident fund to fund my first car purchase. It was strange considering others bought plots /flats from PF money. But don’t regret at all, as it has given me so much. Mode of travel in all my future transfers was by road only. I remember it was launched at around 8.5 lacs but was reduced to around 6.5 lacs. Later it came in Lxi and Vxi versions. Have been lucky to have driven in many states. Not once have I felt the need to replace it. They never make cars like these now. Spare alloy wheel, Auto operated antenna, excellent upholstery, Kenwood stereo with FM/MW, real cool AC and other notable features made this car a real value for money.

[anupamjain2k]

I have owned for 15 years now, driven over 96,000 kms, and still remain in love with it, as I was on the first day. Supremely reliable, with the only major replacements needed were a clutch replacement, and front lower suspension arms. Equally at home, and smile-producing in city driving and on highway. Amazing value for money over 15 years (Buying cost, running cost and maintenance cost all included). The only major problem - What can be a worthwhile replacement?

[CaliforniaKnight]

Baleno G16, such a brilliant car - loved the dimensions, the space it offered and most importantly the way it would accelerate , stress free @ the highway -Purely “All Muscle, No Fat”☺️

Yes, the Honda dumping decal and the FFE was unnecessary on a brand new 2006 FL, but hey when I look back now, those were the days of my life!

[MADMAX111]

Own a 2005 VXI silver Baleno. Clocked over 1.5 lac kms. Absolute fun. Family loves it. Also have a JETTA which is fantastic car in itself, but truth be told Baleno is more comfortable and far more fun to drive in city and mountain twisties due to its size handling and flat torque curve. Being forced to sell now as not possible to run a 15 year old car in NCR, though I have re registered it for another 5 years.

[ron_9191]

@shreyfiesta Thank you for taking the time to pay a tribute to one of the finest cars everybody forgot about. This car deserves it a lot.

I genuinely think Suzuki Baleno, Altura, Grand Vitara and the much forgotten Kizashi were missed opportunities for Maruti Suzuki in India. Absolutely beautiful cars spoiled by Maruti's lousy marketing and terrible decision making.

I didn't care, because thankfully one of my really good friends bought one in 2005, modded it and gave it to me for a drive one day back in 2004 and I was sold. That was the car I wanted. So, I took the plunge without even thinking twice and bought myself a brand new Suzuki Baleno Vxi on the 29th of December, 2006.

At the moment, she's clocked 99238 km on the odometer. This still is my primary car. And it has taken me countless number of times all over south India with zero breakdowns. As I write this, we just did a trip from Bangalore to Munnar and then to Kochi and later to Kollam (Quilon) my hometown. The thing just went everywhere we pointed it as if it was on rails. Bullet proof reliability, absolute peace of mind so far. However, when occassionaly one of the spares go kablaam! you will know with watery eyes when you look at the price tag of the part. An original SGP air filter costs 1400 rupees. Buy it and forget that you drive a Maruti is the strategy I maintain

I genuinely love the car, I know almost everything about it. And when you own a car for this long, it becomes a part of you and everything that is important to you. It gets filled with memories, the good, bad, sad, weird, funny and of course the outrageous ones too. I don't think I am ever going to part with it even if gets to a point where it isn't roadworthy anymore.

[rohanpimpley]

@Shreyfiesta nice article about the Baleno , i had 05 LXI which i sold earlier and pick up recently a 07 VXI in Chennai such a nice feeling to drive it again.

Doing some basic mods on it. Wanted to understand if any one has installed a Mild Cam on the Baleno with stiffer springs.

Or any one can guide me to procure them.

That info would be helpful.

Ride Safe

Rohan Pimpley

[ralphin_rj]

Huge thanks for capturing maximum emotion and information in this thread, it truly deserves this and a lot more for what the car offers even today.

I was lucky enough to recently pick up a '06 Baleno Vxi - lucky because I found it in mint condition. Yes it had repainted panels but no rust anywhere. The interiors were untouched and the electronics were stock except a 100/90 headlamp upgrade.

The car was so good, when I saw it at 9 pm in the night, 10:30 pm got it home, decided on a trip from Chennai to Bangalore at 12pm, all alone! I hadn't even opened the bonnet at that time. Just me and a car I've known for 3 hours! It was an absolute soul stirrer. The the way it delivered torque on the highway was at par with my '08 Civic VMT. The body roll around corners was ahead of the Civic, the Baleno can hold ground better IMO at 90-120kmph.

After hitting Bangalore at 6 am, when the sun came out is when I saw the car for the first time in daylight - after 9 hours and ~350 kms. I was a little kid walking around the car some 50 times.

And by the time I was done spending 24 hours - two people had already asked if I was willing to sell it.

Anyway, the take away from the car after the few months is that:
1) The body roll is almost non-existent
2) The torque in low end can is at par with a Cedia 2.0 probably - can pull up a bridge with 4 people with AC on at 45kmph in 5th gear.
3) The AC in the car can cool a small room. I think someone said it can put an S class to shame.
4) The drive quality is plush and smooth.
5) The white background meter console becomes black in the night (Brilliance) - will attach a picture below.
6) The tall gearing means in second gear, in the city, it will have the passengers screaming of joy!

Will also attach a picture of the car below in recent times.

[ExtremePocca]

Will also attach a picture of the car below in recent times.

Wow, never been a fan of the older Marutis, but she is a real stunner. The digital clusters in cars nowadays have a lot of untapped potential in terms of design. It's a real shame however that most of these designers have no idea about how to make something unique, interesting but not obnoxious or gimmicky. The dials on your Baleno however are pure eye-candy. The black and yellow at night looks incredible, almost reminiscent of the dials of the 911 GT3RS. Incredible car, enjoy it.

[ashwinds]

Nice thread. In 2003, my choice was between a new Baleno and 3 year old Honda City. Ultimately the City prevailed. Stayed with me for almost 2 decades. That time had some great sedans - Lancer comes to mind too.

[Imran.Syed]

Owned two of these, still miss them to this day.
Best low budget balanced enthusiasts' car in India to date.

[condor]

The old Baleno was a beautiful car - heck, it still is !.

*

on an another point - is there a way to find an alternator of this car ?

[Dr.Procastinate]

A fine tribute to one of the lesser known fun-to-drive car from MSIL .

It was quite understated by design, easily blended into the crowd yet was and is still an enthusiasts favorite. It is one of those cars which can satisfy the enthusiast and the average Indian family at the same time, a feat only few cars have managed to achieve. Had a friend whose family had one till the mid 2010s, when they let it go over spares availability and replaced it with a '10 Honda City

[sanstorm]

Nice thread.Baleno Sedan was a love-it-or-hate-it design. The rear look plus the beast in Black were my favorite. The AC was super chill for that era, definitely better than the competition + 2 levels above. Most components were imported, which resulted in a higher price tag at the start.

I drove a friend's (Pearl) white extensively, a nice car that ticked right most places,however the delayed launch, pricing, and competition did kill it slowly.

The sedan name did linger in the fanbase, thankfully for the next-gen with a smashing hit hatchback carrying the same name.

[sukhbirST]

Sad to let it go as it was nearing 20 years and NCR doesnot allow it to run. My family was feeling more sad exchanging it than buying new one.

[supremeBaleno]

@Shreyfiesta, that's a detailed and well-written tribute to an awesome car.
Not sure how I missed this thread.

The first time I noticed the Baleno was in the TV commercial where the guy misses his flight (or it's delayed ?) & he instead drives down from Delhi to Jaipur for the meeting.

And sometime in the late '90s, though I couldn't then afford it, I thought the car was a total sweet package if not for the fly in the ointment (the rear) & shot off an email to MSIL suggesting they modify just the rear & the car will be a hit.

Come 2005, we had sold off our '85 M800 & were looking for a new car. Almost finalized the WagonR when I happened to take a TD of the Baleno (on a whim, no intention of buying as we didn't need a sedan).

The salesguy not only asked me to floor it on the TidelPark IT highway, but asked me to drive in the hot noon Chennai weather with the driver window rolled down with a/c on & it still felt like a cold cabin. I was so floored by the performance & the bone-chilling a/c that I changed my booking to a Baleno. They don't make car salesmen like that any more.

Bought one new in 2005 and 18years / 1.2L kms later, she is still my daily drive and is as FTD as she was when new. I have done many straight Chennai-KL trips, which it does on a full tank without needing refueling enroute, inspite of 120kms being ghat roads that take me 4hours, while the remaining is smooth-wide TN highways where I let it rip. Goes to prove that you can have your cake (performance) and eat it too (FE).

It's an all rounder that does lot of things well. It's like a geared automatic - no constant shifting of gears in traffic, or to overtake - just point & shoot. A decent handler, while also rendering a cushioned ride for the passengers.

My babe (Black Beauty) as she looks now.