[aseem]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

So what does underage have to do with driving.
90% + of the members drove when they were underage.
Also i have read somewhere that Baleno owners are complaining about the lifting at high speeds.
Correct me if i am wrong.
And yes I have experienced both inside the cabin when the driver was doing 140 kmph in the baleno and 170 in the Palio 1.6 and 180 in a Siena.

Plus an added advantage if you buy Petra, you have a chance to become a vintage car owner, as you and a handful of few will be the only ones driving it

[merve_extreme]

Originally Posted by Samurai

If you had looked at #40, you could have guessed to what I was referring. If you still want to hear it, here goes:

Petra is a better highway car than Baleno, and Baleno is a better city car than Petra.

Baleno A/C is superior to Petra. http://www.indiacar.com/infobank/aircontest2.htm

I was replying to message #25 which was denying that.

yes i agree with u that baleno has a super AC.the petra has good enough AC but not as good as the one in the Baleno.

about city driving,i feel that baleno would be a better car when moving slowly like 20-30kmph(it has better gearing for city use),but in stop-do traffic all cars except the AT's are alike to drive.

[Buffetfan]

Fiat cars are gr8 in Design..however poor is quality and ASS
Petra
Pros :
1. Solid Built
2. Good Engine
3. Excellant Ride
Cons
1. Poor quality (drive the car for 4 years and you will realise what I mean)..you will almost certainly have nagging problem with one part or the other ..the body will remail solid as ever though
2. ASS : I can write a whole book on this...being the owner of a Fiat Uno Petrol 1.2 (5 years old now)...but..in one phrase...it cannot go any worse...
3. Poor FE compared to Baleno
4. Poor In Gear Performance compared to Baleno (so what if ACI Clocked Petra @189...they also clocked Baleno @ 185..the 4 KMPH difference is academic and can differ from car to car)
5. Soggy Brakes
6. Poor seats...

Baleno
Pros :
1. Gem of an Engine...loves to revv
2. Excellant FE : who says power and FE cannot go together....people routinely report 12-13 KMPL in city driving
3. Excellant Pickup...cannot remember Petra..but Baleno does 0-100 in 11.1 sec according to ACI
4. Excellant AC..cools the car in a minute in 45 deg heat
5. Excellant Ride... Petra feels more solid though
6. Clearly a Segment larger than Petra....space not at premium anymore
7. Strong Brakes...comapred to Petra....and also the rest of the segment...
8. Excellant Seats..especially the front offer huge support and legroom
Cons
1. Light built...may not be confidence inspiring to some...but I did 145 recently andit felt pretty stable
2. For all the no 1 awards..the Maruti Customer Service is not really up there...
3. Poor interiors (not that Petra is gr8....but ...to some Baleno is worse off)
4. Looks ...Petra might look better to some
5. Headlamps...Petra gets twin headlamps which are so essential for our highways...while Baleno makes do with one set...

All said..I am pretty sure that Petra Owners cannot drag with Baleno.....at least till 100kmph...any speeds beyoud that are of academic interest with our highways being what they are....

still not agreeable...Accoording to ACI..Petra does 0-100 in 11.57 while Baleno does in 11.1 secs...this is their observation
The Petra uses two engines: the 1.6-litre petrol and 1.9-litre diesel from the Siena. Both are familiar units, hardy and reliable, and the 1.6 is a great performer. With 100bhp on tap, it can do 0-100kph in an excellent 11.57sec and sounds good with it too. Fuel economy, at 8.2 and 13.7kpl, is only about average.
Space in front is very generous, the Petra being one of the few cars that allow tall drivers to take the seat far back. The seats are average at best, and the rear seats though wide, lack under-thigh support.

[Buffetfan]

Merve, you givingg the economiser 5 th gear speed of Baleno..according to ACI ..Baleno does 185 in 4th and 179 in 5th...

[balenopower]

well on account of looks as a personal opinion neither the petra nor the baleno r gonna win any beauty contests..but i'd still prefer the baleno(personal opinion again)

interiors is the same case...did not like neither...but since i have a baleno i'll go with that

performance is highly similar...the baleno is slightly ahead in terms of acceleration and petra is ahead in terms of top speed....so performance is also almost the same....

fuel efficiency...well this is where the baleno is more than slightly better...driven with a light foot the baleno gives me almost 9.8-9.9kmpl....
the petra with a weight dis advantage will def not give more than 8.5kmpl...
i might be wrong dont kill me pls.

im not accounting teh ac...because if the baleno's ac is good..the petra's passenger aint gonna sweat..so it aint that bad either...

a.s.s---well as after sales is concerned even though its a maruti the availability of parts is not like its siblings.....theres def a sparcity of parts for the baleno....but its def better than fiat.....

so wht we have here is too very very similar cars.....very little to differentiate...so its all in the mind....just go for the one which u feel is better....

[sriny_blr]

balenopower : Very well said. not letting go any of the car likers..

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

So what does underage have to do with driving. 90% + of the members drove when they were underage.

Underage driving is neither done intensively nor extensively, they are more like thrill rides. You can't compare those rides to long driving experience. As the old man says, understanding comes with age.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Also i have read somewhere that Baleno owners are complaining about the lifting at high speeds. Correct me if i am wrong.

That was me complaining, however I stand corrected after last week's T-BHP drive on a NHAI highway. I was able to drive 140+ without feeling any lightness. Iceman took my car to 160 and we didn't feel anything to complain about. The earlier problems were caused by imperfect roads and since Baleno is lighter, it would affect it much more. On such roads, Petra would have been still stable because of it's weight.

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

So what does underage have to do with driving.
90% + of the members drove when they were underage.
Also i have read somewhere that Baleno owners are complaining about the lifting at high speeds.
Correct me if i am wrong.
And yes I have experienced both inside the cabin when the driver was doing 140 kmph in the baleno and 170 in the Palio 1.6 and 180 in a Siena.

1 member compained, and then investigated, and that was shown to the condition of the road.
1 member does not constitute 90% of all baleno pwners on this forum.

I have consistently driven my baleno at 160, no probs at all.
(search and you will find more than a few posts where i have stated that)
I have hit 185 on it, no worries there either other than you have to whip it to take ith there due to the short 4th/5th gears

[Conan]

Man tbhp is biased or what!!...towards petra.
Baleno is a whole size bigger than petra for gods sake!!.
Petra is nothing but a palio with a boot.
Cant comment on other parameters, since i havent driven them.
But heard Baleno has class leading fuel efficiency in 6-7 lac bracket.

Conan

[Conan]

Originally Posted by aseem

Plus an added advantage if you buy Petra, you have a chance to become a vintage car owner, as you and a handful of few will be the only ones driving it

ha ha ha ha...this is hilarious!!
But i think Fiat is licking its wounds and will pounce back in a year or two.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This discussion is no more based on facts, so I'll rest my case. This is just turning into a pissing contest.

Haha! Good one, Samurai. After recently reading some childish entertainment on Indiacar messageboard, I have tried my best to keep away from such discussion.

All in all, Petra and Baleno are very good cars with little to differentiate, but since Petra is cheaper than Baleno, it becomes more VFM than even Baleno (which in itself is a good buy). At least in Pune, Petra ELX is marginally cheaper than Baleno LXi and it comes with lot more goodies than LXi (like spoiler, audio, body color mirrors, alloys etc. etc.).

[camry93]

Originally Posted by aseem

Plus an added advantage if you buy Petra, you have a chance to become a vintage car owner, as you and a handful of few will be the only ones driving it

Your insensitivity amazes me. Desist from casting aspersions.

[Conan]

Originally Posted by camry93

Your insensitivity amazes me. Desist from casting aspersions.

Hey camry93, chill dude....aseem has every right to express his opinion and it is not directed at any individual.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by camry93

Your insensitivity amazes me. Desist from casting aspersions.

Relax, camry! You should not mind driving a vintage car if it is superior to contemporary cars in many respects. Well, at least I don't!

[Surprise]

Since both the cars are almost on the same line on the peformance and other fronts, I would choose BALENO over Petra. It's more of a individual taste between these two.