[imjimmy]

Drivers car - lancer any day. What is the point of a performance car if you feel scared taking it at high speeds? Also lancer is easier to drive and a KnN and a free flowis all that is needed

Drivers car - Lancer?? Just because it handles well..
I thought performance is also a very important criteria while defining a driver's car. That's where cars like Baleno, OHC and the Ikon 1.6 win.

the lancer will offer you better warranty, better FE, equal performance

Better FE - Certainly not. Compare Real life figures (from owners) or ACI figures [which are most reliable among the mags]

Equal performance - to the Baleno? Not by a long shot.

(remember, i have added a KnN to the list)

Similarly add K&N to the Baleno? I think we are comparing the cars in the stock form.
Again the performance boost that the K&N gives to a car is debatable.
What a complete K&N intake system will do to your car engine life, peace of mind and warranty is still a point of contention.

better handling and stability at high speeds (what is the point of having a high performance car if it makes you s*** in your pants everytime you take it over 120 kmph?)

Have you ever driven the Baleno on the hills and the highways?

Ask other people who have it here on this forum. Personally i have driven my car(Baleno) at all kinds of tarmac. On the Highways upto 165Kmph (only twice though the car feels a little light after 140 with stock tyres)
On the Hills-Partying and racing with the friends - where you drive on the curves like a maniac. Yet the car stays well planted.

And BTW get this - I have not yet upgraded my tyres to the 185/65 14". I am still using the stocks. And the car still handles reasonably well. With wider tyres the handling can only get better.

As an aside ..however i plan to get the Stanley covers and the wider tyres as soon as i get some time off.. Will have to shake of the lethargy..( I am aching to spend the money that i saved when i bought the low cost lxi..and especially after i drove another Baleno with 195/60 R14's).

Lancer might handle better than the Baleno ( and i always thought that Lancer is a fine car) - But making such remarks:

what is the point of having a high performance car if it makes you s*** in your pants everytime you take it over 120 kmph

Without first hand experience is certainly not warranted and is misleading for the potential buyers!

[devarshi84]

qsn:- why is lancer lx not having alloys,stereo and spoiler?
Answer provided by the dealer:- Previously all lancer dealers had to maintain large inventories for LEI,slxi,sfxi,glxi,gli and all those in three engine options. So while previously all the cars models were manufactured completely at factories HM passed this options to the dealers. SO now Customers can select their own options of accessories and dealers just carry 3 different cars from 3 engine options. Looks pretty true and straight to me.lancer has all the features that vxi has except these three options

FYI the features you mentioned N/A in the lancer but available in lxi. Please check www.marutibaleno.com and www.lancerinindia.com and confirm for yourself. Its the otherway round and Lancer is fully loaded.

Your extended warranty issues is raised by you again but it still holds worthless because both honda and mitsubishi have the extended warranty options

TO lamborghinih-Can you please go to the dealer or call him and confirm if the asset care is available on the lx models now or not. I assume that page is old as now lancer is avaialable only in the lx model. And the asset care is still applicable.

If you take ACI figures to prove that baleno is a faster car, then let me take bsmotoring.com figures to show you that lancer is faster.

http://www.bsmotoring.com/1999/99dec04_1.htm

The Baleno sprints to 60 kph from standstill in 5.7 seconds, and goes all the way up to 100 kph in a little over 12 seconds

http://www.huntindia.com/automobile/a_info.asp
87 horsepower petrol engine which produces enough power to propel it from 0 - 100 in just 12 seconds

http://www.bsmotoring.com/1999/99aug07_1.htm

HOW QUICK?
0 to 60 kph in 5.7 seconds/ 0 to 100 kph in 11 seconds

plus read this:

it feels as if it contains much more which should satisfy most power seekers.

The Honda edges ahead by one full second in the 100 kph sprint too but 11 seconds to nudge the ton is enough to make even Shahid Afridi look pedestrian. What the Lancer loses out on outright acceleration, it gains in sheer driveability.While the high revving Honda engine requires a good driver to take it to the limit, the Lancer is capable of making great drivers out of good ones. The engine is always under control and playing with the accelerator to gain or lose speed is fun with the Lancer

and two points on the FE figures you gave from ACI.

1. IS it not sarcastic that in both the Highway and city figurs the lancer is just exactly .1 behind??
2. Are you getting the same figures mentioned in ACI? I get much more than that.

About the mods and winning rallies again the topic you raised second time

Lancer has so much more modding options that you can hardly even imagine to do to your baleno.

winning the rallies started for the baleno after the lancers and the OHC's left. While the company backed team remained on the motorsport scene lancers whitewashed all the rallies with awards. The company left motorsports when the modified class was closed down. THis was when the vtec took over. Baleno got the chance when even vtec was discontinued. For the reliability of baleno on the rallys that you are saying.(again raised by you)

please consider the autocar issue that also has the rx-z/cbz/pulsar/fiero shootout. This issue of ACI also has an article which shows why baleno was thrown out of rallies for a very long time due to reliability issues by MRF..

some more reading for you from the ACI website

http://www.autocarindia.com/new/Road...ls.asp?ID=1034

Its engineering is close to fault-free, seeing that it has conquered the World Rally Championship so many times over: it is a tough, proven platform, not overloaded with technology like many modern Mitsubishis but perfectly adequate for its purposes. It is well built and paint and finish quality is still up there with the best.
Dealers are both good and bad for all the companies. Ask any1 in AHmedabad about Cama motors(also has skoda and mercedes-benz dealership) and AUtonova has been quick to gain reputation in just 6 months of being a very good dealer.
I dunno about SUreka and maybe there are more HM dealers who are not upto the mark but the quality of service the majority of HM dealers provide is A1 grade service.

I will say maruti service is excellent too coz I also have a maruti car. But while Kataria maruti remains an excellent dealership ask Any1 about cargo maruti in Ahmedabad and you will see the other side of the coin. I hope you understand what I am trying to say here.

To samurai:- You ar judging the comfort of the lancer after sitting in a taxi. Impressive I must say but lancer still remains more comfortable.

TO BUffetfan and Samurai:- Please pardon Lamborghini as what he says holds completely true for him but may not hold true to you. Baleno handles excellent no doubt but it cant hold a candle to the way lancer handles. Any1 who has a lancer will tell you this and will swear on it too.

You own a baleno and you love it no doubt but I dont own a lancer.
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I posses one and only a possesor knows what a lancer is.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

To samurai:- You ar judging the comfort of the lancer after sitting in a taxi. Impressive I must say but lancer still remains more comfortable.

Lancer is not a normal taxi. I rode a executive tourist taxi for 360Kms in one day, came back with a terrible back/bum ache. Yesterday I did 430Kms on Baleno, absolutely no after effects, ride was great even on 195/60R14 Yokos. But if you must say Lancer is more comfortable, say it. It is a free country and you are entitled to your opinion.

Let's see where the learned members of TeamBHP put their money. Check out this poll to see the buying pattern of T-BHP members this year:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6816

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Lancer is not a normal taxi. I rode a executive tourist taxi for 360Kms in one day, came back with a terrible back/bum ache. Yesterday I did 430Kms on Baleno

Doesnt seem like a fair comparison coz u didnt do the 430 kms in Baleno's back seat. Were the two roads also same? That would be one more deviation adding factor.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Doesnt seem like a fair comparison coz u didnt do the 430 kms in Baleno's back seat. Were the two roads also same? That would be one more deviation adding factor.

Well, I have done similar drive on Baleno in the same road as the Lancer trip before, ride was much better than Lancer's back seat. Since I have not driven Lancer personally, I can't comment on handling or driver seat comfort.

[Samurai]

What about the build quality? Check out some member comments:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showth...0&page=2&pp=15
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2986
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showpo...6&postcount=33

[Buffetfan]

Devarshi,

and two points on the FE figures you gave from ACI.

1. IS it not sarcastic that in both the Highway and city figurs the lancer is just exactly .1 behind??
2. Are you getting the same figures mentioned in ACI? I get much more than that.

my FE numbers are higher but really depend on thte way I drive my car...I get between 11.5-12.5 in Hyd City driving...I also have a Fiat Uno and I get the same mileage in that car too.
Some comments reg the lancer and the stability from the ACI website

The Lancer is, not surprisingly, a very good driver's car, with lovely, neutral handling, near-perfect steering that is light at low speeds and puts on weight as you push, and great precision in its dynamics.
Its ride isn't as good though, not too bad at low speeds but fairly bouncy as you go faster. (I also felt the same in the lancer Taxi I recently rode) It's an excellent car to drive through corners, where it is fluid and predictable, but its highway stability is poor, and it tends to wander all over the road.

[lamborghini]

I believe you don't see lancers in rallies because HM stopped backing them,
s***ing in your pants was just an expression but how many of you can go to sleep on a baleno doing 160 +, waking up and saying "bulls*** we did 160, felt like 80". Well you can on a lancer
What i meant to say was that the lancer was more stable which is a fact.
If you want to talk about reliability/build quality, why haven't you come across a Baleno Taxi? I mean all the lancer Taxi's io have sat in have done more then 90Kkm and they still impress. Also, when have pvt taxi's been well maintained in india? Near my house there are accords lying unused and in crap condition and they are used as pvt. taxis.

The Baleno may ride better but the one i went in a TD in scraped a speed breaker at worli. Explain that. Also i wasn't impressed with the ride while in a lancer, i sat in the car for 4 hours and still felt fresh.


the driver had driven the car from olapur to Goa and still was upto running from one end of Goa to the other.
And i am sure every lancer owner and ex owners will vouch for the stability of the car over the baleno.
Heck we did 160 + on a 2 lane road shared with trucks and everything was cool until we got a puncture.

And i agree the Baleno is more VFM but then again, going by ACI, it is a segment lower isn't it.
Also in the end, dev and i feel happy with our lancer and you guys with the Baleno and that is what counts.
We all have our own reasons for buying a car and chose what fit our needs best.

[devarshi84]

Samurai if Baleno is more comfortable then why havent there been as many baleno executive taxi's as lancers?? Baleno was not selected for the rally circuits by MRF until recently just because it was so unreliable on those rough roads at high speeds.they ended with broken suspensions and bent chassis. Baleno is the most delicate car in its segment.


About the build quality and and the member comments. Ask them how reliable the car is in the long term yourself. Also ask them their ownership experience. Also ask them if they ever regret on not buying a baleno instead.why not ask lamborghini himself. he too has had troubles with his car. And please dont tell me baleno has never had its fair share of problems. each car does.

BUffetfan by saying you get more FE you just answered your own doubt.


Lamborghini HM stopped backing lancers in the rallies when the group N class was discontinued. That's when MRF debuted the OHC vtec's.It was when the vtec's had gone and no other 1.6 was good enough to match the baleno then MRF reluctantly went for the baleno's. The baleno's have been too unreliable in rallys when lancers and OHCs held pretty well on stock suspension setups. I dont say this the article in autocar does.


And while my ratings take as many factors into account not all matter to every1. hence many people buy a NHC you bought a baleno and I and Lamborghini bought a lancer.

[Buffetfan]

good discussion on I am enjoying it...

Lamborghini...what makes you say (apart from a 6.5 cm difference in length...really negligible) that a Baleno is a segment lower than lancer...is it because it is priced right and is not a rip off??

[msprabhakar]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

If you want to talk about reliability/build quality, why haven't you come across a Baleno Taxi?

Huh? Even yesterday, I was with overseas guests who arrived in a white Baleno. I had put them up in ITC Grand Maratha and the Baleno was a hotel car...

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

how many of you can go to sleep on a baleno doing 160 +, waking up and saying "bulls*** we did 160, felt like 80". Well you can on a lancer

I wouldn't try sleep driving in any car, let alone Baleno. I don't want to wake up in the next world, I have a family to feed.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

If you want to talk about reliability/build quality, why haven't you come across a Baleno Taxi?

Actually I have, white Baleno in Royal Meridian (Chennai), they actually refer to it as Limousine. The ride was even better since it had stock tyres.

[imjimmy]

good discussion on I am enjoying it...

It's like a Tennis doubles match with Lamborghini and devarshi on one side and Buffetfan and Samurai on the other! With each side having attributes that rival and complement the other.

If you want to talk about reliability/build quality, why haven't you come across a Baleno Taxi?

I too have seen Baleno taxis especially white.( and White looks good on Baleno). Last week at the taxi stand i had seen a pearl silver taxi also.

But since when is a car being a taxi a testimony to it's build quality and relaibility? Lots of Indicas are taxis - does it mean it's the most well built and reliable car around.

And i am sure every lancer owner and ex owners will vouch for the stability of the car over the baleno.

I don't understand the second part - how can a Lancer owner comment on the stability/ride of the car over the Baleno? Did they sit in both the cars on the same track one after the other and then did a dillegent comparison?

Talking of the ride, people seem to discount it since it's a Maruti car. But i have said it repeatedly and i am saying it again: the back seat ride in the Baleno is among the best w.r.t other C segmant cars and that includes the Optra also.(Comparing it when i was sitting in the backseat of the Optra on a official trip on the highway with a driver driving it). The front seats of the Baleno offer excellent lumbar support and make for relatively tireless long drives when you are behind the wheel.

Each car has it's USP. For the NHC it could be FE , for Baleno performance and for the Lancer it might be handling.

But let's not make unwarranted remarks and disparage the Baleno without sufficient experience. And yes, the Baleno is VFM at the price it sells.

Baleno is the most delicate car in its segment

No! The chassis do not bent and the suspensions do not come apart for the Balenos. I have seen 2001 model Balenos owned by businessmen. THe cars have done more than ILakh Km's and have been driven(read abused) all the time by drivers.Still seem ok w.r.t ride ..and manage a 160 on the Highway without sweat! a Self driven car can only do better.

[shuvc]

IMO, one of the main reasons you get more Lancers as executive taxis is the image. If it was all related to ride and comfort, there wouldn't be so many OHC's being used as exec taxis.
The words 'Lancer' and 'Honda' makes an exec feel more upmarket. The image of these cars were never in doubt. The Baleno just never had that upmarket brand image.
If ride were the only factor, there would have probably been loads of 'fully loaded' Ambys and Contessas used in the exec hire segment.

[Ajay]

Originally Posted by imjimmy

It's like a Tennis doubles match with Lamborghini and devarshi on one side and Buffetfan and Samurai on the other! With each side having attributes that rival and complement the other.


I too have seen Baleno taxis especially white.( and White looks good on Baleno). Last week at the taxi stand i had seen a pearl silver taxi also.

But since when is a car being a taxi a testimony to it's build quality and relaibility? Lots of Indicas are taxis - does it mean it's the most well built and reliable car around.


I don't understand the second part - how can a Lancer owner comment on the stability/ride of the car over the Baleno? Did they sit in both the cars on the same track one after the other and then did a dillegent comparison?

Talking of the ride, people seem to discount it since it's a Maruti car. But i have said it repeatedly and i am saying it again: the back seat ride in the Baleno is among the best w.r.t other C segmant cars and that includes the Optra also.(Comparing it when i was sitting in the backseat of the Optra on a official trip on the highway with a driver driving it). The front seats of the Baleno offer excellent lumbar support and make for relatively tireless long drives when you are behind the wheel.

Each car has it's USP. For the NHC it could be FE , for Baleno performance and for the Lancer it might be handling.

But let's not make unwarranted remarks and disparage the Baleno without sufficient experience. And yes, the Baleno is VFM at the price it sells.


No! The chassis do not bent and the suspensions do not come apart for the Balenos. I have seen 2001 model Balenos owned by businessmen. THe cars have done more than ILakh Km's and have been driven(read abused) all the time by drivers.Still seem ok w.r.t ride ..and manage a 160 on the Highway without sweat! a Self driven car can only do better.

-My Dad's Lancer has done 2 lac+ kms' and is still as good as new!
lancers' have been good reliable machines.

I could understand this debate about "Reliability"when a lancer was being compared to any Toyota (for e.g.Corollas') but not with a baleno.Any toyota would win hands down when it comes to Reliability.
both cars have their own share of pluses and minuses.