Team-BHP - Maruti Baleno : Official Review

Visited the Service center again on the past Saturday. The rattle sound in the front had intensified and was pretty irritating. After 3 rounds of test drives to identify the source of the rattle, it was found that the hand-break lever was causing it.

Also, there was a minor rattle from the rear-right door, which was fixed by adjusting the striker lock mechanism.

So 3 major and 1 minor rattles have been eliminated so far.

The rattle from the HU area still remains, but it is only evident when driving on a bad patch of road. Due to the hand-brake lever vibation, they were not able to isolate it this time.

I'll observe it for some more time and get it back to service center if I'm finding myself too bothered about it.

My 5 year old A-star only developed some minor rattle in its 5th year and that too on bad road patches.

My Baleno is just 2 months old and surprises me with new rattles every now and then :Frustrati

I also agree that delta is the best VFM variant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekonkarr (Post 4187742)

I am just concerned about the lesser Kerb Weitght. Does it affect the stability of the car on the highway at speeds above 100kms.

Please read the first page of this thread. There are complete details and useful summarization of each and every aspect.
Answers are quoted below for official review.

Quote:

Ride, Handling, Steering & Braking

We had our concerns on high speed stability due to the lightweight nature of the car. Rest assured, the Baleno can cruise at 120 kph all day. The car (surprisingly) doesn't feel nervous at this speed. Not rock solid like the Europeans, yet satisfactory by Japanese car standards. That said, strong crosswinds do affect the car's stability on the highway.

The Baleno's electric power steering is very light while parking, and at low speeds. This makes it a delight in the city. The steering is fairly direct as well! As the speedometer climbs, the EPS weighs up adequately (but is never 'heavy'). Additionally, the Baleno's turning radius of 4.9 meters will make those U-turns easier than the Jazz (5.1 m) & Elite i20 (5.2 m).

Ground clearance is rated at 170 mm. That's pretty much the segment standard, with most competitors offering similar levels of clearance. On the flip side, we noticed that the rear of the Baleno does sag considerably when the back seat is filled up with passengers. This is a cause for concern. We'll leave final verdict to our ownership reports.

Stopping power comes from typically Maruti brakes. Translated, they do the job, but are nothing to write home about. I did find the brake pedal to be spongy and wish that it provided more initial bite. ABS is standard on all variants of the Baleno. This is a welcome move as the non-ABS variants of the Swift & Dzire are known for their poor braking ability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashi4877 (Post 4185892)

Guys... I had booked Baleno ZETA CVT variant on 5 December 2016 at BRD NEXA Thrissur, Kerala. They had mentioned 24 weeks.Now last Thursday, 13 April, I received a message saying that I have been allotted the car and it would reach the showroom within 10 days!!!In my case things happened faster than expected!!

I had booked on 11th April 2016, and got my car on 5th June 2016 from NEXA Lower Parel Mumbai. I was also told 24 weeks of waiting.You have got car earlier since Gujarat plant is operational now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren (Post 4192232)

Nexa Accessories manager had told me that they don't have it. I had sent him the pics. I did not follow up later. Any updates from your side??

The Senior RM I am in touch with says their system is showing 4 part numbers for Baleno. One of them is the Black 15 inch alloy, but he has no idea about the rest 3. He is not willing to order and check on a hit and trial basis. :D

This is one major flaw of Maruti's system, they do have variations and options, but one cannot say anything without seeing it in person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leoshashi (Post 4192234)

The Senior RM I am in touch with says their system is showing 4 part numbers for Baleno. One of them is the Black 15 inch alloy, but he has no idea about the rest 3.

I think it's Black 15 inch wheel cap and not alloy wheel. Other 3 part numbers should be

1.16 inch stock alloys ( silver)

2. 16 inch stock alloys ( Grey)

3. 16 inch stock alloys : Black ( RS)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren (Post 4192238)

I think it's Black 15 inch wheel cap and not alloy wheel.

Nope buddy, they do have a 15 inch alloy wheel option in Black for Baleno, besides the black wheel cover which you speak of. It's listed on NEXA webpage as well.

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-untitled.png

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-img_3308.jpg

Rest three accessories are 16 inchers, two of which are priced at around 6k, whereas the last one is priced at 7k.

So my guess goes like this:

One of the 6k priced one has this design, no idea about the other one.

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-img20170114wa0048.jpg

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-suzukibalenoiaa2015031024x678.jpg

The 7k one probably looks like this(just guessing)

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-418954b5.jpg

Quote:

1.16 inch stock alloys ( silver)

2. 16 inch stock alloys ( Grey)

3. 16 inch stock alloys : Black ( RS)

They have the same part number, differentiated by the last three digit color codes. I know the part numbers of the OEM alloys, and the ones shown by their system were different. :)

I'll try to clear this mystery in the next few days.

Regards,
Shashi

The Baleno that I booked on Feb 7th has now been allotted as per the e-mail I received today. So the waiting period has come down below 3 months.

The dealer is pushing me to make the payment in 7 days failing which they say they will allocate the vehicle to the next person. However they say that the vehicle itself will only reach after 15 days, so basically they want full payment without the vehicle even being in town or a chance to do a PDI.

I don't have an issue with arranging the payment quickly, however I am not really happy about paying in advance for a vehicle that I have not inspected and will not even be in town for 15 days.

The dealer claims that the 7 day payment timeline is from Maruti and that all customers are doing the same as it is an in-demand car.

Any idea about what my options are here and whether I have any choice? Is what the dealer says the normal practice? If I make the down payment and hold the full payment till the car arrives, can they really cancel my allocation?

I'm in not any particular hurry to buy a new car and can use my current car for some more time, so canceling and waiting for some newer releases is also something that crossed my mind.

I will call Nexa and check with them as well but I am not happy with the so-called Nexa experience one bit.

BTW, I called Nexa support earlier to check if the 'basic accessories' and Nexa loyalty card are mandatory as the dealer claims and they clearly told me it's optional but refuse to commit it in e-mail, instead asking me to call them up from the dealership if they still insist.

Hi chncar,
I was in a similar situation when I booked the Honda City and I got a written confirmation from the sales head that (after making full payment):
1. I can conduct a PDI in their yard when the car arrives and only on my email confirmation will they go ahead with registration
2. They will fully refund the payment if I am not satisfied with the car during the PDI.

The PDI was not a pre-condition for payment but I told them that I was willing to make a full payment only after PDI. There were reports that Honda was increasing prices at that time so I wanted their confirmation that I could cancel the booking in case I am not satisfied with car being allotted to me. As long as you dont sign any papers, you are not the owner of the car and you can decide whether to proceed with the car after PDI. See if you can get a written confirmation from the dealer on the statement I made above. This is not the ideal situation but can still give it a try. Most important, do not sign any registration related documents. Hope this helps. They dont have to cancel allocation. If you are not happy with the car, you can ask for the next car allotment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chncar (Post 4194028)

Any idea about what my options are here and whether I have any choice? Is what the dealer says the normal practice? If I make the down payment and hold the full payment till the car arrives, can they really cancel my allocation?

BTW, I called Nexa support earlier to check if the 'basic accessories' and Nexa loyalty card are mandatory as the dealer claims and they clearly told me it's optional but refuse to commit it in e-mail, instead asking me to call them up from the dealership if they still insist.

1. You have a complete right to inspect goods before you pay for them. Subtly insist to the dealer that you will be happy to take his business elsewhere. Also tell him that you are not cancelling, but instead simply want to do PDI.
One more option is, you can ask dealer to not bill the car (RIPS it - Retail in Portal System) until you are completely satisfied with the PDI, but meanwhile pay the DP and hold the loan disbursement.

2. This is a double edged sword- Maruti insists all dealers to sell xx amount of accessories per car and at the same time tells the customers that buying accessories is not compulsory. It is not compulsory to purchase any accessories and I will suggest you to email the same to dealer, both to your RM and his/her SRM. Just ask them to email if it is compulsory to purchase accessories or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chncar (Post 4194028)

The dealer claims that the 7 day payment timeline is from Maruti and that all customers are doing the same as it is an in-demand car.

I would say don't budge.

After the Gujarat plant opened, MSIL has despatched more than 16k units of Baleno each month since March, and its climbing further. That's the reason the waiting period has come down and it will surely come down even more.

So, don't take the bait. Check the car in the yard and pay up only if everything is as expected. If the dealer is not a fair one, you may have wait a bit more. But it won't be a long wait as a lot of cars are being despatched from the factory nowadays. And it looks like you can wait a bit. So, there is no harm.

And you can always write to MSIL for more support if the dealer isn't fair. They will surely support a customer. All the best! :)