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I Agree, btw, I booked 1.2 Alpha from Kalyani Nexa, Blore.

Out of curiosity spoke to my RM once again just after posting this.
He said no hopes before August or July end considering the plant is shut down and other blah blah stories..

I don't get this whole waiting strategy, either Maruti should honor the bookings and speed up the delivery by not making people wait this long or should simply stop bookings unless they reduce the ever growing queue. By accepting more and more bookings and not honoring the committed timelines during the booking (in my case it was promised to be 4 months, hence June) they are simply milking money but with an apparent bad sales ethics. :deadhorse

I have now no other option but to go and cancel my booking. Looking at the current market, i20 petrol is the only option left as Jazz left no stones unturned to turn me away even though it was my first preference.

Thanks,

I can understand your frustration. :Frustrati

I have been discussing the same with my friend living in bangalore about Baleno vs I20 vs Polo. We have literally had conversations for hours n hours over calls emails and watsapp considering all the factors possible(such as future relocation, resale value, maintenance, FE) and the equation has boiled down to one simple fact i.e. the waiting period.

If you can patiently wait for 4-5 months, then definitely go for the Baleno(the FE and cost of maintenance will surely compensate for your frustration of the looooong waiting period),

otherwise consider either Polo(Better interiors & FE(than Elite) or Elite(FE ~9-10(poor) but better servicing network).

Hello Shiv

I have booked Alpha Petrol in the same Kalyani Nexa, Bangalore, during second week of January. My RM has given a tentative date around 3rd week of July. Apparently 20 people are ahead of me in the Alpha petrol queue!
The committed date while booking was First week of June, though. Even I am contemplating on cancelling the booking and go for Ecosport Ecoboost. It's really frustrating, you know.

Cheers

As someone in the forum was saying that Maruti gives preference to the high end model because it is priced at a higher level. But Alpha 1.2 which is supposed to be the high end model at present, the theory of giving priority to high end does not seem to hold.

However, in my case Zeta CVT version was released on first week of April and probably all those who booked in the beginning of the year got frustrated and cancelled the bookings.

And the booking for Zeta CVT might not have picked up as they expected and hence the waiting list may be short.

Keeping my fingers crossed for the probable delivery date in July.

I also considered the Ecosport for a moment and took the TD of the Ecoboost version. Heavy footing and the turbo lag made me go against it considering the crippled Blore traffic. I am not a race track kinda driver and mostly drive in permissable speeds be it highway or City so wasn't quite sure If I should put the additional money on addtional horses. Moreover, It is my 2nd car as I have a Honda City already.

I have also heard the Ecoboost is heavy on pocket for it's sophisticated mechtronics. But overall, Trend+ is a VFM product indeed.

All the best with your search.

Is anyone facing trouble is downloading the Map update for the SmartPlay system?

My friend had downloaded it once and but lost it when he accidentally deleted it before he had copied it onto the SD card. Now he is not able to download from the Nexa website. On each attempt, he gets an error message saying invalid VIN number for map update.

Hello,

I reside in Bangalore which is a bit of hilly terrain - lots of inclines on roads. I am looking to switch from my 10 year old Palio 1.6 to a Baleno CVT. Palio is brilliant and going strong but am switching mainly because of Bangalore traffic snarls and A.S.S/spare parts availability.

Main question - will I be severely handicapped with the lack of Hill Hold Assist feature in Baleno CVT? If yes, is there a way to work around the limitation? If I wait for another year, is there a chance of Maruti adding this feature on a face-lift?

Of course, with my Palio, I never had a problem in Bangalore even on the steepest inclines. That's why I am worried about the switch to AT please:

Regards,
Anand

It should be manageable but you will have to put on a balancing act shifting between the A and the B pedals if you encounter stop start traffic. And there is always the handbrake I guess, unless you are not supposed to use it in an auto as it is in a manual?

Interesting question. Have not driven the Baleno CVT in Bangalore, but personally feel there is absolutely no need to worry. There should be a level of 'creep' which can help mitigate smaller inclines. For very steep ones you may need to use the handbrake. I see plenty of Maruti's AMTs running around in Bangalore and AMT based cars are more prone to roll back.

Hopefully Baleno CVT owners on the forum will be able to reconfirm.

Little Off Topic. Why not consider the Ford Figo DCT AT. A better performer and comes with ESP and Hill Hold. It is a very nice feature to have.

Edit: The Jazz/Amaze and City CVTs will handle inclines better than regular CVTs because they have a slim torque converter and the initial torque build up will help handle inclines better.

The creep should help, but it would also depend on the gradient of the climb. You can try taking a test drive of Baleno, Jazz,Micra or new Amaze to confirm this. All these cars have a CVT.

Like Rajeev, I too would suggest Figo or Aspire DCT to the mix. Both have Hill Assist.

Thanks, sure hope so!

Yes, it's an option as is Polo GT TSI. However, coming from Fiat A.S.S, I am looking for a fuss free ownership experience. Had considered changing the car 3 years back as per this Post but fell back as Palio was simply superior to all the options then.

A Maruti CVT seems to tick most boxes in those requirements - Hill Hold is my only concern.

I think when you get used to driving the AT, CVT in this case you should be able to navigate the inclined roads with some usage of the parking brake if necessary, especially if there's a traffic signal on an incline.

Suggest you test drive the car on hilly roads in Bangalore like Padmanabha nagar, Banashankari, Raja Rajeshwari nagar, etc to get a first hand idea.

Also, as others have mentioned, add the new Figo to your list of contenders.

If Baleno CVT works similar to i10 CVT Automatic (2010 model) i don't think you have to worry. I have been driving for 6 years and i have not seen any issues with steep inclines . At the same time i have driven a lot in Coorg.
I have not driven a Baleno CVT but in my i10 if you are D mode and your are in an incline the car does not got back (i mean without pressing the Brake pedal)

I10 had a CVT? This is news to me.. I always thought l10 came with old school 4 speed torque converter.

But i10 never came with CVT, old or new. It was always a 4 speed torque converter so you won't find that problem in i10.