[shibujp]

Congrats.

Looking forward to an perspective on real life experience with the Baleno RS. Might be early days, but did you have a chance to assess the mileage figures yet?

Also is there anything in the user manual about idling the turbo before turning off the engine? An SA I talked to insisted that it was not required though I was surprised given that idling before turning the engine off is common practice for turbo engines.

Drive on,
Shibu

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by bugatti_86

Hello Friends,

Afterall I ended buying 2017 Baleno RS after a long stint with my last car being 2003 Model Zen and 1998 Maruti 800 Offcourse this was a leap for me and much wanted affair with this pocket rocket!

Note : Without any test drive or second thought I took delivery on final day and first ride had a BIG smile on my face and family offcourse!

Congratulations on the car. Most often than not these impromptu decisions turn out to be the best.
Wish you many smiles per ride. I'll keep my eyes peeled for your ownership review as I've shortlisted this car for myself.

Cheers

[bugatti_86]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats.

Looking forward to an perspective on real life experience with the Baleno RS. Might be early days, but did you have a chance to assess the mileage figures yet?

Also is there anything in the user manual about idling the turbo before turning off the engine? An SA I talked to insisted that it was not required though I was surprised given that idling before turning the engine off is common practice for turbo engines.

Drive on,
Shibu

Thank you!! Initially only going through ODO readings city mileage reads 12.11 and highway commute assuming was approx 25,however the Nexa guys claimed fuel efficiency figures around same digits. The color display ODO console has lots of features/options available to keep one busy with several properties,not to mention Apple Car play and touch screen works like a charm and steering mounted buttons are so much comfortable with the tilt adjustable steering and height adjustable driver seat, RS comes with factory fitted leather skin steering wheel!

Regarding the Turbo off thing, honestly havn't enquired or read in manual yet,throttle input is quite sensitive (offcourse as its just ~500 kms total run) and braking is superb on any wet tar,concrete or paver blocks surface, factory fitted Apollo Accelere are doing great job, super grippy although bit noisy,to my surprise the spare wheel is other brand MRF with basic 15" wheel hub unlike all four 16" inches alloys.

Gear shifts are sharp, 3-4 being the most enjoyable. With the turbo kicking in, the speedo hits 3 digits quicker! Surely RS does grab second looks and road presence unlike normal Baleno and VW GT TSI! It looks much more wide and beefy unlike its near competitors.

For now, started collecting funds to pimp ride in near future.

Thanks & Best Regards.

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Congratulations on the car. Most often than not these impromptu decisions turn out to be the best.
Wish you many smiles per ride. I'll keep my eyes peeled for your ownership review as I've shortlisted this car for myself.

Cheers

Thank you! Truly said, it turned out to be the best decision.

Congratulations to you too! Great choice! The delivery for RS is much quicker than the committed dates from Nexa dealer,unlike normal Baleno waiting period is awful, as my friend had booked it in Pune 1st week of May 2017 and he is yet waiting its arrivals.I had booked RS around last week of May,it was allocated to me in 3rd week of June,however I kept it on further hold due to GST thing coming up and decided to took delivery end of June and register just before GST is applicable; saved on 2% RTO registration charges applicable here in MH.

Moderator's Note: Please limit smileys to two per post and please proof read your posts for grammar and typos prior to submitting them. Thank you!

[chncar]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats.

Looking forward to an perspective on real life experience with the Baleno RS. Might be early days, but did you have a chance to assess the mileage figures yet?

Also is there anything in the user manual about idling the turbo before turning off the engine? An SA I talked to insisted that it was not required though I was surprised given that idling before turning the engine off is common practice for turbo engines.

Drive on,
Shibu

It depends on whether it is air cooled or liquid cooled. The liquid cooled ones should be idled or otherwise run in the non-turbo RPMs for a minute or so. I usually used to switch off my turbo diesel without idling as I would take care to drive the last minute or so at a sedate pace where the turbo wasn't spooled.

[PraNeel]

Motorbeam has tested the Baleno 1.2 and RS for 0-100 timings.

Link

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Motorbeam has tested the Baleno 1.2 and RS for 0-100 timings.

Attachment 1659370

I guess being a turbo it should be expected but the RS is so much better than the standard Baleno at in gear acceleration.

A 3 second difference in the 30 - 80 (3rd gear) and almost 7 seconds in the 40-100 slog in 4th.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[sandygordon]

Had an opportunity to test drive the Baleno RS. The engine has just adequate performance for a car of this size. Much better than the 1.2 mill as far as in gear acceleration is concerned. There seemed to be no turbo kick. The second gear was not at all tractable compared to other turbo engines. It was like you feel to be pulled back while accelerating post 2k rpm.
I feel it is something that can be fixed by a good remap.

[pedrolourenco]

Visited the newly opened South Goa NEXA and checked out the Baleno RS. No TD vehicle was available but the SA said he'd call me when they get it. I told him I want to drive the Baleno RS, Baleno MT and Baleno AT back to back. It's a shame they didn't offer the RS in AT. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to buy a Baleno AT and then swap the Bumpers for the RS ones and add the skirts.

The SA also told me that they have already started the construction of the dedicated NEXA service station.

[Pedaltothefloor]

I think RS comes with a CVT tranny while the regular Baleno has a AMT.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I think RS comes with a CVT tranny while the regular Baleno has a AMT.

RS comes only with 5 Speed Manual, whereas regular Baleno 1.2L Petrol comes with MT or CVT options.

[shibujp]

Surprise, surprise!!

Autocar finds the RS faster than the GT TSI and the Abarth!!

This test was done at the MMRC track at Chennai. Would the result be same at a track like Buddh?

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Surprise, surprise!!

Autocar finds the RS faster than the GT TSI and the Abarth!!

This test was done at the MMRC track at Chennai.

Hmm so that sort of answers your secret Shibu, of swapping your 1.6 GT TDI with Baleno RS!!

Would the result be same at a track like Buddh?

I think this is a crucial clue for the Abarth's "Dismal" lap time:

When the Abarth was tested, the track had been relaid though (perhaps that explains why the Abarth was slower than even the Polo GT TSI).

But all said and done, nobody can take away anything from this little wonder called the Baleno RS. Irrespective of the build quality and the German "THUD", Suzuki's Feather Weight cars can really give other performance machines in the respective classes, a run for their money.

I wonder what would happen to some of the higher (and premium) performance machines if Suzuki trumps everybody and gets the 2018 Swift Sport to India!!

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Hmm so that sort of answers your secret Shibu, of swapping your 1.6 GT TDI with Baleno RS!!

The RS' got pretty big boots to fill!!

I wonder what would happen to some of the higher (and premium) performance machines if Suzuki trumps everybody and gets the 2018 Swift Sport to India!!

Coincidently just read the spec today after the launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show. 138 bhp, 230 Nm on a 950 kg body. That would be one badass Jap ricer!!

Drive on,
Shibu.

[hiren.mistry]

The Swift sport or the Baleno Sport would be one sweet, sweet package with giant slaying cred. But knowing Maruti and it's fixation towards fuel economy, this will remain a fantasy for fans like us.
Heck, Maruti even diluted the luke warmish 110 HP Baleno RS. But I am hoping against hope that Maruti launches this engine in either of the cars just to create some sort of a halo product. C'mon Maruti!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

As per posts in the SCross thread, Maruti seems to be unhappy with the sales performance of the RS. Hope it doesn't follow the footsteps of the 1.6 SCross. Maruti is clearly shying away from localizing this engine, with the SCross facelift just getting a 1.5L NA petrol as against earlier rumours. Any idea how many RS has been sold in the market?

I wouldn't hope for the Swift Sport here unless Maruti brings the Vitara here first, to get some numbers as a business case for the 1.4L Boosterjet.