[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

What I didn't like was the alloy pattern and colour

You can go for other better options: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post4322064

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

You can go for other better options: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post4322064

I am not seriously considering the Baleno RS. My main purpose of the visit to the showroom was for the Child Seat.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Someone has shared pics of Baleno with MGA diamond cut alloys,

They had these in the showroom but only in 14".

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

They had these in the showroom but only in 14".

I don't think this design is available in 14 inches. Moreover why will they display 14 inches in a NEXA showroom when none of their cars have 14 inch wheels??

Regards,
Shashi

[jhaji]

Went for a short outstation trip to Bharatpur and Fatehpur Sikri and got the first taste of highway drive with the Baleno RS. I drove in a variety of conditions with 4 passengers and their weekend luggage in the boot.

On the extremely foggy morning of 26th January, took the NH2 to Mathura to be on the safe side. One keeps hearing of accidents on Yamuna Expressway due to fog. NH2 unfortunately is in a bad condition due to numerous flyovers being constructed. Diversions are narrow and crowded. Road from Mathura to Bharatpur is another big pain with multiple speedbreakers every few kilometers. Each of these speed breakers is actually multiple with the middle one rising high and sharp. Road otherwise also is badly patched. Brief drive (25 kms) from Bharatpur to Fatehpur Sikri is smooth 4-lane Jaipur-Agra highway. On the way back we took the Yamuna Expressway from Mathura to Delhi.

Just out of the run-in period, drove mostly between 2000 to 3500 rpm and one has to say that you have the power whenever you need it. You can accelerate whenever you have to. Nothing explosive, but brisk enough. What is also true is that, at least in the Indian tune, it is not a high revving engine. Beyond 4000 rpm it is too boomy in the cabin.

The ride is a little sedan-like and it handled the imperfect roads reasonably well. Brakes are confidence inspiring and with good feel. OEM tyres Apollo Alnac 4G are pretty good actually especially for handling bad roads. And they were not too noisy even on the normally noisy road surface of Yamuna Expressway.

I was having problems earlier in the crawling traffic because of confusion between 1st and 2nd gears, and the shift used to be jerky sometimes. I have got it under control now. Actually, the 2nd gear can go to quite low speeds when crawling.

On the advice of a friend I had filled Speed petrol before I went on the trip. I am back to normal petrol now and will stick to it. Mileage of the trip was 17 kmpl. AC used 25% of the time. In the city I have been getting 16.75 kmpl or so with 10% AC usage. Car has has just completed 2K kms.

My family enjoys the space at the rear. As the one who is driving the car always, I am enjoying it. So the RS is not doing too badly for my needs, at least for now.

[Leoshashi]

BHPian Prodigy07 drops a PM:

I thought of replying in public since it will help a larger audience.

Hi Shashi,

When I went for the A/C noise issue last weekend, the SA advised me to use MGA rubber door protectors (Rs 3/-) for all the 4 doors.

He has fixed them on my vehicle currently.

I remember you mentioning in some thread that those protectors damage the paint? Could you please point me to that thread?

Also, let me know whats the best solution for door protectors? I dont like those thick strips that they fix at the bottom of the doors.

Something like iPop can be used?

Please help

iPop is fine, does the job. But personally speaking I am not a big fan of extra brandings on my cars, and hence I like to keep things simple. If you ask me, I'd get the MGA ones which come in both transparent and black. They are much more subtle and protect the doors just as fine.

Attaching pics:





Part No: 990J0M67LPA-010
Name: DOOR EDGE GUARD (BLACK)ALL
Price: Rs. 149



Part No: 990J0M67LPA-020
Name: DOOR EDGE GUARD (TRANSPARENT) ALL
Price: Rs. 149

Regards,
Shashi

[TusharK]

Baleno RS monthly sales volumes at just 900 - 1000 units

According to a recent media report, there have been few takers for the Baleno RS. In fact, the Baleno RS, powered by a turbocharged petrol engine amounts to less than 10% of the total sales of the Baleno hatchback.



CV Raman, Senior Executive Director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has told the media that volumes of the Boosterjet are in the range of 900-1,000 units per month, while on average Maruti sells around 15,000 units of the Baleno hatchback. The Baleno RS, a product targeted towards the enthusiasts, is suffering from low acceptability issues.

The Baleno RS was launched in March 2017. Currently, it is priced at Rs. 8.45 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). In comparison, the base price of the standard Baleno is Rs. 5.36 lakh. The Baleno RS is powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine that produces 101 BHP and 150 Nm of peak torque. It comes equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car also features a tweaked suspension setup and comes with disc brakes at all four corners.

The Baleno RS' main rivals include the VW Polo GT TSI and the Abarth Punto.

Source: The Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

[ShubhamGhute]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Baleno RS monthly sales volumes at just 900 - 1000 units

According to a recent media report, there have been few takers for the Baleno RS. In fact, the Baleno RS, powered by a turbocharged petrol engine amounts to less than 10% of the total sales of the Baleno hatchback.

Link to Team-BHP News

I don’t think this is a bad number especially for a car which is targeted at enthusiasts. Baleno RS sells around 900~ units which is respectable for a hot hatch though it isn’t anywhere near Maruti’s normal sales figure which they are accustomed to. VW Polo GT twins which are targeted towards enthusiasts combined with regular polo sells around 1800-2000~ per month, whereas Fiat Punto Abarth range is almost market dud.
Baleno might gather more sales if Maruti-Suzuki;

• provides better built quality
• More engaging driving setup
• Offer more electronic aid (traction control etc)
• Better tuning of engine
• Price is aggresively! Baleno RS is simply overpriced.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by TusharK

According to a recent media report, there have been few takers for the Baleno RS.

1000 cars is a respectable number I must say.

Lets get one thing straight though. The RS ain't no enthusiast car like the VW GT's and now defunct Abarth. Besides; if you are going to be spending RS money, I'd put a little more and aim for the GT TSI.

If Maruti Suzuki were expecting the RS to dethrone the NA Baleno because it has a modern and powerful engine, that was probably foolish thinking. To most folks buying a Baleno, there is no reason at all to even look at the RS. You get all the bells and whistles on your top spec NA Baleno.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Baleno RS monthly sales volumes at just 900 - 1000 units

I think the problem with the RS is that it is a little bit neither here or there. In terms of pure performance, the GT TSI and the Abarth Punto are way ahead and hence customers primarily looking for performance and fun to drive factor would probably consider the GT TSI over the RS. At the same time, the price difference with the regular NA petrol is too high for a regular Baleno Petrol buyer to opt for the RS.

Having said that, while it does look poor considering the overall Baleno sales, I think it is still a very good number considering the price to performance value the RS provides and also considering the fact that the competition in the segment sells much less (maybe 300-400 for the GT TSI and negligible numbers for the Abarth). So from that perspective the RS seems to be the segment topper by a long way.

[ROG_AK]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

..To most folks buying a Baleno, there is no reason at all to even look at the RS. You get all the bells and whistles on your top spec NA Baleno.

Exactly. They could have added a couple of extra features to differentiate it from the regular version (especially cruise control), instead they remove some features . The extra features might have lured some customers to the RS.

[Jeevith]

Also echoing most sentiments here about 900-1000 being a respectable number, it would be more pertinent to compare the the sales of the Baleno Alpa petrol's sales to that of the RS. I suspect the numbers would be fairly close, unlike the 1:15 ratio for ALL other variants (which includes diesel variants)

[aerohit]

Maruti NEXA not able to overcome their own inferiority complex.

Problem 1: Booster Jet is detuned
Problem 2: No proper automatic in RS (CVT/AT/Dual Clutch)

Even in Thailand they just released Swift with CVT but in India they released AMT.

I understand cost is an issue but considering parts are shared (CVT is same in Baleno and Swift) they can easily maintain volumes and also keep all customers happy and possibly acquire new customers.

[audioholic]

I wonder on what basis Mr. C V Raman talks about acceptability by the enthusiast segment. Compared to the regular Baleno, what does he think is really significant that the Baleno RS offers for the enthusiast?

I see more Polo GT TSi on the road than the Baleno RS even though I have a long commute daily. The Baleno RS is a clear whack on the face to Maruti showing them that people dont simply take what the company throws at them, at least when the target was enthusiasts.

While the Polo GT TSi offers an extra cylinder, 35% bump in power, better refinement compared to the 3 cylinder MPi, a slick 7 speed DSG for the price difference, in the Baleno RS we hardly get a power bump, lose one cylinder and refinement, the same 5 speed manual transmission and a few cosmetic touches. The disc brake is only the considerable difference. Nothing else on the equipment, safety option or interiors. Heck, they couldnt even give a six speed manual with more overlap on the gear ratios, which would have helped in lesser gearshifts.

Considering that, I am startled to see that the top boss speaks about acceptance. Dear sir, please provide a product that the target customers will accept, then you can speak about acceptance. You already have good experience in building acceptable products for the rest of the crowd. But the same kind of head weight wont do in case you want to impress an enthusiast.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I see more Polo GT TSi on the road than the Baleno RS even though I have a long commute daily. The Baleno RS is a clear whack on the face to Maruti showing them that people dont simply take what the company throws at them, at least when the target was enthusiasts.

Considering the Polo GT twins (TSI & TDI) together does only ~ 250 units /month, Baleno RS numbers are not bad at all for a car that’s targeted at performance enthusiasts.

Link

[gururajrv]

Are we going to witness the booster jet suffer the same fate as the 1.6 DDIS in the next year or two? Maruti is pretty quick in evaluating the product based on the numbers it makes for them. I am afraid this might go down the same road as the torque monster and a true enthusiasts machine 1.6 DDIS. Hope they realize and introduce the bigger brother 1.4 booster jet soon to various lineups with some pure performance.