[audioholic]

Originally Posted by volkman10

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

250 units of the GT twins still account to a larger chunk in the overall sales of the Polo. In that way, the Baleno RS should have done at least twice its numbers if it had the same response by enthusiasts. Out of the 10k+ Balenos sold on an average every month, if it really had something worthy to offer, it would have sold more. In the same way, out of an average 1000 customers walking into a VW showroom, 250 are choosing the GT variants since they feel that the extra money paid over the highline variants are giving them something worth. IMO, a 1.2L boosterjet on the Baleno with around 120 horses on tap would have made it a desirable car and would be worth the extra price paid. I am not even bringing in the transmission into picture, let alone safety features.

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by audioholic

250 units of the GT twins still account to a larger chunk in the overall sales of the Polo. In that way, the Baleno RS should have done at least twice its numbers if it had the same response by enthusiasts. Out of the 10k+ Balenos sold on an average every month, if it really had something worthy to offer, it would have sold more. In the same way, out of an average 1000 customers walking into a VW showroom, 250 are choosing the GT variants since they feel that the extra money paid over the highline variants are giving them something worth. IMO, a 1.2L boosterjet on the Baleno with around 120 horses on tap would have made it a desirable car and would be worth the extra price paid. I am not even bringing in the transmission into picture, let alone safety features.

Based on small talk with the vw dealerships and service guys, off late more than 50% sales of the polo are from the GT models, 90% of those being the TSI. So 250 units is a small number, I believe it more than 500.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Baleno RS monthly sales volumes at just 900 - 1000 units

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

Source: The Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

As an RS owner I am quite surprised that Maruti is managing to sell these many in the first place. Because it simply lacks the brand halo, the pedigree and the swag factor that the GT Twins have. And that is a big factor in the enthusiast category which ever way you look at it. If pure numbers were to decide everything then we would have the Passat selling quite a bit. Which it doesn't.

To achieve deeper penetration into this segment Maruti simply needs to have a product that shuts down the competition, performance wise something like what the GTR had done for Nissan, the Type R for Honda etc. It's not like light Japanese performance cars have not achieved cult status. A full blown take no prisoners approach which the RS falls short of.

Even if you look at the GT sales, I would agree that a big chunk is made up of the TSI. However I think a large factor can be attributed to the power differential compared to it's standard petrol variant and the automatic gear shift. The DSG adds to the cool factor. Comparatively most diesel Polos are the standard TDI with the GT TDI being few and far between. It's very easy for you to take the standard 1.5 TDI and tune it to deliver even more power than the GT TDI.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Prodigy07]

Quick question - Is the running board in Baleno RS different from the ones in normal Baleno?

[amvj]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

It can be done, but there are many parts to be changed. Upgrading the front discs and pads would be easier. I was discussing the same with D BHPian Leoshashi few days back. To accommodate rear discs, we have to change the rear suspension beam as well. I have noted down the part numbers, will check the price soon

@ Naren and Leoshashi, do you guys have the details ?
Do you have the parts number and price for suspension beam, price of the discs etc ?

I have Baleno Parts Manual but it does not contain parts info for Baleno RS since it was printed on Oct 2015. Newer Baleno parts manual is a single book for both RS and normal Baleno ?

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by amvj

Newer Baleno parts manual is a single book for both RS and normal Baleno ?

Yes, it's a single book for all versions of Baleno. I think I got it for around 200 bucks . I do not have the catalogue with me right now. It's at my Kasaragod house . You can try check in Boodmo.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

:. You can try check in Boodmo.

Its oriparts bro.

Boodmo is the buying platform. You cannot directly see the parts catalogue on boodmo. There is a small link on top, but even that will take you to oriparts

Regards
Shashi

[Dr.Naren]

This Baleno RS has good list of mods.

1. Quantum UK Remap
2. Tanabe Japan lowering springs
3. Dixcel Japan brake pads
4. Kakimoto Japan exhaust

Do hear the exhaust note

https://www.cartoq.com/modified-maru...per-car-video/

[ada]

The thing to worry about lower springs is Indian roads and as it is Baleno has no engine protection on the underside.

[volkman10]

Baleno equipped with 1.0l boosterjet engine in Japan can now use the regular fuel.

On May 16, Suzuki launched a change from premium gasoline to regular gasoline for the fuel used in the inline 3-cylinder DOHC 1.0 liter direct injection turbo "K10C" engine of the small passenger car "Baleno" of the hatchback.

Link

[ada]

Maruti Baleno White RS review

Nine years ago I got myself Ritz -ZXI, link to my review here --> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...te-review.html . At that time too I had the help of Team-BHP forum to firm up my decision.

Why Baleno, and why RS

Team BHP forums are the best place to get genuine unbiased reviews. This time also after reading so many reviews finalized on Baleno. Baleno came out to be a good value for money car, with good space, the better one in its segment, plethora of frills in the Alpha variant and the service network and reliability of the Maruti brand. I was very aware of three main problems afflicting users of Baleno and coming up again time and again in reviews and forums. 1) Iffy suspension, which later got rectified 2) Build quality 3) Sedate engine. When I bought Ritz, it was the first car with the K-series engine. Initially these engines were free revving and fun to drive. After nine years of driving Ritz, taking trial of Alpha Baleno left me with the feeling of the car being a bit under powered. However Baleno RS solved two problems in the "bad list" of the normal baleno, bad suspension (which anyway got solved later ) and under powered engine. And again I got too good a deal; the dealer offered me a 3 months old car (2017 make) which halved the difference between Alpha and RS. After a thorough PDI (again Team BHP forums and articles to help) I confirmed the booking. Now on doing dealer rounds around February you will come across such deals. When I asked the dealer why the car had remained unsold he said that the RS movement is slow and the movement of white colour more so. He agreed to PDI without any conditions. Now for the colour selection -- Silky white, I feel Ray-Blue is a better looking colour, but it is too dark for me. From my personal experience lighter coloured cars are easier to identify esp in the peripheral vision. If there were any other lighter coloured (except orange and red) choice available I would have seriously considered that colour, however even the silver is more of a greyish tone and too dark to my liking. Additionally the black wheels are more enhanced in the white colour and gives a nice contrast to white. I feel that black trims would have looked fantastic, any idea on how to get this done? Maybe Maruti can come out with more choice in the lighter colour range.

The Dealership Experience

I visited quiet a few dealers, all Nexa dealerships have a uniform set-up i.e the cubicles with TV, the i-pads, the dress code and even the price list. Other dealers also offered me discounted price for 2017 vehicles but the colour of my choice was not available, it was only at Nexa Thane dealership where I got substantial discount on 2017 make and white colour. Again I repeat PDI is a must, commit yourself only after thorough PDI. Here again the team BHP write up will help link here --> http://www.team-bhp.com/advice/buyin...facturing-date The salesman assigned to me was polite, gave regular feedback, returned all my calls and was courteous.

Accessories bought from the dealer were -- Blue designer floor mat, seat cover, rain guard for window and mud flaps. Unfortunately the mud flaps were of standard Baleno, which because of RS lip wont fit, current RS owners can please guide me here as I feel that mud flaps are of great use esp. in rains.

One goof up the dealer did do was to put the wrong fasttag, he had to go through the process of cancelling the tag and then re-allocating a new one.

As said in other forums the tires are inflated to very high levels so the first thing to do on taking the delivery was to get the pressure corrected and fill petrol.

The Ride

Coming from a nine year old car there are lot of things to learn. The infotainment system and MID are both intuitive. The cooler controls are nicely placed and distinct. Esp useful is the real time average bar. The MID always shows average on the higher side, the error is to the extent of 10% to 15%. The average the RS gives is very sensitive to your style of driving, I have got average figures ranging from 13 to 21 at different points of time. I had some problem in adjusting myself to gear change; changing gears is always accompanied by a slight jerk as if Iam releasing clutch a bit early. I have not yet driven too aggressively as Iam just out of running in period, but from what I have seen the car is pretty eager and will be fun to drive. Space is excellent, on comparing with my Ritz Baleno is only 6cm wider but 23 cm longer, but the amount of space they have managed is more than what numbers would indicate. Next week i have planned a 1000km long trip involving Shirdi, will get to know the car better then.

What I like:

1) All the bells and whistles like a feature rich infotainment system, Android auto, MID display, electrically adjustable ORVM, anti glare IRVM, keyless entry, rear parking camera and sensors etc. etc. For me coming from Ritz this was a first, for other this might be normal.
2) Peppy engine, this being the reason why I got RS in first place. Iam just out of my running in period and what little I could experience is that the car is ready to take off even in 5th gear.
3) Spacious interiors. And also a big boot. Three people can sit comfortably on the rear bench.
4) Excellent braking, of course with four disc brakes you cannot expect anything else.
5) Ride quality at higher speeds , the car just glides over bumps and road undulations at higher speed, at lower speeds it is a different story.
6) Looks. Even though looks are cosmetic and tastes differ from person to person, the white Baleno with black alloys and side skirt and all is quiet a sight IMHO.

What I don’t like:

1) External body work. Iam not saying balenos are unsafe. I clean my car once a week and I can feel the quality of metal used and plastics while cleaning. What should I say, it could be a lot better.
2) Engine is not as refined as the K-series. As a three cylinder this was to be expected. But maybe they could have compensated by giving a better NVH protection.
3) No underbody protection. Even alto was better protected then this. Espescially in our Indian conditions this might hurt you in the long run. Realization of this fact has watered down my “enthusiastic” driving.
4) Sedate interiors are too black to my liking. Esp after the bright blue of my Ritz.
5) Rear parking camera is jerky and sometimes the tram lines appear quiet late. Sometimes the infotainment system too becomes a but unresponsive.
6) Android auto pairing was quiet an effort, though now working 9/10 times, you should not spend an hour setting it up. (maybe it was me to blame)

Overall Iam happy with my purchase, it is a fun car to drive plus Maruti assured service and I look forward to driving bliss for some years to come.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by ada

Maruti Baleno White RS review

Unfortunately the mud flaps were of standard Baleno, which because of RS lip wont fit, current RS owners can please guide me here as I feel that mud flaps are of great use esp. in rains.

Good to have another RS owner on the forum and nice to read you experience of the same.

Regarding the mud flaps what you actually need is those flexible rubber flaps that do not wrap around the running board. Suzuki has these in UK and here is the ebay link to them. We don't get this over here.

Drive on,
Shibu

[ada]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Good to have another RS owner on the forum and nice to read you experience of the same.

Regarding the mud flaps what you actually need is those flexible rubber flaps that do not wrap around the running board. Suzuki has these in UK and here is the ebay link to them. We don't get this over here.

Drive on,
Shibu

Thanks Shibujp for the link, but IMHO these are better than nothing esp in rains.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by ada

Thanks Shibujp for the link, but IMHO these are better than nothing esp in rains.

Oh yeah I agree. I have been eyeing this for some time now but procrastinating partly due to the cost and checking if I could get an alternative here.

On my RS the problem is compounded by the fact that my tires stick out a bit more after I up-sized the alloys and tires.

Drive on,
Shibu

[ada]

I was wondering if you can do a hack on the current mud flaps, like cutting out the edge to accommodate the lip.