[Torino]

Excellent review! I saw few new Dzire's on the road and have to say it looks w-i-d-e and has good road presence and yes it is the widest car in its segment now. When viewed from the side, the rear end looks like the Kizashi which is nice. With the length limited to 4 meters, Maruti engineers have played will with the width of the car and it shows in the inside. If I buy this Dzire, I will swap the front bumper with the new Swift's chromeless bumper (if it fits). No doubt the Dzire will set the charts on fire but the concern remains on Maruti's service cost which doesn't look to be the cheapest anymore.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Does the equation change now? Is the new 3rd gen dZire a better buy than the Baleno?

In my books, Yes!. They share the same platform, same engines, similar cabin space & comfort, similar built and quality, gets all essential features and most importantly the rear AC vents in the Dzire. The decision finally comes down to the automatic gearbox.

[naughtyfaction]

Originally Posted by Torino

In my books, Yes!. They share the same platform, same engines, similar cabin space & comfort, similar built and quality, gets all essential features and most importantly the rear AC vents in the Dzire. The decision finally comes down to the automatic gearbox.

I personally felt the AMT in Dzire to be better than the CVT in Baleno for my requirements and driving experience.

Baleno CVT is definitely smoother than the Dzire AMT. But, I was not able to quickly get the acceleration required for quick overtakes. Pressing the accelerator was not resulting in quick pull after 50 KPH. Not sure if the test drive vehicle had some issue or I encountered the so called rubber band effect. The official Team Bhp review of Baleno CVT also points out the same.

Dzire AMT quickly downshifts a gear or two and accelerates better in same situation. Also, in Baleno CVT there is no Manual control except the sports mode toggle. And I found the Manual mode in Dzire AMT to be at par with manual transmission. So, we sort of get best of both worlds in Dzire AMT. Also, we get AMT in top trim in Dzire with all bells and whistles.

[DicKy]

The new Dzire has matured and rightly so.
For many buyers it is the jump they take from the Alto to a more premium buy, and there is not doubt the new one will make the buyers feel good for their big purchase.

Though features are welcome, the LED headlamps leaves me worried

Since its mostly single carriageway highways in my place, headlight dim/bright is a big problem for driving ease as well as safety. Till now the German luxury cars (especially Audi) drivers have been a headache with their flashing LED headlights, but there is a limit to how many of them are on the road.

Thats not in the case with Dzire, with tens of thousands sold every month.. Especially since most Dzire drivers (OMG, am again stereotyping) love to drive with their high beams on.

But then, majority buy the L/V series, only a few buy the Z series. :P
Still yesterday i was blinded twice by new Dzires with LED lights.


Another thing is the enthusiast pet peeve; Absence of temperature gauge. Till now, Maruti had been offering one, unlike other mass manufacturers, from the Swift upwards. but now its gone.

Though I should say I like the replacement. Dunno if its is already available in other cars. But love this engine temperature warning light that shows us when the engine is warmed up. Should be available in every car that makes away without a temperature gauge.

[feluda86]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Though I should say I like the replacement. Dunno if its is already available in other cars. But love this engine temperature warning light that shows us when the engine is warmed up. Should be available in every car that makes away without a temperature gauge.
Attachment 1655899

This is present in cars of other manufacturers as well and for a long time now.

Maruti seems to always justify the mythological heritage of the name with its car launches. Great job in maintaining the reputation for so many years. The new Dzire looks handsome to say the least. In fact as rightly pointed out, this car can now a better deal as compared to the Baleno (though I feel Baleno is a better looker). With the grill, the car now definitely resembles HM Ambassador and what is with the large wide front grill used by all manufacturers now(Ford, Hyundai and now Suzuki)? I would have preferred Maruti to not use the old in cabin window controls.

The old Dzire was the only car running in the race for the highest selling Compact Sedan, and this one will ensure other manufacturers either pack up in this segment or come up with something drastically different from their current offerings.

With the new Swift due next year in our country, I wonder where that leaves Baleno. A facelift with price hike?

[ts1506]

Recently checked it out in showroom. They had one really beat up TD car in ZDI+ model (I mean the car just launched, and the TD car already had over 8000km on ODO, really shows the popularity of the model).
The other 2-3 cars they had were all L/V models.

This time round, the boot integration is much better than the ugly last generation model. The interior design is also fresh, and I'm glad to see the new steering, not the same old recycled one that every other Maruti seems to have. The Z+ variants with the Projector headlamps look particularly striking.

However, in Kolkata, the waiting periods have sprung up hugely. Dealers are suggesting around 4-5 months across all models.

[Nav-i-gator]

Except for a better front look and a better integration of boot, I am not impressed at all. Baleno is still a better buy - a bigger boot, better looking (IMO), and better interiors (i hate beige - especially that plasticky ones).

Judging by the history, new swift would get black (with piano black, grey and/or chrome inserts) interiors, would be better looking and not much different in terms of interior space. That would make better sense.

[informmaha]

Originally Posted by Aditya

• Suspension offers a compliant ride & neutral on-road behaviour

When I test drove, I felt the suspension to be little on the firmer side and it did not take sharp undulations (ex: flyover steel strips in Bangalore) and a prominent thud sound is heard and felt and even the rear passenger was able to feel that.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exterior

The fit & finish are good with uniform panel gaps all over.

The panel gaps were a little large in some areas like the rear door to rear fender and similar at the front door to the fender and all these observations were with respect to the test car that I drove.

But, the vehicle as such is much more smoother than the previous gen Dzire. Also, I felt the AMT was quite smoother while shifting and there was not much lag compared to the AMT that I had used in a Celerio (2016 model). When enquired, the sales person said that its the same AMT unit which serves for both the vehicles. Have they improved it now? may be.

[extreme_torque]

Excellent review as always. This is a comprehensively better car inside out and the equipment list is long but I would be very worried putting my family in given how unbelievably light this is. Its not as if its using expensive metal like aluminium either. This is perhaps the lightest car of its size in the world still built with steel and this is not a particularly nice feeling. Also, I do not like the front, its weird and the over abundance of fake wood is tasteless.

P.S. Can you think of another car of the same size which weighs the same and is rated highly for safety?

[SoumenD]

Excellent review. Rated 5 stars.

As for the car, honestly that chrome surround at the front around the grill looks seriously weird and the faux wooden touches as well seem too wannabe. Never the less its creating ripples (as expected) and I have already seen 3-4 of them in my apartment parking since launch. Its already a super-hit

Originally Posted by smartcat

Does the equation change now? Is the new 3rd gen dZire a better buy than the Baleno?

I doubt that. As no matter how hard they try, making a decent looking sub-4m sedan seems almost impossible. There's not one car in that segment which is visually appealing. IMHO its just the obsession with 3-box shape(badi gaadi) and the sub-4m rule in our country, that this segment exists. Whereas Baleno looks much more proportionate and hence is an international model.

Am not even going into details about Baleno having longer wheelbase & a better auto-box.

[subhro1988]

The much awaited review of the highest selling sedan is finally out and kudos to the moderators for such an in-depth review. I am sure that the bookings will definitely increase after this review.

The Dzire rules the compact sedan segment and if somehow Maruti can test and plonk the 1.5l diesel which they are testing in the Ciaz (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...5l-diesel.html), then that would be the time for other CS to shut shop.

[meetgds]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Excellent review. Rated 5 stars.

I doubt that. As no matter how hard they try, making a decent looking sub-4m sedan seems almost impossible. There's not one car in that segment which is visually appealing. IMHO its just the obsession with 3-box shape(badi gaadi) and the sub-4m rule in our country, that this segment exists. Whereas Baleno looks much more proportionate and hence is an international model.

Am not even going into details about Baleno having longer wheelbase & a better auto-box.

This is true, the obsession of owning a sedan (or a wannabe sedan) is what most people give in to.
However, in the particular case of Baleno vs Dzire, there's another factor that might affect decision. Dzire offers auto in the top trim too, whereas the Baleno doesn't. This makes it tricky for guys like me who want an auto with all the goodies such as touchscreen ICE, DRLs etc.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by meetgds

However, in the particular case of Baleno vs Dzire, there's another factor that might affect decision. Dzire offers auto in the top trim too, whereas the Baleno doesn't. This makes it tricky for guys like me who want an auto with all the goodies such as touchscreen ICE, DRLs etc.

Its not just in this case then. Even Elite i20 doesn't provide an auto-trim at the top(not even sportz, its only in Magna and priced atrociously), nor does Jazz. So you see its kinda similar in all cases and not one off for Dzire/Baleno

Plus I guess Maruti themselves didnt want to place Dzire in or around Baleno territory and hence they went with the cheaper AMT, instead of a CVT.

[satrikon_454]

Have watched many videos, read many reviews,but couldn't decide whether Baleno is better or the new Dzire. One team-bhp review and everything sorted out. That's how good these folks are. Thank you, Aditya, for this brilliantly elucidated review.
The initial impressions made this sedan look "Dzireable". But if I were to pick between these two, it would be the Baleno.

[silverado]

Thanks Aditya for a great review.If popularity of old dzire ( which was narrow and had smaller boot ) is to go by, this one seems to be heading to break all records! People queuing up to buy a car is really unheard of.

I personally would have liked Dzire to be a full sized sedan and not a sub 4m one.

Boot lid is really really wafer thin, I mean lot of people in our country who were used to older Fiats and amby's ,close doors/boot lids with some force.I feel someone will end up damaging that tin can thick boot lid someday. i felt it to be lighter than My Nano's bonnet

Also, is the rear seat lower than Baleno? I personally felt it to be slightly lower than Baleno.

Comparison with Baleno is inevitable since many parts are borrowed from baleno's bin, but shockingly middle variants for Dzire are priced higher than Baleno.

Even though boot space is 378 litres as against 339 for Baleno, I feel Baleno offers more space as you can simply remove parcel tray and have 60:40 split seats.

Overall, it seems like Dzire will attract more crowds than Baleno , due to its sedan like shape and more variety across variants.

Mods, can we start a poll on Baleno vs Dzire please?

[coolmel]

The cockpit will remind of the older Jazz! They could've thought of something more original.