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-   -   2022 Maruti Baleno Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/248859-2022-maruti-baleno-review-15.html)

Mine didn't come with one either. Only an infotainment booklet.

Yes - the manual mode is fun

Yes - need to be prepared to download some app during services! Maruti has not cascaded this info downward so ground team is confused

Took delivery yesterday. Zeta AGS.

You have to download the app called “Maruti Suzuki Rewards”.

Register using the phone number provided during purchase and click on S-Assist (Robot face at the bottom).

There you can find the owner’s manual.

Isnt this an alpha unless you upgraded the headlights and added fog lights.

Zeta comes with the same DRL headlamps as the Alpha now - only the fog lamps aren't there in the Zeta -

That means even to look at the user manual, and that too in digital form, you need to buy the car. I wonder if the manual can be downloaded, even by a registered owner. If not it really is a pain. For a car with many gadgets and settings, there is nothing like a printed book for quick refetence, especially for someone who is elderly. What are you saving Maruti ? Rs100 on a million rupee car.
It is a shame.

Yes, the manual can be downloaded. No issues with that.

While I totally agree with you that having a printed version is handy but I am myself using the online version because of the ability to search content. In my network, I have never seen anyone go through the owner’s manual so I am sort of ok with giving this benefit of doubt to Maruti. More than the money, it saves paper (trees), ink and printing process.

Does anyone feel that Altroz turbo is better value than the Baleno in MT form. Both xz+ and alpha are priced same.

Baleno gets more airbags, heads-up display, better gearshift relatively, better looking instrument cluster, much better FE.

Tata gets 5 star safety, leatheratte seats, more punch in engine especially with Baleno's FE centric tuning notwithstanding, better sounding music system, better road manners overall, slightly better trim and in some cases, more color and theme options like Dark.

While subjective, Altroz though old looks better.

Zeta has same LED headlamps as Alpha. I added the LED fog lamps as accessory.

The DRL function is disabled in Zeta.

Since the answer to your question is a little subjective, this would be my take based on the team bhp reviews of both cars :
1) Looks: Altroz is much better designed than balen.
2) Power and performance: Altroz turbo is the better of the two.
3) Handling and highway manners: Altroz wins here.
4) Economy: Baleno is the better of the two.
5) NVH: Baleno 4 cylinder engine is much refined than the Altroz.
6) Features: Baleno is more feature loaded.
7) Safety: Unless Baleno is GNCAP tested, notwithstanding the 6 airbags, Altroz with 5 star rating is better here.
8) ASS: Maruti gives a much better experience compared to Tata.

Cheers.

Yes, the hard copy of user manual isn't offered with the car, but the soft copy can be viewed and downloaded via Maruti Suzuki Rewards application which can be downloaded from Google Play Store.:)

My friend bought baleno three weeks back. He could not download the manual due to some technical problem. The dealer also seems clueless. He has been told that they will solve the issue when doing first service. First service, they said, is at 1000km/1 month. Still not clear if there is oil change or not. They said no oil change, but they also said, initially, that the manual was misplaced and can be collected the next day.

If no printed book is given, the least Maruti could have done is give a soft copy directly.

If somebody can provide a copy, it will be very useful

Pls shoot me a DM with email or whatsapp no. - I will fwd it to ya.

After having used the new Baleno for almost a month now - I have found out some shortcomings with it that I would like to share


The headlights are weak - I think a dual projector setup obviously would have been better. The throw of the high beam is negligibly more than when you are running the low beam. Overall this is very disappointing.

The wiper delay mechanism is absent - This came out quite as a shocker to me. They took out the adjustment where one could adjust the wiper speed when the rain is scant so that you can time it for a further delay and not just let the wipers run for more than what is required. This is the top model premium hatch. This is not done really.

The horn switch which obviously is in the center is too far for the thumb to reach and mind you I got big hands. There are plethora of empty switches on the steering wheel which by itself is an eyesore but why couldn't they use one of those nearest switches towards the edge as an additional horn button.

The infotainment system is very elaborate and confusing. With so many menus and sub menus it is just too chaotic. Reading the infotainment booklet that comes with it by itself is a task and one can't figure out how to fix or change things sometimes. For eg. when I connect the system with bluetooth on my phone and stream the music to the car, if I get a call in between the music keeps playing and the caller also can be heard. I mean why the music does not pause automatically? I tried addressing this with the SA and they have no clue either how to fix it.

No handrest in the back. A glaring omission. Why couldn't they just build it in the seats like everyone does? Apart from cutting down the cost I don't see any reason why else.

No leather or artificial leather seats in the top model Alpha. Just plain fabric seats which is totally unacceptable for a car that costs 11 lacs plus on road. I had to spend another 10k for the seat covers which by itself were hard to find due to the inbuilt airbags in the seats. Nexa people said that the ones I installed may not be air bag friendly but Auto Form or Foam where I got them from they say they are compliant as they have this thinner fabric type thing on the sides where airbags will reveal themselves if they are deployed.

Artificial leather on steering wheel - The only place Maruti put some leather like thing is on the steering wheel and there too they cheapened it out by using man made material. The material is not as smooth and soft as leather. It feels hard and rough.

The IRVM placement has the same issue as the previous gen Baleno - it is placed too far down the windshield which blocks the view of the front - it almost feels like that there are 2 separate windshields - one for the driver and one for the passenger with a blind spot in between. I am quite shocked how can Maruti not notice this design fault for 8 years and when they had a chance to fix it they clearly avoided it.

The reverse camera's quality is not what it should be. It is pixelated and should have been of a slightly higher resolution. The 360 cam is still ok but when you are reversing what you see on the screen is not clear and leaves you guessing. Another victim to the cost cutting I am assuming. They want features for marketing but they don't really look much into the user experience aspect of it. One can argue that it is a Maruti so one cannot expect luxury or better than average experience but then this is the premium hatch and the top model. If they sell something touting it is a a premium hatch, they ought to look at the user experience element of it as well.

The mileage I am getting is 13.5 in the city with AC on. Needs some wait before I conclude on that as I have merely done 400kms so far.

The AC is meh - not quite as good as my 2017 previous model swift which chills like anything. Can't complain that it is lacking but when you compare it with the previous Swift, then you can tell.


Now the good part -

The suspension is tuned for comfort - It soaks bumps much better than the previous model it replaces (I still own that too).

The AGS AMT is not a bummer. Anyone not wanting to buy this car due to an AMT needs to rethink. I too was apprehensive but after driving it it turned out to be more satisfying that I thought it would be. The manual shift in the AGS is awesome and lets you do all the fun things you can do with a regular manual. Any flooring of the accelerator has to be two step process as one needs to put it in the manual mode for a kickdown or else the AMT will fumble and struggle. The lag in the manual shift is not there. It is just not there. Shifts are prompt. The AGS shifts can be laggy and jerky if you dont ease the accelerator. I let off the accelerator when I want it to shift and it does the job perfectly.
However the tuning of the 3rd and the 4th gear in the auto shift is such that when you let off the gas for a shift from the 2nd to the 3rd and the shift happens, almost instantly the next shift from the 3rd to the 4th happens leaving a little jerk. The spacing between the 3rd and the 4th is too close.

The HUD is convenient in a way as you are always aware what speeds you are doing. Beyond that the RPM and the real time mileage you are getting that it shows, is redundant for me. On the contrary if they add the gps directions to it, that can be useful but I don't think that will happen. This system looks very basic to me, unable to handle that sort of input.

Boot space is excellent and so is the leg room. For anyone who knows Baleno they know what I am talking about. It defies physics in a way that one cannot imagine the kind of legroom one gets in this smallish hatchback.

Dashboard layout is quite modern and smart - Unmaruti like - they have improved this tremendously.