| 2007 Maruti Baleno VXi - My Rocksteady Workhorse
Hi all,
I am creating this thread for sharing my ownership experience on owning the 2007 Suzuki Baleno VXI bought in Aug 2013. I also need advise on some of the concerns I have with this car.
Decision making process (Why Baleno?): It all started when I had to sell my new car due to some personal reasons so I had to look at purchasing a second hand car. My list included only Sedans as I didn't want to purchase a hatchback anymore (why not more for less). So the options left were, Honda City, Esteem, Baleno. After a few quick searches for a well maintained Honda City, I found myself not lucky enough to get a well maintained and low run Honda city. Post this, I ended up with a good Esteem 2007 only run 27K, Shimoga registration with Raj headers, but he was quoting too high a price at which price point I would rather buy a Baleno. Thus it stuck to my mind why not try a Baleno? I recollected my memories of seeing modded Balenos when I was in College and always admired the car for its simple looks. I knew one thing for sure, this is a good car and worth putting in my money. I researched a bit and consulted couple of friends who told me that the maintenance is a bit pricey on the Baleno but at the same time, the car is worth every penny spent on it as the spares though expensive do have double the life compared to MGP.
Fast forward....Fortunately, I found a Single Owner well maintained car from Olx. Yes Olx. Where most say we dont get good genuine products. My concern was to get a genuine well maintained car no matter the source. Last week of August, I zeroed in on couple of Balenos. Checked a few second owner ones, then I stumbled on a First Owner well maintained car. The car looked good in pics, clean body line, no dents, first owner, service record available etc., I called the owner and decided on checking the car the next day. The car was in bone stock condition, the owner hadn't even put seat covers(who would do that and why), original floor mats(cloth) still being used. Further when we checked below the bonnet and I see a clean engine bay. Noted the engine and chassis number and the vehicle number before I discussed the price. Best part was the Buyer didn't even hand over the keys for test drive before knowing whether we are in his expected price range to buy the car.
First Impression: There was only one dent on the front side of the bonnet at the edge which was the only one on the entire car. The body line was very clean and well maintained. After being satisfied with finding a good Baleno, I informed him that I would verify the service records and the Insurance of the car before taking things further. The owner obliged without any second thoughts.
Test Drive Experience: We took a test drive and notice the clutch is little hard for having run about 59K but still had a good pickup and was very good to drive. Surprisingly I expected there would be some noises in the car, but I didn't find any while driving the car. The suspensions were a little softer which me and my friends could make out. (All thanks to the knowledge shared on this forum). The tyres were Goodyear NCT that came with the car which were worn out but could still run about 2K (though I had decided to change it, point to negotiate).
The car behaved well and drove well with no complaints whatsoever. I could notice that the vehicle was planted on road with good grip even with the worn out tires and no noises coming from the car (unlike typical Marutis which I expected). I also noticed there was good amount of low end torque which didn't require change of gears often though we were four on board. The pickup was excellent and the speeds achieved was good to impress, I had made up my mind, either its a Baleno or nothing the very moment after the test drive.
Service Record and Insurance check: The next day, I checked with the car's service records in Mandovi Motors and found that the car had been serviced regularly since day 1 from the same service station and the records were accurate, every service was done 1-1.5K earlier than scheduled. No major repairs done, no insurance claims and the vehicle was immaculately maintained. Finally gave a go ahead for the car.
The day of negotiation:
We reach the home of the owner and decide on the price, deducting the cost of tires and clutch and negotiate harder and settle for the car (didn't bother whether the price was a bit high as I was satisfied with the car). The very next day after completing all the formalities, picked up the car from his office and the owner takes care all the transfer formalities with costs shared by both of us.
Finally I pickup the car and head straight for a thorough wash and then to Pooja on Aug 30 2013.
I had already decided on changing the tyres and colour the rims as the rims has become stained with hard water used on them and not being wiped clean and had stained and discolored the rims at the lug holes. Within the next two days, I got the seat covers changed and Door pads done with steering wheel cover (hand stitched) and hand brake as well. The car came with the stock player and stock speakers. Details of Audio setup done by me in the later part of this review.
LIKES:
1. Simple looks
2. Power, low end torque and drive feel
3. Space and comfort
4. Affordability price wise (more for less)
5. Long life of spares compared to MGP
6. Mod friendly
7. Handling
8. Stability at high speeds and cornering
9. Boot space
10. Powerful AC
Overall Dislikes / features missed:
1. No bottle storage in the door pads. Only option is either under the seat of between the gap of handbrake and the passenger seat in the front or below the seats
2. Stock headlamps aren't good enough for highway drives
3. Low ground clearance
4. Very expensive spares (few of them like drive shaft, shocks, struts, lower arms, bearings etc.)
5. ABS and airbags are missed
Detailed Observations:
Engine & Transmission (performance and drivability in city / highway, gearshift & clutch, handling, on-road behavior, grip levels, stability, body roll & turning radius etc.): 1.6L, 94 BHP G13B engine with loads of low end and mid range torque with a good top end speed. The car is very good and agile in City and quite fast and keeps pace on the highway with any car.
City drive: People who own a Baleno know how good the low end torque is in this car is, the car is extremely comfortable to drive in City without needing much gear changes often. Very much manageable with power available at the tap of the throttle.
Highway drive: I found the car very composed and calm even at high speeds (beyond 100 km/h) and is confidence inspiring. I am a person who drives more on judgement and anticipation, I didn’t find the car behave in any way to doubt its abilities anytime. Its rock steady and loves to be revved hard and doesn’t show any sign of stress or fatigue and loves to be driven hard(not abuse). There is no body roll I have experienced so far, may be because of Michelin’s on them even otherwise I feel it’s a very well designed car, good set of rubbers just adds up the already existing road grip and stability. overtaking any car is a mere push of throttle with less effort adding the light weight of the car and quite easy to manage. It can keep up easily with most cars on the road.
Gearshift & clutch: Clutch is smooth and light but the gear shift is a little rubbery and has a little longer throw (not as long throws as I10 or the likes) compared to the new cars like Ritz or the cars which have cable type connections for gear changes which are very precise and short. Comparing it to Ritz only because I owned one before and it still is a wonderful car among hatchbacks according to me.
NVH levels: are good enough but could be better. Compared to the superb NVH in Ritz, I find it quite high on the inside. Engine is audible inside not much to bother if music is running.
Suspension & ride quality: Good enough for any kind of driving either in slow or high speeds. I am a sedate and sensible driver so I haven’t pushed it hard often unless I came across an unpredictable hump or something.
Steering (size, feedback, weight, EPS / hydraulic etc.): Very precise and has a very good feedback, it doesn't give a dead steering feedback like the i10 or the likes. No offence to Hyundai lovers but its my opinion and observation.
Braking: Brakes are good below 100-120 but could be better especially if the car is higher speeds. Nothing to worry if you are a cautious driver. This is expected as the car doesn’t have ABS and I was used to driving a Ritz with ABS and even other cars that I owned. Brakes are effective enough and confidence inspiring, doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. But I feel the brakes could be better since they don't have ABS and if you ram the brakes suddenly, the wheels get locked up(experienced it once).
Ground clearance: This is a concern, the clearance is low and if you have about 3 people in the backseat. The unscientifically designed humps would definitely scrape the belly of the car no matter how cleverly you drive the car on them. That is one thing which I don’t like about this car. But I can live with it as there are so many other pluses in the car. Though in all other aspects it competes well with its rivals in the core department of driving and drive pleasure.
Driving position, visibility, ergonomics, controls & MID: The driving position is very good, giving an overall view of the road but sometimes I feel the A pillar felt obstructing probably only under certain circumstances, not a serious concern though. The gear lever and the steering are aptly positioned with the comfort of two levels of tilt steering adjustments. Good thing is the dead pedal which is quite useful. There is not much MID in this car its just the standard analog meters for speed / RPM / fuel / temperature with trip meter.
Safety & related equipment: No ABS and ESP or airbags.
Fuel consumption: My monthly usage is hardly around 600-700 kms, so the fuel consumption wasn’t much of a concern for me and I was sure the car wouldn’t disappoint me since it was well maintained. I am still getting consistent 11 to 12+(on highway) depending on my driving, worst being 10.5 in bumper to bumper traffic for few days.
Exterior styling & design: I like the car the way it is, it is different though not too stylish but still good enough to turn heads. Anyway, it all depends on how you treat the car and give it attitude by few mods. Though I haven’t done much excepting the grille with mesh and projector headlight setup.
Interior design & quality (plastics, upholstery, fit & finish, build quality, paint quality and panel gaps etc.): The quality of plastics are good enough though not plush for those days. I feel It could have been better. The sturdiness cant be questioned as they are very nice and tough and will last long despite any kind of abuse. The grey interiors look nice and are simple looking and easy to maintain. Just a wipe on a daily basis is good enough if you are driving with windows down. There are consistent panel gaps on the car. I like simplicity in a car and Baleno just fits the word in every sense. Simple, efficient and fantastically functional with sufficient features. The quality of door handles, gear lever, door knobs etc., everything is made of good sturdy material and are very much durable. The indicator and the wiper levers are of good quality. One feature I like about this car is the varying speeds for intermittent wiper movement (8 speed).
Interior storage, practicality & boot space: Storage is good and comfortable for a sedan. The in-dash cabin and the storage behind the handbrake area is quite useful. The boot is quite huge and despite a 12” sub and two amplifiers its quite spacious to accommodate any weekend trip/luggage.
Wheels & tyres: Stock 14” rims now with 195 60 R14 Michelin XM2. Though I am willing to upgrade to a 15” sometime soon if budget permits.
Interior space & comfort (seat support, legroom, headroom & width): Overall it is very spacious and comfortable for a car its size. It easily accommodates 3 adults in the back seat and the front seats are also quite comfortable. The driver seat has height adjustment which I feel is not required unless you are less than 5.5". Again its personal preference.
Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness: Only word I can say is "superb" and quite chilling within no time, best in its segment.
Audio system & sound quality: Stock ICE and speakers are of mediocre quality - not to my refined taste. A very good aftermarket setup has been done by me within 1 month (courtesy: Blueraven / EVO).
- Kenwood 4549SD now Pioneer 5790BT 7” touchscreen
- Diamond D3 Components
- Arc Audio 6X9
- Arc Audio XDI 80.4 – now Arc Audio KS Mini 125.4
- Cerwin Vega Mono Amp 500.1
- Diamond D1 Sub 12”
Lighting: Stock headlamps are good enough with Philips 100/90 for city driving, but not good for highway drive, doesn’t inspire confident night driving. Projector setup has been done by me.
Cost of upkeep & maintenance - niggles, problems or part replacements: I changed the brake pads for all the wheels at 65K service and it cost me about 8.5K (then in 2013). Not sure whether this is high or low but I did spend and got them done at a authorized Maruti service station in Chamarajpet.
The clutch had worn out and at 72 or 74K. I replaced the entire clutch assembly (clutch plates, flywheel, releasor bearing etc.) at a cost of 7.5K (at Pratham Motors, Outer Ring Road).
Recently I changed the tie-rod ends and the sound coming from the lower arm and the likes disappeared, but the sound from the steering column has started, though there is no oil leakage. Overall 80K service done a little early at 78K, changing of all lubricants etc. cost me about 13K.
Quality of after-sales service: It's a Maruti, so no problem at all. I have been lucky to get good mechanics so far who have not only suggested me right but also have saved a few costs.
Concern - need advise from the car gurus and Baleno owners:
1) I am now facing the typical khat khat sound of the steering column and it really annoys me, the SA says it is something that can be lived with considering there is no major issue with it and the steering is neither hard nor the oil is leaking. Option is still open whether I wish to change the Steering column if I want. But I want to know whether it can be fixed otherwise considering the steering column now costs about 13.5K (SGP) and I will have to wait about 15 days to one month post ordering.
2) The suspensions I feel have become weak and softer though its still manageable, I would like to know whether there are any suitable aftermarket replacements for the suspensions? if so which ones and how much would they cost ? How to source them or procure them? Stock suspensions are very expensive. Over all steering column and suspensions will cost me around 40K which is quite high for me. I am planning to keep this car for at least another couple of years considering the maintenance is reasonable and it’s a wonderful everyday car to drive.
3) The mileage has dropped a bit off late, I have changed the plugs to Bosch and fitted BMC air filter twin turbo. I have checked the PSI on the tyres and they are correctly maintained, plugs and air filter cleaned, still there is a mileage drop with or without AC. Am I missing something?
4) I noticed one thing, please tell me, the trip meter zeroes out after 999 kms? is it only my car or all Balenos are like that?
Please suggest solutions for the above problems. It would be appreciated if I have missed out on anything core to the maintenance of the car or needs to be taken care in the long term ownership of this car. Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Aditya : 27th May 2015 at 12:34.
Reason: Spacing, formatting
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9th February 2015, 19:39
(8)
Thanks
, one of my colleague picked up 2006 Vxi (with ACC) for 105k, sourcing spares are difficult for Baleno as he is searching for replacement headlights for the past 2weeks - by the pictures it looks like a very well maintained car, please post more pics for your beauty.
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. Finding clean old cars is very difficult. To give you an example, E220 W124s exchange hands for 2 lakhs. Yet, I know of a super-pristine example that sold for 5 lakhs. If I was in the market for the W124, that's a car I would have surely bought, no matter how much more it cost than other E220s in the market. Another example: Mahindra Classics go in the 2.5 - 3.0 lakh range. I have an open offer of 6 lakhs on mine.
