[abhik897]

Originally Posted by Cruzerman

Hi Abhishek, It's been more than a month since you updated this thread. Hope your Beast has been happily munching miles all these days. How is the FE now? Has it improved? Has any niggles or issues cropped up in the car till now? Awaiting your reply as I'm on a lookout for a hatch to replace my Polo, and Baleno is on top of my list now.

Hi Cruzerman,
Its been a wonderful joyride all the way through the 3 months of ownership of my beast. Have done now nearly 2000 kms and the experience till now has been butter smooth. FE has been consistently for the past month excess of 16.5 kmpl (10-20% AC on given the better weather in Mumbai). And touchwood, there has not been any niggle or glitches as of now.
Hope you get your baleno soon. Given the astronomical waiting timelines now on new bookings (quoted somewhere in this fora of nearly 10 months or so), I am seeing quite a few prospective buyers shy away from this wonderful machine. But believe me, if you are willing to wait for the time, go ahead and book the Baleno. You won't regret one bit.
thanks
Abhi

[Cruzerman]

Originally Posted by abhik897

Hi Cruzerman,
Its been a wonderful joyride all the way through the 3 months of ownership of my beast. Have done now nearly 2000 kms and the experience till now has been butter smooth. FE has been consistently for the past month excess of 16.5 kmpl (10-20% AC on given the better weather in Mumbai). And touchwood, there has not been any niggle or glitches as of now.
Hope you get your baleno soon. Given the astronomical waiting timelines now on new bookings (quoted somewhere in this fora of nearly 10 months or so), I am seeing quite a few prospective buyers shy away from this wonderful machine. But believe me, if you are willing to wait for the time, go ahead and book the Baleno. You won't regret one bit.
thanks
Abhi

Hey Abhi.. great to hear your Beast has been fabulous. That's excellent FE you are getting. My Polo hardly gives me 10 kmpl in city drives. Great to know that your car has been niggle free. Wish you a million miles with your Beast!

I test drove both petrol and diesel Balenos last time (in Dec 15) when I visited Kochi. I guess the petrol Alpha will suit me well as I have very less running per year. But, now taking into account of the excessive waiting period after booking (10 months in some cases as you mentioned), I am thinking about waiting for the Baleno RS to come out sometime during Diwali this year (as reported by Maruti). My guess is if I book the RS immediately after it is launched, I might get the car delivered before Dec 16. The same time frame would apply for the delivery if I book a Baleno Alpha now. I’m not sure whether it’s a wise move. But thinking about 110 horses under RS’s hood, I might just wait till Diwali.

[abhik897]

Originally Posted by Cruzerman

I am thinking about waiting for the Baleno RS to come out sometime during Diwali this year (as reported by Maruti). My guess is if I book the RS immediately after it is launched, I might get the car delivered before Dec 16. The same time frame would apply for the delivery if I book a Baleno Alpha now. I’m not sure whether it’s a wise move. But thinking about 110 horses under RS’s hood, I might just wait till Diwali.

I agree with you that its worth waiting for the RS given MSIL has confirmed a Diwali launch for it. Please note that the Baleno is based on an entirely new platform and hence massively upscaling the production will have some constraints. Also, as on date MSIL is the only global manufacturer of the Baleno and hence like Jan'2016 where it exported some 1500 odd Balenos from India, you can expect this number to only increase in the near future. From the last 3-4 months of Baleno sales figures its very clear that MSIL has a total capacity of around 10500 per month. Unless there is some immediate and sudden ramp up of production, this waiting list is only going to go up and you will see sales of I20 and Jazz to be benefited as sales numbers of Jan'16 are telling.

[Cruzerman]

Originally Posted by abhik897

I agree with you that its worth waiting for the RS given MSIL has confirmed a Diwali launch for it. Please note that the Baleno is based on an entirely new platform and hence massively upscaling the production will have some constraints. Also, as on date MSIL is the only global manufacturer of the Baleno and hence like Jan'2016 where it exported some 1500 odd Balenos from India, you can expect this number to only increase in the near future. From the last 3-4 months of Baleno sales figures its very clear that MSIL has a total capacity of around 10500 per month. Unless there is some immediate and sudden ramp up of production, this waiting list is only going to go up and you will see sales of I20 and Jazz to be benefited as sales numbers of Jan'16 are telling.

Thanks a lot for those info. I am going to wait for some more time and decide on which hatch I should buy next. I would have already bought a Polo GT TSI for its cargasmic S Mode. But I doubt I'd get tired of looking at the same body shape and the not so different interiors as I already own a 2012 Polo.

Hope you will keep this thread regularly updated.

[viv_cal]

Originally Posted by abhik897

I have driven nearly 1250 kms . Have done 4 tankfuls uptil now and the FE I am getting between 14.5 to 15.8 kmpl.

Hi Abhishek,

Did you get a 17 character VIN or 21 character VIN for your Baleno? And have you been able to decode it? Which characters specify the year and month of production?

[abhik897]

Originally Posted by viv_cal

Hi Abhishek,

Did you get a 17 character VIN or 21 character VIN for your Baleno? And have you been able to decode it? Which characters specify the year and month of production?

Hey Viv,
sorry for the delayed response. Was slightly caught up and hence couldn't respond earlier.
I have got a 17 character VIN and frankly given my car was amongst the first one to be delivered in Mumbai, I didn't break my head de-coding it . Having said that I checked today on team-bhp thread for the VIN topic and found typically MSIL has 21 characters VIN.
Hoping you get your car delivery soon.

[sureshkishore]

Hi Abhishek,

Nice inital ownership report. Did not find the patience to pen down mine as yet. Been a very happy 3 months now.

Nowadays I really regret not going for the Alfa variant.
The projectors and drl are super cool.
The projectors cost upwards of 50k to install as per my dealer SA. A good 7" ice would cost 30k.


Did you notice the engine revving much better beyond 2000kms. It's really sweet now. Just crossed 6000kms of mostly highway runs.

FE currently is shockingly high as per MID 20.3km/l. Have not checked the full tank method.

OEM hòrn offlate gives a irritating note. Need to get it upgraded.

[viv_cal]

Originally Posted by abhik897

Hoping you get your car delivery soon.

Hi Abhishek,

Got my Alpha Petrol (Granite Gray) delivered last Sunday. Haven't driven it much but loving the initial impressions. Just wanted to thank you for all the info & help provided during the waiting period.

[abhik897]

Originally Posted by sureshkishore

Hi Abhishek,

Nice inital ownership report. Did not find the patience to pen down mine as yet. Been a very happy 3 months now.

Nowadays I really regret not going for the Alfa variant.
The projectors and drl are super cool.
The projectors cost upwards of 50k to install as per my dealer SA. A good 7" ice would cost 30k.


Did you notice the engine revving much better beyond 2000kms. It's really sweet now. Just crossed 6000kms of mostly highway runs.

FE currently is shockingly high as per MID 20.3km/l. Have not checked the full tank method.

OEM hòrn offlate gives a irritating note. Need to get it upgraded.

Hey so which is the variant you have got ? 6k kms in 3 months thats a lot of running man for sure. And i am assuming yours to be diesel for the amount of running. I have crossed 2k kms now, and I must say its even smoother than before. I must admit that I am not revving it hard still and rarely cross 2.5krpms, but yeah its smooth. My FE is consistent in Mumbai driving conditions at around 15.5 odd kmpl (all tankful methods only). Any niggles that you have had.. None for me as of now (touchwood)

Originally Posted by viv_cal

Hi Abhishek,

Got my Alpha Petrol (Granite Gray) delivered last Sunday. Haven't driven it much but loving the initial impressions. Just wanted to thank you for all the info & help provided during the waiting period.

Hey viv, good to hear you have got your beast. You have been following all baleno related threads surely and I can imagine the anxiety you have had in getting your car. I like all other team-bhpians would be eagerly awaiting your ownership thread. all the best for your beast..

[Dr.Naren]

Congrats on your baleno!!
I too own a petrol baleno zeta variant. I have driven around 2500 kms and average FE is 18-19kmpl(mostly highway drive). I find the rear little bouncy on broken roads. What's your take on it?

[tjacob]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I find the rear little bouncy on broken roads. What's your take on it?

Same here, Zeta (P). Yes, front and rear, this car is allergic to bad roads. Roads that have wavy tar, stones riddled, dug out earth, etc easily unsettles the car and cabin gets wobbly instantly. My personal take is that this as good as it gets, the light build quality might be good for peppy performance and fuel efficiency but the brunt of mediocre ride quality comes in tow. I bought this car very well aware of this flaw because if one considers this car's goodness in its entirety, which are in abundance in this car then I personally feel it all outright surpasses the car's one small weakness.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by tjacob

Same here, Zeta (P). Yes, front and rear, this car is allergic to bad roads. Roads that have wavy tar, stones riddled, dug out earth, etc easily unsettles the car and cabin gets wobbly instantly. My personal take is that this as good as it gets, the light build quality might be good for peppy performance and fuel efficiency but the brunt of mediocre ride quality comes in tow. I bought this car very well aware of this flaw because if one considers this car's goodness in its entirety, which are in abundance in this car then I personally feel it all outright surpasses the car's one small weakness.

I think the springs are stiffer. High speed stability is very good for such a lightweight car. I am planning to reduce the tyre pressure by 2-3 psi from stock and check
Cheers

[abhik897]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

I think the springs are stiffer. High speed stability is very good for such a lightweight car. I am planning to reduce the tyre pressure by 2-3 psi from stock and check
Cheers

Originally Posted by tjacob

Same here, Zeta (P). Yes, front and rear, this car is allergic to bad roads. Roads that have wavy tar, stones riddled, dug out earth, etc easily unsettles the car and cabin gets wobbly instantly. My personal take is that this as good as it gets, the light build quality might be good for peppy performance and fuel efficiency but the brunt of mediocre ride quality comes in tow. I bought this car very well aware of this flaw because if one considers this car's goodness in its entirety, which are in abundance in this car then I personally feel it all outright surpasses the car's one small weakness.

Personally on not so good roads in Mumbai city , I did experience this thing more when I had newly got the car when the showroom guys had filled tyre pressure at 34 odd psi. Only when I went by myself for thr first time to fill air did I realise that tyre pressure was so high. remember as per the car manual for petrol baleno thr recommended tyre pressure is 29 psi (front and back). On one more occasion after filling up fuel the air filling guy accidently filled up air at 31 psi which is typically most maruti guys fill up with and immediately I could feel the ride more bouncy.

So try and maintain car pressure at 29 psi which has given me excellent ride quality. And there is perceptible difference in ride quality when air pressure is more. Hope this helps. Do tell if this works for you.

[tjacob]

Originally Posted by abhik897

Hope this helps. Do tell if this works for you.

It was one of many fixes that I administered to the new car during the initial days of ownership. It was slightly better after getting the recommended tire pressure of 29 front & 30 - 31 depending on the passengers at the rear. There was a considerable change in the car's riding behavior but not by margin I was expecting. Its alright now though, I've gotten used to it.

[sureshkishore]

Hi Abhi, Mine is a Zeta Petrol. About my high running, I do a daily drive of nearly 60Kms every day on NH 17 from Kodungallur to Edapally. Currently my car sips around 3.3 Rs/Km which I feel is great.
I just had enough of the Fiat MJD in my old Dzire so decided against the oil burner for my new car.