[farooq817]

Hi All,

So finally, after my first month of ownership, I'm here with my initial ownership review of my first car. The Suzuki Baleno Delta petrol.
N.B. Few people might feel that this post is very biased and the truth is that it might be the case since I have already purchased this car.

How it all started:
I have been driving the cars at home for over 10 years now and never really thought about purchasing my own car till November 2014 when I moved back to my hometown after working in Bangalore for over 6 years. I was always comfortable riding a bike rather than driving a car. Saves time, fuel, money and most of all, I enjoy riding. And since I worked in Bangalore, I did not see a point in buying a car because I knew sooner or later, I would move back to Hyderabad. I did not want to go through the hassles of changing the registration from Bangalore to Hyderabad. After moving to Hyderabad, I decided to seriously consider buying a new car. This search went on for a few months starting in May/June till I booked the Baleno on 1st November. I do not drive the car daily and the monthly run on average would not be more than 1000kms. It had to be a petrol car for me.

Options considered:
I was on a very tight budget to start with before the purchase decision. I was pretty sure that I did not want to go for a car loan and pay EMIs for the next 3-5 years. I wanted to make sure that the car I buy fits my budget of around 6 lakhs. But with the experience of having driven cars from the B2 segment, I did not want to go for a car which was smaller than this. Thus, began my search for a car with a limited budget. The first option for me was to check out the used car market for a 2 year old B2 segment car. The bare minimun criteria for the car was the presence of dual airbags and ABS. I went about the used car market to check out the options.

Honda City: Around April, I was looking out for a used car for a friend and in the process of inquiring for him, I came across a 2012 Honda City. It was a top variant (V) with about 22000kms done on the ODO for an asking price of around 7.3 lakhs. The first test drive brought a big smile on my face. The classic design of the car was an instant attraction for me. Since it was a top end, it had all the nice features like the cruise control, leather seats, a huge amount of space at the rear, decent looking alloy wheels and all. The car was neatly maintained and had a very comfortable drive. There was no noise from the engine and it revved nicely in all gears. The interiors were very neatly maintained and there were no known defects in the car. It ticked all the boxes for me but somehow I was not sure of buying a sedan. I could have negotiated and got the price down but did not proceed any further because I wanted to check out more options and not settle for the very first car that I saw.

Reasons for not going for the car:
1. This was the first car that I saw. I did not want to settle down for the very first one that I saw.
2. Even though the car had a very low mileage, the average fuel efficiency displayed on the MID was less than 10kmpl.
3. I did not have the moolah to spend immediately on the car.


Hyundai i20: This was the car which I searched for extensively. I was looking for a 2012-2013 model and wanted an Asta or a Sportz at least. I searched on every online portal for a long time to get a car that met my requirements. I was considering the Diesel for the i20 because I knew that the 2012-13 i20 did not have a powerful petrol engine. And coming from someone who drove a 1.3L Swift extensively, I would never be convinced no matter how good the interiors were or how many features the car had. My search for a diesel i20 went on for quite a long time. In order to judge how the i20 diesel was, I took a test drive of the Elite i20 and believe me, the drive was exceptional. The interior quality was unmatched in the segment. The feature list ran long. I had decided that this would be the car for me. Since I did not want a car which had done more than 20-25k kms, it was very difficult to find one. And the ones I found were a little over my budget. I did not want the key less entry and go, nor the DRLs or the reverse camera. Had they provided the basic safety features (airbags, ABS with EBD) on the Magna variant, I would have considered an i20 diesel in this variant.

Reasons for not selecting i20:
1. Lack of availability for a car which had been used for around 20-25k kms.
2. Price was pretty high in the used car market for a 2013 vehicle.
3. Absence of safety features in the lower variants (I had to go for an Asta if I wanted this car).


There were other options considered on paper like the Hyundai i10 Kappa 1.2, Volkswagen Polo 1.2 and Ritz. But none of these materialized. The i10 lacked the basic safety features. The Polo had a 3-cylinder engine which was not so great and the Ritz did not accommodate 5 people comfortably. And without even looking in the market for these cars, they were struck off the list.

At this time, there were a lot of thoughts on my mind if I should actually be going for a used car or not. I did not want to end up buying a used car which would later turn out to be a lemon. This is when I gave up the search for a used car and started to concentrate on getting a new petrol car. I went about checking the options available in the market.

Honda Jazz: I waited for this car to be launched in the market. As soon as this was available, I short-listed the variant. It had to be the SV variant and nothing below that for the sole reason that this had dual airbags and ABS along with a rear defogger. I did not get an automatic climate control but I never had a fancy for this feature. I liked the initial looks of the car. It did not stand out compared to the Elite i20 but it had its own unique stance. I took a test drive and instantly liked the drive, performance and space in the car. I liked the car so much that I also planned on getting the center arm rest from AliExpress which would look/fit nicely on the car. The SV variant would cost me around 7.6 lakhs on-road. This crossed my budget substantially. With this in mind I parked the idea of getting a Jazz, atleast for now.

Reasons for not selecting the Jazz:
1. Obviously the budget constraints
2. Low end torque in the city had a bit of lag.
3. Beige Interiors
4. Lack of feature list as compared to the similarly priced Hyundai i20 Sportz
5. No rear wiper on the SV variant.

Hyundai Elite i20: The reviews of the petrol i20 mentioned that it was a little more improvement over the previous gen i20. It had loads of convenient features. Driver armrest, sunglasses holder, amazing interiors and what not. I wanted to check this out and took a good long test drive in traffic and open roads. But I was not impressed. The steering felt lifeless and the car felt very sluggish even though it was a test car that had run around 3000kms. The features were top notch, interior quality was exceptionally good and comparable to cars one segment above atleast. If they had provided Airbags and ABS in the Magna variant, I might have probably taken this car with a compromise on the power. But what changed my mind was the next car that I test drove.

Why I did not consider the Elite i20
1. Pricey for a premium hatchback
2. Uninspiring 1.2L engine
3. No feedback from the steering
4. Safety features only available in the top end variant.


Hyundai Xcent: Immediately after taking a test drive of the Elite i20, I asked the SA to give me a test drive in the Xcent and he readily agreed. I felt that this was a much better car to drive. The same engine in the Xcent felt more peppy on the road. Even though it lacked the premium feeling given by the Elite i20, it felt good to drive the car. The feature list was long to make sure the car would be high on the shortlist. However, I did not like the headrests. They were looking like an eye-sore in the otherwise premium car. But then again, the big miss was the absence of airbags except for the top variant. I would have to shell out more than 7.8 lakhs for this. If I had to spend that amount of money, I would have rather chosen the Honda Jazz instead of the top end Xcent.

Why I did not consider the Xcent:
1. Price was out of my budget
2. Only ABS and that too optional available in the S variant
3. The headrests do not justify the premium feeling that the car gave
4. Space at the rear was restricted to 4 with a 5th squeezing in.


Maruti Celerio: With a heavy heart, I felt that it was best if I could stick with a good car from the B1 segment. I drove a cousin's automatic. I knew that I wanted a manual and the top end Zxi would meet my main criteria. At around 6 lakhs, this felt a little costly for a 3-cylinder car and I was not convinced to spend this amount on a car like this. The seats were not too comfortable and the drive left a lot to be desired. The engine felt very sluggish and the interiors had absolutely nothing to talk about. Within a couple of days, this was out of the list as well.

Why I did not consider the Celerio:
1. I would be downgrading to a B1 segment hatchback
2. The wafer thin front seats did not have any support.
3. The 3-cylinder engine did not inspire me to go for this car.


By this time, I had decided to stretch my budget a bit more than my initial plan.

Hyundai Grand i10: Though I did not take a test drive of this car, it was high on my list of cars. Had the Baleno not been priced so competitive, this would have been that car I would have taken home. I had chosen the Asta variant (once again the sole reason being the safety features) even though I was least interested in the key-less entry and go or the electric folding ORVMs when I moved near the car. Since this is just the same as the Xcent, I did not mind booking this car without even taking a test drive. At around 6.5L on-road (including the discounts), this was the best option for me. It met my requirements well and I was ready to book this car.

Why I did not go for this car:
1. Only 1 reason. The Baleno was launched. A few more $$$ than the Asta (O) variant and I was getting a much spacious car which had a better presence on the road and had its safety features as well available as standard.


Maruti Suzuki Baleno: The moment I was sure that the Grand i10 would make its way to my home, news started coming in about the YRA. I decided to wait for a while before I took the decision. I refused to make a decision no matter how many times the SA from Hyundai called me and also told me about the freebies that he would provide with the car. The various media drives talked about the petrol engine being very peppy and good to drive. It was the same engine that has been used in the Swift and I knew that it is very competent. Even though the bookings were open, I wanted to wait for the final price before deciding on the booking. Then the news about the variants started to trickle in. Standard dual airbags, ABS with EBD and seat belt pre-tensioners. I knew then that Maruti had a winner in their hands. The Delta variant had everything that I was looking for in the car. I did not want any other bells and whistles. I short-listed the Delta variant and kept my fingers crossed for the pricing to be revealed on 26th October. They had to price it right for me to go for the car. With the kind of features available on the Delta variant, I felt that the car would be in the vicinity of Elite i20 Sportz or the SV variant of Honda Jazz, may be a little less than that to be competitive. Even on the morning of 26th October, I had it at the back of my mind that I will book the Grand i10, if the price of this variant was anywhere around 7.4L on-road. And finally the prices were revealed. I made a few quick calculations and was glad that the Delta variant would cost me less than 7 lakhs on-road. Yes. This car would be the best bet for me.

[farooq817]

Nexa Experience: I went to Varun Motors at Banjara Hills on the day pricing was announced. This was my first experience with the so-called premium Nexa showrooms. No display car was available and neither was the price for Hyderabad available. Contrary to the people who have mentioned that no one attended to the customers in the showrooms, my RM was eager to help me out. This could probably be because the number of people in the showroom was less than what it is now. The RM was courteous and said that since they do not have any details on the price of the car, he provided me with his visiting card and took my details to confirm on the price as soon as it was available. I was about to leave when he said that they had a Delta CVT in their backyard but he did not have the keys. I could check out the car from the outside if I wanted. On seeing the car, the big dimensions were immediately visible. There was a swift parked near it and there was a quick comparison done. Even though the headlights looked similar, there was quite a lot of difference and this car stood out because of its width. I reached for the the door handle and found the car unlocked. Quickly checked out the interiors. The first thing which caught my eyes was the way the centre console was designed. The rising lines highlighted by the silver accents made the first impressions pretty good. Yes, this car did not feel as premium as the Elite i20 that I had test driven a few weeks back. It can be a notch above the Swift at most in terms of the interior quality.

Everything felt ergonomically perfect in the car with everything falling into place just at the right spot. The next thing which caught my eyes was the blue lit console. It is lit even without the headlights switched on and looks even more amazing at night. Surely one of the best parts to look at in the car while driving. A quick start of the engine made me realize how silent the engine looked. With these and a few quick snaps of the car, I left for home and asked the SA to confirm when the demo cars would be available for a test drive. The next 4 days till Saturday went away in just one hope i.e., there should not be a lot of bookings which would push the delivery of the car for a long time. The SA called me on 30th October to confirm that the test drive would be available starting the next morning. On 31st October, I made sure that I got up and left for the showroom early to avoid any rush. I was there by around 10.45AM and there was a Ray Blue Alpha available on display. Instantly I liked the looks of the car. It looked so much different than the Delta variant. A test drive was arranged within no time and I was given the liberty of taking the car wherever I wanted. I took to the wheel and was pretty impressed with the initial pick up of the car. There was absolutely no engine noise while the car was idling even though it came without the engine cover. I found an open stretch and put the car through its paces and as the rev counter moved up, the engine became a little louder (in a nice way though, the way any enthusiast would like). I took the car over some bad roads and felt that the car was holding very well. I came back to the showroom satisfied with the initial impression of the car. After reaching the showroom, I checked a Delta variant in the backyard and checked if all the boxes were ticked for me which they did and I had decided that the color would be Granite Gray or silver. I left the showroom only to return the next day to confirm my booking by paying an amount of Rs. 20,000/- (The booking amount is actually Rs. 11,000/-). I changed my color option to Ray Blue since it looked much better on the road. I was promised a delivery time of around 6 to 8 weeks which meant the car would be available towards mid to end of December.

Here is the break-up of the price for the car.
Ex-showroom price: 5,90,542
Life tax: 70,870
Zero-depreciation Insurance: 19400
Extended Warranty: 8847
Auto Card: 1254
T/R charges: 150
Total: 6,91,063

Discounts: Whats that on a new car that is selling like hot cakes? Absolutely no discounts no matter how much I tried. They are happy to let go one customer in favor of many others who are waiting in line.
Could have haggled on the insurance part but somehow I did not want to fight and go to the higher ups for my first car and start it off on a bad note. These are the reasons why I went ahead with this model/variant

What I liked about this car:
1. The car has an amazing road presence because of the width. No doubt it looks similar to the swift but the frontal view gives it a big car look
2. At close to 7 lakhs on-road, this car felt the most value for money.
3. Safety - Dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Seat belt with pre-tensioners, rear wiper and defogger.
4. Engine Refinement - You have only the rpm needle to confirm that the engine is running.
5. Features - Finally, Maruti has provided a lot of convenience features which rivals have failed to provide in their mid-variants (Rear defogger/wiper, rear seat headrests, 60:40 split seats, automatic climate control, Electrically folding ORVMs with indicators etc). The blue lit center console is a surely a stand out feature in the car. Though the earlier i20 had this, the one in this car definitely stands out.
6. Comfort - Comfortable front seats. One of the best in the business.

What I do not like in the car:
1. There was no availability of Ray Blue which was my first choice of color
2. I would not call the quality of interiors as premium. They could have been better in many places.
3. The rear view mirror should have been higher up on the windscreen. It kind of blocks the view.
4. The rear bench as mentioned in the official review is f-l-a-t with no contours. Though the space is good, there should have been more support at the rear.

With all the above pro's and cons, I patiently waited for the delivery of the car. During the first week of December, I was told by the RM that the Ray Blue color was not readily available and they had managed to sell just 2-3 cars in this car since the launch and would not be able to commit on the availability in the near future. With a bit of thought going into the decision, I changed the color to Granite Gray. I was told by the RM that he would try to allocate a car in the next batch. I went to the showroom once again to have a look at a Gray colored car and confirmed the RM that he can keep the Gray as a second option but I would still be glad to take the Ray Blue. On 8th December, I got a call from the RM saying that a Granite Gray has been allocated to me and he would be able to deliver it by around 19th of December. I went back to the showroom once again on 15th December to hand over a cheque of Rs. 6,50,000/-. The remaining would be paid at the time of taking the delivery of the car. I checked with the RM on 19th and he said that the car would be reaching the stockyard that evening and I would be able to take the delivery on Monday i.e., 21st December. However, this was again pushed to 22nd December when the RM informed that due to many deliveries on 21st, the car had not arrived to the showroom from the stockyard.

Finally, on 22nd December, I got a call from my RM to inform that the car would be available at the showroom by 11AM. I had prepared a long 60 point check list of all the PDI tests that had to be done on the car. Since I could not go to the showroom, my brothers checked the car and did a PDI as per the list that I had shared.

Few snaps of the car during the PDI.






Based on their confirmation, I transferred the remaining amount online to take delivery of the car in the evening. The time went pretty slow while I was in the office waiting for the evening. I left office and reached directly to the showroom while my family came from home. By the time they arrived, I did a PDI of the car once again. Since it was a Tuesday, I felt that there were not a lot of deliveries happening. Mine was the only car being delivered at the time. The RM also waited patiently while my family arrived. We were offered tea/coffee/cold drinks while the documents were signed. Once all the documentation was done, I was given a demo of all the features by the team and I was all set to roll out of the showroom.

A few snaps taken at the time of delivery.
The first look of the car that I had once I reached the showroom.


A couple of looks from each side.




Overall, I would rate my booking and delivery experience as 4/5. This could mainly be due to the RM with whom I was dealing. He made the process flow pretty smoothly and was eager to help me out whenever I visited the showroom. But during my visits, I have come across a number of people coming to the showroom and checking the cars without anyone attending to them properly. There were a couple of instances when customers barged out of the doors because there was not a single person who attended to them even after repeated requests.

[farooq817]

Now let a few pictures do the talking before I give my inputs about the car that I have been driving over the last 3-4 weeks.

The front view of the car.


Definitely looks wider than a lot of C2 segment sedans. Actually, it is. I kept the car next to a Rapid the other day and it was looking bigger. Anyone new to the car scene would like to see if its a sedan. I like the overall looks of the car from front. Notice how the bonnet line meets the drill. Also, the S logo is a size larger than the other Maruti cars.


The side profile is where the car actually looks big for a hatchback. Certainly, at 3995mm, it is the longest in the segment. The rake angle of the hatch is one that I like a lot in the car. Notice the absence of the UV cut glasses and the chrome line running on the side.
Also, large windows and the rear quarter glass add to the feeling of a big car.


Clean rear with only the "S" and "Baleno" logos fixed to the hatch door. The rear spoiler which extends from the top looks nicely integrated along with the high mounted stop light. Because of the rake of the hatch glass, you cannot see the spray that is neatly hidden from view. The rear wiper is of adequate size. Still to test its effectiveness because of the season.
Rear parking sensors are body colored. Good thing that they are available on the Delta variant. The rear LED lights look good and have a nice visibility. The Delta variant misses out on another LED strip which makes the top end look absolutely gorgeous at night.


185/65/15 section tires have a nice feel while driving. In my opinion, the wheel caps definitely look much better than the alloys. With the wheel lugs fixed to the wheel caps, they look like alloys from a distance.


The door mounted ORVMs are nice in shape but could have offered more view. Also, what would look better is the indicator visible at the end of the ORVM.


The front seats offer good support overall. A very comfortable place to be inside the car. The lever to recline the seats looks to have been integrated along with the design of the car. Notice the absence of the height adjustable seat. For my height, I did not have any problems.


The steering is the usual one from every other Maruti. The chrome picked up from the Ciaz. But I liked the size of the steering wheel. Perfect to hold even though there are no thumb contours. The audio buttons are nice to operate. The position of the bluetooth buttons might not be for everyone's convenience but we get used to it.


The rising center console is pleasing to the eye. Notice that my 5.2" smartphone perfectly fits below the handbrake and can easily slide in and out without touching the handbrake. I was so glad that Maruti did not give the gear lever from the Swift/Celerio/Dzire. Its from the Ciaz and suits the car. What I do not like is the area around the gear lever which is not smooth. Either Maruti should have given it a smooth finish or given a chrome/silver surround just like the Elite i20.


The blue lit console is always on while the ignition is switched on. Looks amazing while on the move and absolutely stunning by night. The arc on the top adds a bit more class to it. Easily one of the better looking consoles in the market at this price point. The Delta variant gets the usual MID. The 14.9kmpl is after around 850kms of usage with 80% AC and city traffic during peak hours. Whats good is that it has been steadily increasing. I expect it to reach 16kmpl and give me an average of around 17-18kmpl overall.


Two individual map lights up front provide good amount of light to the occupants. If switched on, these will remain that way even if the car is locked. The other light is at the center of the roof and has a theater dimming effect.


The division between the storage area on the front of the gear lever can be removed to accommodate large items.


And used as a bottle holder to hold two one litre bottles when required. Notice the USB slots, AUX cable slot and the 12V power point. My 5.2" smartphone can also be accommodated right below the USB point.


Another storage cubicle right above the bonnet release lever. Best used to hold coins, keys etc. A smartphone is not welcome here since the depth is not too much. My smartphone used for reference.

[farooq817]

The driver footwell is large with adequate space between all the pedals. Dead pedal is a nice addition. This is the first time I'm using the car with one and is a nice place to rest my feet since I use the clutch as little as possible. Notice no illumination in the footwell.


The glovebox is a little small in size I believe. Could have been a size larger.


Dual airbags standard across the range along with ABS and EBD. Thank you Maruti!


The rear view is not too great with the headrests up in place. Reversing becomes a little difficult with the rake angle of the hatch glass. Good to have the parking sensors. I feel they are very much needed in this car.


Parking sensors can be disabled (not recommended). They give a loud beep when enabled.


Vanity mirror without any lights only for the passenger side. The driver side sun shade gets a ticket holder.


No tweeters on the A-pillar for the door in the Delta variant. These are available in Zeta and Alpha. The A-pillar does not cause a lot of blind spots though which is a good thing. I hope tweeters can be added without voiding the warranty.


Coat hanger only available on the rear right side.


Chrome finished door handles. I would have preferred them to be silver finished. That would have looked much better on the doors.


No height adjustment available for the seat belts in the Delta variant. Move to the Zeta or Alpha if you need them. Work well for me.


There is only one button which is back lit. The 'Auto' marked on the driver side window. Come on Maruti, now is that so difficult to accommodate on the other buttons in a car being sold as a premium?

[farooq817]

Music system picked up from the Ciaz. Notice how the design takes a shape similar to the front grill. Any flaws with the buttons? Yes. I believe the knob to change folders and volume control should have been interchanged. I have to bend if I need to change the folder. Makes sense putting it in closer to driver considering that the other buttons are available on the steering.
Automatic climate control display has nice visibility. The buttons feel nice and soft to touch.


Showing the minimum and maximum leg room for the rear seat occupants. Even with the front seat pushed all the way back, I had enough room. Yes, the under thigh support is not adequate. May be a good seat cover work can make it better.


The driver seat pushed to my preference (5'10"). Lots of room at the rear.


Rear seat belt can be put in place when not in use.


Lap belt for the 3rd occupant in the rear seat. Wonder when the budget manufacturers will come up with 3 point seat belts for the middle passenger as well. May be once India makes seat belts mandatory for everyone in the car.


Parcel tray moves as you open/close the hatch. That helps while adding/removing the luggage.


Found this behind a closed box in the boot. Is it to access the fuel tank from inside? Whats the use?


Fuel tank lid has a space to hold the knob. Also notice that its attached to a string. Wont get lost at petrol bunks.


Spare wheel without any markings of speed restrictions. Confirms that the one on Alpha is marked only because of the difference in specifications.

[farooq817]

Living with the car:
It has been over a month and at the time of writing this, the car has just come back from its 1st month check-up.

Distance covered so far:
Like I mentioned, I dont drive much and in the last one month, the car has covered around 900 kms. The car would probably be used for traveling to work just about twice a week and the regular weekend runs.

N.B. Most of the below details might already have been covered along with the pictures.

Exterior Looks:
From the front, the car does look like the Swift. But put both of them facing each other and the differences start to be visible. This is the longest car in the segment at 3995mm. The headlights are smaller than the Swift. The car is also the widest in the segment (wider than even the new Honda City). Park it next to a Skoda or a last gen Honda City and the Baleno definitely stands out. The V shaped front grill though might not be liked by few, is to my liking. The door mounted ORVM with the integrated blinkers look good on the car. Give it a big car feel. The best views of the car are from the side and the rear 3/4th. The angle of the windscreen and the rear hatch make the car look very sharp. I'm not a huge fan of the cuts and creases on the side, so this car looks good in my opinion. The 185 section tires look good but the 195 on the top variant complete the car. The tires have wheel caps with their wheel nuts attached to the wheel cap. From a distance, they make the wheel caps look like alloy wheels. And in my opinion, they look much better than the alloys on the Alpha.

Coming to the rear, and you notice that the width of the rear hatch door is not as large as the Elite i20. The rear wears a good look with minimal badges (only Baleno and the S logo). The only way to differentiate the different variants of this car from the rear are as below.
1. Sigma - No parking sensors
2. Delta - No chrome grill on the hatch door
3. Zeta - Chrome grill on the hatch door
4. Alpha - Different tail lights
The LED tail lights though different than the top end Alpha variant look good. Nice to see that the rear parking sensors were added to the Delta variant as well. I did not have to go for an after market accessory which would have not provided me the body colored sensors. The sharply raked rear window looks good and has the spoiler on top of it.

Interior Looks:
As soon as I step into the car, I'm greeted by the nicely positioned ergonomic interiors. Yes, this is nowhere close the interiors that you see on the Hyundai cars but its not bad either. Its a good attempt by Maruti but at this price point, I believe that the interior quality should be acceptable. Everything in the car is right where I would have liked it to be. The steering wheel with the silver inserts feels nice to hold. The size of the steering wheel is just perfect. The seats are nicely contoured and hold you in position. The silver highlights around the ACC take a shape similar to the front grill of the car and look good. The toggle buttons are easy to operate and the display is visible even in bright sunlight. What would have been better is to have a light on the re-circulation/fresh air button. I need to look at the display closely to check what mode the AC is running on. But I dont mind it because once set to re-circulation mode, it always remains that way and I dont have to change it everytime I switch on the AC. Thankfully Maruti has given the gear lever similar to the Ciaz and not kept the same from the Swift/Dzire/Celerio/Ertiga. This one looks so much more premium. The rising center console looks really nice. The steering mounted controls are big and easy to operate and I do not have to look anywhere else while driving the car. The tachometer, speedometer and the MID is one of the most beautiful parts in the car to look at. The blue light is just perfect with an arc running on the top. The MID housed in between the tachometer and speedometer displays the details in white color. It also has a gear shift indicator along with other information. Everything seems easily readable. One thing which could have been better? The area where the gear level is located has rough edges towards the lower edge. Either they should have been smooth like the top edge or Maruti should have provided a bit of silver casing running around just like the Elite i20 has the chrome around the gear lever.

Space Inside the car:
This is a big car in terms of space. All 4 doors have proper bottle holders with space left for other oddities. The driving position is the closest compared to the Esteem I used to drive 4 years back (Just cannot beat the driving position of that car). The space below the handbrake is perfect for me to hold my phone. The glovebox though small is good enough to hold the required documents. There are 2 cup holders ahead of the gear lever along with another compartment enough to hold a smartphone. There is another cubby hole above the bonnet opening lever where keys and coins can be accommodated. With the seat pushed all the way back, I could easily sit on the rear seat without my knees touching the backrest (I'm 5'10"). Yes, there is a lack of under thigh support but in my case it works fine because I wont have tall adults sitting in the rear most of the time. The place where the Alpha variant has the armrest has the bottle holder in the Delta variant. Since this is a global car just like the Honda Jazz, I hope some company comes up with a fit to size center arm rest which can fit in the bottle holder. I found the one on the Alpha variant of not much use. It could not even hold a smart phone there. Also, it was not long enough for me to use during the test drive. The boot is nicely spaced and though high works well for me. I have absolutely no problem with the high loading lip because I would anyhow not be using this car for the airport runs in most cases.

Build and Paint Quality:
The low weight of the car makes it apparent that the build quality of the car cannot be compared to a lot of other cars in the segment. Yes, the doors are actually a little more thin than the other cars. A bit of added weight might have reduced the claimed fuel efficiency but Maruti should have added that. The doors need be closed firmly to ensure that they are closed and not half open. The hatch door though seems to be pretty sturdy. The bonnet also feels a little bit on the lighter side. You have to release it a little higher to make sure that it closes completely. I'm used to leaving the bonnet at the very last moment to close but it would just not lock itself. The mechanic showed me about this when he came to collect the car for the first servicing.
The paint quality is as expected across the segment. Though I had booked the Ray Blue, I'm pretty happy with the Gray color (It was my first choice before changing to Blue).

The outside view from a drivers perspective:
The Delta variant does not come with height adjustable drivers seat. I didnt have a problem with it though (This could probably because I used to drive an Esteem). The view ahead was substantial for me. The IRVM though is not the in the best place. It should have been placed a little higher. It blocks the field of view ahead. It should have been placed higher. Also, my brother who is 6 feet tall could not adjust the mirror any higher to have a proper view of the rear from inside. The rear headrests do reduce the visibility along with the angled rear windscreen. The wing mirrors though, felt adequate and provide good field of view outside.

ICE:
Now, I have never been a big fan of the factory fitted ICE on any of the cars. They somehow lack in the sound quality of the ones that are available in the market. The one provided in this car is no different. The music system is lifted from the Ciaz and looks good inside the car. Covers the basic need of music on the go. I would rate the audio quality as 3/5. The speakers could have been better though and I really miss the door mounted tweeters. I firmly believe that tweeters enhance the music experience in the car. I hope its possible to fit one in the after market or from MGA to avoid any impact on the warranty.

Cooling:
The automatic climate control does a good job of keeping the car cool. In Hyderabad, the summer this year seems to be still running and it was good to test the power of the A/C. The absence of a rear A/C is hardly felt by the rear occupants. In case the car becomes cooler in the front, I just turn off the side air vents and its enough. This is the first time I have used a car with an ACC. Just set the temperature and go. Helps in saving the compressor as well when the required temperatures are reached thereby saving fuel.

Engine and Gearbox:
The clutch needs to be pressed to start the car. On a cold start, the RPM needle hovers around 1400-1500rpm for a while before dropping below the 1000rpm mark to its idling rpm. Gives a good indication of the warming up time of the car and also making sure that I drive off only when the engine is ready. The engine is very refined. The rpm needle is the only indication that the car is started. There is no lack of torque even at lower rpm's and it has been a delight driving the car in the stop go traffic in the city. The engine feels eager to build up speed. The gearbox felt very smooth to operate. All the gears are perfectly slotted into position without any noise. Feel buttery smooth. I can operate it with just a single finger at times when moving from 2nd to 3rd and then to 4th. Though I have not driven at higher revs (i.e., more than 3000rpm), the car felt like it would have nice throttle response as the revs climb higher. The car can comfortably cruise at 100kmph in 5th gear at less than 2500 rpm. Lot of drive left in the car then. I'm not someone who would want to do a speed test irrespective of the open roads in front of me so the cruising speed and rpm makes it perfect for me.
But Suzuki should not have missed on a basic thing like the engine cover. This does not give the engine bay a complete look. You will always see that something is being missed.

Braking:
I have driven other Maruti cars and this is no different. The braking is predictable and the 185 section tires hold well on the road. However, I would have liked the brakes to have more bite in them because there were a couple of instances where I felt that the car should have stopped at a lesser distance. Also, I could sense a bit of nose dive under heavy braking. The inclusion of ABS is a good thing. Makes the braking much more confidence inspiring. I think the 195 section tires would have much better grip on the road. The Zeta/Alpha owners can comment on the same.

Handling and Suspension:
I have driven the 1.3L Swift extensively and can confirm that the Swift is a better handling car than the Baleno. This car comes very close to the Swift but I dont think this can beat it in terms of handling. The Swift used to feel more planted on the road. This car has a lower center of gravity which gives it an advantage in the handling department. It definitely handles much better than the Grand i10 and the Elite i20 in my opinion. I would get a chance to rarely use the car in corners but I'm sure it would handle well. The steering is well weighted as well giving a sense of confidence while moving around in the city. The suspension absorbs the small to medium pot holes with ease and the 170mm of ground clearance is sufficient for the regular city driving. I did get a chance to fully load my car once (with passengers and a bit of luggage) but I did not get out to see how much the rear end sags. Probably I will be able to highlight at some other time. That said, on the same occasion I drove the car around some potholed roads and also across railway crossings (where generally the roads are not well maintained) but did not feel the car's under belly was about to scrape.

Features:
The Delta variant has a long list of features in the car
1. All 4 power windows with auto up-down for the driver side window
2. Tilt steering
3. Steering mounted controls
4. In built music system
5. Auto folding/electric adjustment for ORVM
6. Rear de-fogger with wiper
7. Automatic climate control.
8. 60:40 split seats at the rear

Fuel Efficiency:
The reduced weight does make the car a little more fuel efficient. I have been driving in various conditions. Currently the MID shows an average of 15kmpl. This is with my regular drive which takes me through some of the most jam packed roads in Hyderabad and also some open stretches. This has been constantly increasing and I hope it ends up somewhere above the 16kmpl mark.

Safety:
Finally, coming to the aspect due to which this car was chosen. I believe that the car is as safe as the person who drives it. But just in case of an unfortunate event, the safety features are required in a car. I was glad that Maruti came forward and provided dual airbags, ABS with EBD and seat belts with pre-tensioners standard in the car. This along with the rear defogger and wiper has made this car a safe pick. Maruti claims to have put in high tensile strength material to give it a rigid structure. But cant comment on this unless the safety ratings are out in the open. There had been reports on the internet about the infamous Baleno crash in Jalandhar. This was during the waiting period and to be frank, I had my own thoughts running through my mind. Was I making the right choice? Should I wait for some more time and go for the Jazz SV? But finally I decided to stick with the Baleno. We do not know the cause of the accident and the various parameters that were involved during the crash. Any other car could have also met a similar fate. I had to go with my instincts and my instinct said that the car is as safe as I drive it.

I do not want to open a debate on this all over again (and neither did I open it on the earlier thread) but this was my experience. On a visit to the showroom, I heard the manager talking to one of the customers with respect to the crash of the Baleno. Just like any other buyer, this customer wanted to know if he was picking the right car and why this Baleno had such a horrific crash. The showroom manager had just one question to the customer, have you seen this report on any site (like regional news, daily news etc) other than automobile related sites. The store manager believed it could be done by someone to malign the company. Now, I do not want to believe in anything without getting any facts but this gave statement gave me something to think about.

After sales and Service Experience:
This is one area where Maruti is the king among all the other manufacturers. The wide network is always a helpful thing. A week before the first service was scheduled, I was called by the showroom and they asked me how many kms were completed on the car. They also mentioned when the service was due and asked if I needed to schedule a pick up from my home. They called me back once again a day before the service date and arranged for a driver who promptly reached home on time to pick up the vehicle. The general check-up was done at the service center and the car returned home at the time mentioned in the morning. The service adviser was also courteous to check if I had any problems with the car. There was a follow up call after the car was serviced to check about my satisfaction levels.

Accessories already purchased:
1. Car cover - purchased online (though this does not come with a different casing for the wing mirrors, I'm happy with the material)
2. 3D Mats - purchased from Paytm. I'm happy with the quality. It came in 3 pieces (one each for the front seats and a long one for the rear seat). They fit perfectly well and covered a lot of the mat.
3. Jopasu Duster - Must required considering that the car has a dark shade. Even if I leave it under a shade, it gathers dust very fast and I need to clean it before starting. The Jopasu duster is convenient to clean the car in a jiffy. So much so, that I have got 2 more for the other cars at home.
4. Micro Fibre Cloth- Purchased a set of 3 online. I use one of them for the dashboard, one for wet cleaning and the other for drying

Accessories planned to purchase:
1. Fog lamps - Will surely add to the exterior looks of the car
2. Chrome line running along the window line
3. Door guard with a chrome line
I'm sure with these three accessories, the car would definitely give an even better look when viewed side on
4. Leather seats.
5. Car care products - Shampoo, dashboard cleaning solution, glass cleaning solution
6. Armrest. Someone please produce one which can be fit in without any drilling!!

[farooq817]

Miscellaneous Points:

• Thanks to the official review at Team-BHP for the minute details that were highlighted.

• The width of the car takes some time getting used to. I have had a few instances while driving on a single track highway where I had second thoughts about the car being able to squeeze through or not.

• The wiper in front of the driver must be raised first while cleaning. If the other one is raised first, it cant be raised without bending.

• The car can ONLY be started with the clutch pressed. I didnt have the habit of starting this way unless the car was in gear. Though I'm getting used to it now, it becomes a little irritating sometimes. E.g., I'm at a signal with the car switched off in neutral gear. When I start again, I have revved the car thinking it was in the first gear.

• I need to see how the gear shift indicator works. There have been instances where the gear shift suggests me to down shift even though I know that the car would give a jerk if I changed the gear as per the recommendation.

• The USB and AUX ports should have been illuminated since they are kept pretty low in the car. Difficult to access without any lights in the area.

• The blue lit console looks amazing. And adds on to the beauty as night falls. I have a habit of turning off the engine at long signals. By looking at the console, I have forgotten to switch on the headlights a couple of time.

• The mute switch on the steering mounted control pauses the music when the source is either USB, Bluetooth or CD drive. Nice touch there.

• The volume settings for each source is different in the music system. If the volume is set at 15 for the USB and you switch to Bluetooth and change it to 20, revert back to USB and there would not be a sudden increase in the volume. Stays at the previous setting.

• The button to receive/make a call using the steering mounted control is a little more thicker than the other two buttons. Makes sure that you keep your eyes on the road and not look down if you need to take a call.

• There are a few options that can be customized on the MID. Like the option to press the unlock button twice to unlock the doors (this can be done for each door individually) etc.

• There is an empty slot in the boot where the higher end variants get a boot light. I'm sure a DIY can be easily done to get one fixed.

• The mirror glasses are thin and do not allow much protection from the harsh sun. I would suggest buyers to push their budget to the Zeta if it permits only for this one feature.

• The ORVM adjustment knob cannot be rotated in the center position. Good thing there. It is not the case with the Ertiga that I have driven a lot.

• Lot of parts sharing with other Maruti cars - Steering wheel, gear lever, music system, Glovebox, Interior lights, power window switches, ORVM adjustment switches. All these making sure that the cost of the car was kept below the competition.

• The left and right side auto folding mirrors do not fold at the same speed. You can hear one of them close after the other.

• The recommended air pressure in all the wheels is 29psi. I checked during the first fill up after the delivery, and it was around 42-44psi.

• Yes. The car is not a looker and it blends in the crowd. Agreed. But the first few days that the car made its way to my office, it was the center of attraction for everyone. On the first day there was so much crowd around the car that I could not even show it properly to my team members.

• Finally, I just hope some day Maruti provides those amazing looking projector headlamps with DRL as an official accessory to the Baleno.

A final picture before I close my first experiences with the car. The console looks awesome at night.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[C'estlavie]

Great review farooq817.

What has been your experience in terms of NVH levels over this time?

[Utopian]

Congrats farooq. I believe this is the first Baleno ownership report on the forum. The wheel caps are are quite similar in design to the alloys offered on the higher variants. The car's design gives an appearance of the width being even more on an already wide hatchback.

One query: Does the Alpha and Zeta variants have a different MID compared to the one offered in Delta?

And happy mile crunching with the Baleno.

[Kamal]

Excellent review, thanks.
Nice to read that it feels close to the Esteem in driving, which I love.
Anxiously waiting for my Delta (P).

[farooq817]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks GTO for making the thread live. Your review gave a lot of insight to the car.

Originally Posted by C'estlavie

What has been your experience in terms of NVH levels over this time?

The NVH levels are very good in the car. There have been a number of times that the engine just cannot be heard in the car. With the windows up, a lot of noise is left outside.

Originally Posted by Utopian

One query: Does the Alpha and Zeta variants have a different MID compared to the one offered in Delta?

Thanks for the comments. Yes, the Alpha and Zeta have the 4.2" TFT screen for the MID which is much more comprehensive.

Originally Posted by Kamal

Excellent review, thanks.
Nice to read that it feels close to the Esteem in driving, which I love.
Anxiously waiting for my Delta (P).

Thanks and yes, this car comes close to the Esteem. But cant beat it surely. In the Esteem, I would sit more closer to the ground and the legs also stretched at a bigger angle to the pedals. This is what I enjoyed in the Esteem's driving position.

[aravindkumarp]

Thanks for the excellent review farooq817.

Can you please share the details of where you purchased the car cover for your Baleno?

[manishkapadia]

Originally Posted by farooq817

Thanks and yes, this car comes close to the Esteem. But cant beat it surely. In the Esteem, I would sit more closer to the ground and the legs also stretched at a bigger angle to the pedals. This is what I enjoyed in the Esteem's driving position.

I think this is because the Delta Trim you have purchased does not have the height adjust seats, and the higher ones do have them. On the higher trims it would be possible to keep your seats even lower. Being a non adjust variant Maruti would have set this to middle level.

Were you able to compare this with the test cars. Keen to know your view on the same. I think you can also ask your service advisor if its possible to retro fit the seat height adjusting mechanism in Delta. People here at TBHP have done this on their base Swift models so this might be possible on the Baleno as well.

[CarMaster]

Congratulations Farooq on your new car. You have made an excellent choice among the options you considered. At that price point, Baleno makes the most value for money car. I wish you a long and trouble free ownership. Happy and safe driving