[skanchan95]

"This looks like a Baleno Copy"
"When did Toyota start selling Baleno?"
"This is a Baleno, right?"
"Logo Job!!!!"
"Are you crazy to choose the Glanza over Baleno"?
"Toyota can't match Maruti in terms of service and resale value"
"Why? Just why?"
"Why not Altroz?"

These are a some of the comments I got to hear after we bought our Glanza home and I am sure many of the readers would have similar thoughts in their minds. So here's my review of our Glanza.

Likes:
* Easy driveability.
* Big and spacious hatchback
* Superb Engine
* Brilliant Fuel Efficiency.
* Being a rebadged Maruti, it would be relatively easy and niggle free to own.
* Loaded to the brim with Creature Comforts

Dislikes:
* Light Build Quality.
* Poor highway manners.
* Better built and equipped Altroz is cheaper.
* Receiving repetitive comments from friends/family/passersby comparing it to the Baleno.
* No serious attempt by Toyota to make it stand apart from the Baleno.

Specifications
Car : Toyota Glanza
Trim : V (MT)
Colour : Enticing Silver
Overall Dimnsions L/W/H(mm) : 3995/1745/1510
Engine : Four Cylinder, 16 Valve DOHC 1197cc K-series VVT BS6 (Petrol)
Fuel Tank Capacity : 37 Liters
Wheels/Tyres : 195/55 R16 Alloy
Max Power : 82bhp@6000rpm
Max Torque : 113Nm@4200rpm
Boot Space : 339 liters
Year of Manufacture : 2020 (January)
Dealership : United Toyota, Mangalore
Date of Delivery : February 07, 2020

Requirement:
A petrol hatchback(MT) that should be on par in terms of features and size with the car it was going to replace in our porch - a 2016 Figo 1.2 Titanium+ Petrol MT (Ownership review here:Storm Shadow: 2016 Ford Figo 1.2L Ti-VCT Titanium+. EDIT: Now Sold)


Why not Automatic
I wanted a Manual Transmission variant because the car was to be driven mainly in the city and for occasional highway drives. Mangalore does not have as much bumper to bumper traffic as say Bangalore or Mumbai. Also, apart from the higher cost factor, an AT cannot return the same FE figures as an MT. So, it did not make any sense for me to consider an AT.

Background:
We had sold our 2016 1.2 Petrol Figo Titanium+(MT) in April 2019 and I had been putting off the purchase of the replacement till BS6 car variants started rolling out. Started the hunt seriously around 2nd week of January 2020.

Similar Hatchbacks not considered/shortlisted:
1. Hyundai i20 & Grand i10 Nios - Over the years, I have always appreciated Advaith Hyundai, Mangalore's flawless service. They at many times, have gone out of their way, to see to it that issues in our previous and current (2014 Grand i10) Hyundais get resolved to my satisfaction. But that being said, I simply cannot stand the sight of those oversized grills in Hyundai's new models like the Nios, Venue, Aura, Verna etc. The current i20 is on it's way out and the new one is expected to have the same oversized grill. I feel Hyundai's signature oversized grill design is a bit over the top and it is simply not to my liking. I prefer simple looking designs. So out went Hyundai from the consideration list.

2. Honda Jazz - Had a bad experience with them while evaluating the Jazz back in 2016 with Peninsular Honda, Mangalore. Because of that experience, I did not consider the Jazz and just days later after I had shortlisted the cars, the dealership closed down. A new Honda dealership is rumoured to be coming up near Bunt's Hostel, Mangalore in the building that housed United Toyota's old dealership/workshop.

3. VW Polo - Did not consider it because of the 1.0 Petrol engine. The TSI was out of budget.

4. Ford Figo - Knowing how good the Figo is as a car, especially in its 3-cylinder 1.2 Dragon engine avatar (ours was the old and lethargic 4-cylinder 1.2 petrol engine), I was secretly and somewhat foolishly hoping for a BS6 Figo variant equipped with Sync3. But it became clear that Ford was instead looking at cutting features in the BS6 Figo variants. I absolutely loved the features and functionality that the Sync1 system in our Figo Titanium+ offered. It is sad that Ford removed Sync from the Figo triplets. I also had a fear in my mind that if Ford packed their bags in the near future and if I have to go to the local Mahindra workshop( based on the Ford-Mahindra alliance), it will only be the beginning of another nightmare. I have been witness to 2-3 very bad experiences that my father-in-law had in with the local Mahindra workshop in his Xylo. So out went Figo from the consideration list.

5. Ignis - Too small for our requirements.

Cars Shortlisted:
Based on the hatchback options remaining, I shortlisted the following cars(Petrol MT variant).
1. Tata Altroz
2. Maruti Suzuki Baleno
3. Toyota Glanza
4. Maruti Swift (Evaluated for the sake of it)

Toyota Glanza

Visited the United Toyota showroom in Padil, Mangalore on January 21, 2020 to have a look at the car. I was impressed by how roomy, airy and bright their showroom was. I was greeted by one of their sales officers - Mr. Shashank Shetty. He showed me the display car(a Maroon V AT) and explained the features. His politeness and knowledge about the car was definitely impressive. I was offered a TD and went on a TD in their immaculately maintained Maroon Glanza V MT.

The first thing that impressed me about the car was how smooth and quiet the engine was and how neatly it was pulling in higher gears at lower speeds and it showed no signs of stalling even when I slowed down. I was expecting better acceleration considering how light the Glanza/Baleno is, but it wasn't bad either. The rear seat legroom was just brilliant and in the rear seat, the cabin felt large, airy and bright. The only thing that disappointed me was the hopelessly useless front armrest. Based on my seating position, I could barely rest the edge of my elbow and the armrest at best, works only as a storage. Coming from the Figo, I felt the quality of plastics in the Glanza was on par or slightly better than the Figo.

After the TD, I was asked whether I wished to book the car on the spot and which variant and colour I would be interested in. I was interested in the V MT variant in either White or Silver shades. The other colors available were Maroon, Dark Grey and Dark Blue. With darker shades, the issue is that dust and scratches are easily visible. So I wanted to go for a light colour - White or Silver.

I wanted to see how the Silver shade looked on the Glanza so that should I select the Glanza, I have a better idea which color to go for from white and silver. He said both variant/colour combinations were in stock and immediately offered me to show both color examples. First impression was that the silver color shade was more greyish than the conventional silver. But it looked good on the car. However, white looked fantastic, especially with the green tinted UV cut glass of the V variant.

I said I will come back later with my wife and kids as I wanted them to be a part of the decision making process. I took the price list and the Brochure and was about to leave, when I noticed a familiar face in the showroom. It was Mr Melvin Fernandes, ex-sales Manager of a Hyundai showroom. He is now the General Manager(Sales) at United Toyota, Mangalore. It was he who had handed over the keys of our Grand i10 & i10 , back in 2014 & 2015 respectively. It was good to see a familiar face there.

United Toyota's TD Glanza. Photo Credits: Mr Shashank Shetty:


Maruti Baleno

I drove to Nexa, Kadri Road immediately thereafter to have a look at the Baleno as I wanted to see first hand any differences between the Glanza and the Baleno. Was met by Sales officer - Ms Shamiya Rameeza. She showed the display car and her politeness and knowledge about the car was equally impressive. The only difference between the Glanza and the Baleno, apart from the logos, was that the Glanza had an On/Off switch for the bootlight while the Baleno did not have that switch.

She told me that they had Baleno BS4 variants in stock and BS6 variants were in transit to their stockyard. They were offering Rs 25000 off on the BS4 variants but no discounts on the BS6 variants. I was offered a TD of the Petrol Baleno Alpha, which I took. Needless to say, the driving experience was similar to the Glanza. The TD Baleno however accelerated much better than the Glanza(probably because it was a BS4 variant?). I asked for a brochure and price list, which I was given.

Glanza v/s Baleno
The Glanza Petrol MT comes in two variants - G & V. The G variant is completely based on the Baleno 's Zeta Variant and the V on top end Alpha variant. No feature deletions/additions between the two cousins.
Variant to variant, the Glanza was turning out to be cheaper than the Baleno for the same set of features. As per the price list, the Glanza V MT OTR price was 9,69,175, while Baleno Alpha MT was Rs 9,79,775.

Toyota was offering 3 years standard warranty while Maruti was offering 2 years standard warranty. It may have been placebo effect, but I felt that the Glanza's interiors looked better put together than the Baleno's. I know it does not make sense, as they are essentially the same car, but this was my first impression immediately after the Baleno TD.

Maruti Swift

I wasn't really interested in the Swift but I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at the Swift,as I never had a chance to look at one closely. Drove to Bharath Arena, Kuntikana and had a look at the Swift. Frankly, it was disappointing. The rear seat felt cramped and dark - almost claustrophobic. Was offered a TD, but did not take it.The Swift was eliminated. In the hindsight, may be it wasn't fair and probably foolish on my part to compare the Swift with others as it is a segment below the other cars.

Tata Altroz

I have a 1:20 Tata Altroz scale model and had a fair idea how good the car looks but the actual 1:1 model was stunning to say the least.

The next day, on January 22,2020, I went to Auto Matrix, Mangalore. I was met by Sales Officer - Mr Clitus D'Souza. He showed me a Grey Altroz XZ that was on display in the showroom. I was more than impressed with the car's looks and the features it had. In person, the car was many times better than what I had expected. The driver seat was by far the most comfortable and supportive seat I had experienced in a car that I had sat in. The armrest was usable with its slide function.After looking the Baleno/Glanza's touchscreen, the Altroz's touchscreen felt smaller, but was very responsive,fast, feature rich and was a generation ahead of the Glanza. The rear seat was comfortable too and legroom was good too, but clearly the Glanza/Baleno had a brighter and bigger back seat and had more legroom. I was offered a TD of the Petrol variant. Clitus's politeness and knowledge about the car was very good and he was very keen and excited to demonstrate the car's features.

The TD Altroz was a top-spec XZ(O) petrol variant in Sparkling gold shade - the same shade as my Altroz scale model. Immediately upon engine start, I could make out that it was no where as refined as the Glanza/Baleno's engine. There were momentary vibrations felt in the cabin when revving up from idle, but the drive was pretty smooth. The speedometer could have been better designed and the Glanza's speedometer, inspite of it's age and its sore thumb MID adjustment knobs, looked much better. The A/C was effective but was loud and had this strange whirring/flapping noise, something which I had never noticed in any other car before(may have been some issue with the TD car in particular, but still I noted it down). As I drove the car further, the car's only weak link - it's engine, became glaringly evident. It simply lacked the pulling power. I had to downshift to 1st gear on a road incline on the same road where the Baleno pulled cleanly in the 3rd gear. But I did not particularly mind it, as our Figo too had the same issue. There was no jerkiness while shifting the gears or accelerating but the 3-cylinder vibrations were slightly evident( which was a disappointment considering it was a premium hatchback) .

I realize that Tata's 1.2 Revotron engine is a 3-cylinder engine, but then so is Ford's 1.2 Dragon engine. It is far more smooth, refined and responsive.

Clitus was very keen to show the automatic idling stop feature of the Altroz but it didn't seem to work as the fuel low was running low in fuel (low fuel light was on). After the TD and back in the showroom, Clitus asked me which variant I was looking at, to which I said the top-spec XZ(O). He said depending on the he colour I want, he can offer me the car from the stock which at that point of time was in transit o their stockyard, with delivery around Feb 1st week. I told him I was genuinely interested in the car and will be back with my wife and kids as they also wanted to have a look at the car before deciding. Went back home with the Brochure & price List.

Final Shortlist
On discussing with my wife, she said she was fine with whatever I decided. I felt that Maruti workshops tend to be more like a crowded fish market (no disrespect meant to the brand or the workshops)- crowded with cars and SAs are most of the time busy and waiting time is longer (I don't blame them, as they have huge number of cars coming in daily, it can be overwhelming). Besides that, My father-in-law's Ignis had a couple of issues with its clutch and steering, which the local Maruti workshop was struggling to resolve, till they decided to replace the steering rack. The clutch issue persists however inspite of paying for a new clutch plate at 21k kms!

Personally, I liked the look of the twin slatted grille of the Glanza over the "bird feather" grill of the Baleno. The Baleno's grill looks good too, but I liked the Glanza's grill better :


Also, having spoken to a couple of known people who own Innovas, they swore by United Toyota's service standards.

So, among the two cousins from Toyota & Suzuki, the Glanza was shortlisted and it was a straight shootout between the Altroz & Glanza.

Altroz v/s Glanza - Pros & Cons
Altroz
Pros - New Design & Fabulous design, great set of features, Cheaper of the two, clearly better built.
Cons- Weak Petrol engine, a new model hence issues *could* crop up, Pathetic Tata Customer Care(yes I call them pathetic because they were extremely poor in handling my Altroz scale model complaint. It only got resolved after I wrote a strongly worded letter to their HO in Mumbai with CC to their RO in Bangalore). The Customer Care had the gall to ask the Tata dealership to take a letter from me that the scale model was delivered to me and the complaint was resolved to my satisfaction, which was even more pathetic & foolish because the dealership was not even involved in the scale model complaint escalation at all!!!

Glanza
Pros- Superb engine, Proven, Reliable and popular model hence there would peace of mind during ownership.
Cons - Slightly outdated - especially in terms of features, Poor safety perception & record.

My heart was saying Altroz but the mind was saying Glanza. As some of you may know, I had a terrible initial ownership experience with our 2009 first gen i20 because of its dreaded steering rattle issue (which became even more worse because of an incompetent Hyundai workshop in Gujarat) - Report here :
Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta - A rattled up year of ownership (Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta - A rattled up year of ownership- UPDATE: rack replaced)

So I was a bit apprehensive about the Altroz purely because of any troublesome issues that could crop up later. I desperately did not want a potential repeat of the i20 episode. The thought was going around in my head, what if it became a case of Deja Vu in case I go for the Altroz? What if an issues crops up and I have to struggle with it like the i20's steering rattle issue?

I wasn't too impressed with Tata Customer Care either. Roundabout the same time, bhpian Trooper was going through a bad experience with the his Hexa that was stuck at Auto Matrix, Mangalore. Link to his thread here (Brand new Tata Hexa won't start! Lying at dealer since 9 days EDIT : Resolved.)

I wish to thank him for his very thoughtful and honest feedback about his experience with Tata. While he insisted that the Auto Matrix's workshop was extremely supportive and went out of their way to address the issue in his Hexa, looking at his experience dealing with Tata as a brand, wasn't particularly confidence inspiring. Don't get me wrong, it is great to see an Indian company coming out with great looking models in its lineup but poor customer support is not going to get Tata anywhere. I really wish that they work on improving it as other car brands offer a far superior Customer support experience. Even a company like Ford, which has given up operating as an independent entity in India, has a far more responsive customer Care.

After thinking about it a lot and despite the fact that I did not have a pleasant experience dealing with Tata Customer Care, I did not mind taking a chance with the Altroz (although the Glanza's refined engine, reliability and driveability was playing still on my mind strongly). The top end XZ(O) Altroz was a good Rs 25,000 odd cheaper than the Glanza V.

Seeing that Auto Matrix, Mangalore, as a Tata workshop was pretty supportive to Trooper, was also an encouraging factor. Another issue about the Altroz I was worried about was the piano black finish panels on the front, rear and door window edges. They look great but swirls and scratches forming on them over a period of time could get very ugly.

The elder of my twin two year old daughters is a big fan of the Altroz and daily wishes to see the Altroz scale model that I have, atleast twice in a day.

My wife and I decided that we would look at both the cars again and then make the final decision. Little did I know at that time that external factors would play a big role in making the decision finally.

Decision Time
On January 27, 2020, I drove my wife and daughters to Auto Matrix, Mangalore first. After looking at the Altroz , my wife was impressed, so was my elder daughter, who could not hide her happiness on seeing the real life model of the Altroz, started exclaiming "Altos, Altos" in joy. The decision on our next car purchase was 95% made then and there, just by looking at the excitement written all over the faces of our daughters.

But then came the spoiler. I was informed that Clitus was not there but his team leader met me. His tone was completely different and inconsistent. First he said he can deliver the car in 20-25 days of booking, then said it will take 20-25 days for car allotment by Tata after the booking amount is paid and then delivery time will depend upon dispatch from factory. I could clearly see the disappointment in my wife's face as we wished to have the car immediately.All that talk of immediate delivery vanished in thin air. Clearly disappointed and somewhat angry, I said I will come back to pay the booking amount. The guy did not even bother asking who I was or bothered to take my number!!!! I thought - Great- These guys probably expect the Altroz to be a hit(rightly so because it is a great car) but the arrogance is going into their heads!!!

From there, we drove to United Toyota which is about 20 mins drive from Auto Matrix.

On the way , I was discussing with my wife that I felt the Tata showroom fellows are not so keen or enthusiastic about selling car. I was upset because I sensed this was the same game that Maruti dealerships used to play when the first gen Swift was in great demand. Get bookings in hand and then play with the delivery schedules of the cars in the stockyard depending on the type of customer in hand!!!

On reaching United Toyota, Shashank was there to greet us. The display car was to shown to us. My wife made a passing comment on how enthusiastic the Toyota guy(Shashank) seemed to be. I was also voluntarily shown the workshop and the way the service appointment/reception at their workshop worked, including their 60-minute service option.

We decided then and there that the Glanza made more sense and to go ahead and book the car by paying the booking amount. As Shashank went to get the booking and other formalities ready, my wife told me that one of her college batchmates - Mr. Vishpal Menda, worked at this dealership. Upon enquiring, it turned out that he is the Sales Manager. He came to meet us and told him that we were booking the Glanza. By this time, Shashank was back and he asked which colour I would be interested in. I told him either White or Silver in V MT trim -First preference to White. He said the white one in stock was booked already for someone else but the Silver one was in stock. If I really wanted a white one, we will have to wait for 15-20 days. Had liked the silver colour as well, so we decided to book the Silver coloured Glanza V MT. No discounts were offered, but Shashank said he will try for some discount on the accessory package and that If the delivery is taken/car got billed on or before Jan 31st, they have an offer on 1 gm gold coin. I also opted for 2 years additional extended warranty for extra peace of mind.

Why V over G?
As mentioned earlier, the Glanza comes in two variants in the MT avatar - lower "G" & Higher "V" variant. The following features were additional in the V variant over G variant.
* Leather wrapped steering wheel
* Lamp in both sunvisors
* DRLs in the headlamp cluster(the G has a Light guide in its place)
* LED "light guide" in the Tail lamp cluster
* UV protect glass
* Reverse Parking Camera
* Auto headlamps
* Follow me function for the headlamps (can be set using settings in the MID)

I could have saved some money by going for the G variant. But the factory fitted reverse Camera and UV Protect Glass on the V variant were too good to pass over. Other features were great to have but were not so important to me. Besides that, when the time eventually comes to sell the car - a higher spec variant is slightly more easier to sell than a lower variant. That is something I learnt over the years. The first thing potential buyers ask is "Is it the top variant?" So I chose to go for the top end V variant.

Couple of days later, Clitus from Auto Matrix called me to ask - Sir what happened about your Altroz booking? I told him that his TL was asking me to wait 20-25 days just for the allotment after paying the booking amount and God knows how long after that for delivery. I had even taken delivery an Altroz scale model (from their dealership) and was really interested in the top end petrol XZ(O) variant but could not wait for that long, as they initially had committed to me for delivery around Feb 1st week.

To which, he replied - No no, we can deliver immediately from the existing stock which has arrived, you just let me know the colour you wish to have. I said - nothing doing as I cannot back out from the booking commitment to United Toyota and the loan application had already been forwarded to the Bank HO for approval. I had brought my wife and two kids along to see the car. Like me, they too were impressed with the Altroz but hearing about that big a waiting period after initially being promised immediate(almost) delivery was a huge disappointment. After seeing the Glanza, they were happy with it and United Toyota promised immediate delivery after payment, so I went ahead and booked it. I said sorry, cannot cancel the Glanza now.

The thing that impressed me about Clitus was his reply thereafter. He said - OK sir, Wish you the best. If you have any references for the Altroz, please do let us know.

Their showroom was launching the Altroz in a small ceremony couple of days later and he sent me the invite requesting me come with my family. I did attend the ceremony, whose chief guest was the local MLA - who kept people waiting and came almost an hour late!!!

Meanwhile, the loan for the Glanza was processed just in time on January 31st for the Gold Coin offer and the car was billed on January 31st, 2020.

As the car was meant to be a surprise for our extended family and as my dad was away till Feb 7th, we postponed the delivery for February 7th,2020 for which United Toyota obliged.

In the meantime, as a discount, United Toyota offered free under chassis coating (Diamondbrite brand) with 5 years warranty which I was more than happy to accept.

OTR Price, Mangalore - Glanza V MT:
Ex-showroom price - Rs 7,68,100/-
Insurance - 3 yrs (Nil Dep from Iffco Tokio - Toyota Protect) - Rs 60,578/-
Registration + Road Tax - Rs 1,19,365/-
Registration Charges - Rs 3,483/-
Essential Kit * - Rs 6,650/-
Extended Warranty(4th & 5th year/1,00,000 kms) - Rs 10,999/-(Standard Warranty of 3 years/1,00,000 kms)
Total - Rs 9,69,175/-

Additional Discounts:
Corporate discount : Rs 5,000

Freebies given:
- Underchassis coating(5 years warranty)

* Essential Kit Package:
- Cabin Mats
- 3D Boot mat
- Car Perfume
- Idol
- Mud Flaps - oddly, the rear mud flaps do not fit properly, leaving a gap between the bumper & the mud flap for dust and water to go through.

Extra OEM Accessories Bought (not part of the Essential Kit Package)
- Lower Chrome strip for the hatch door
- Door Sill guards
- Seat Cover
- Body Cover (It has scoops for the wing mirrors and the antenna. The disappointing part is that it is an extremely tight fitting cover, which means the lower part of the bumper (which has sharp protrusions) does not get covered. Chances are that the cover is for the pre-facelift Baleno which MSIL simply did not re-design to the facelifted Baleno front bumper specs (the front bumper of the Glanza and facelifted Baleno is quite different from the pre-facelift Baleno. Photo of the misfiting body cover later in the report).

The Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, after which I named our Glanza


My Thoughts about the car - Two months later(at the time of writing the review)
A couple of months on since the purchase, I have no regrets that I chose the Glanza over Altroz. I feel the Glanza offers a better driving experience over the Altroz. The Altroz is feature rich, but not really sure how many of those features would I use daily during my drives. I think I can have peaceful and stress free ownership of the car in the coming years.

[skanchan95]

------------------------------
D-day - February 07, 2020
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The car allotted to us was a January 2020 manufactured example and I had insisted at the time of booking the car that the car should be delivered in the 1st week of February, as we had to complete the loan formalities.

The car during PDI on January 30, 2020. The car ticked all boxes of the Team-bhp checklist. Mileage reading on the car was 8.2 kms. The impressive thing about United Toyota's facility is that their stockyard is on the roof of the building and has a covered roof for the entire area, which means none of the cars in their stock are left to face the harsh sun and other elements.





The delivery was fixed for the evening on February 7th at around 6:30 PM.

United Toyota's showroom in Padil,Mangalore:


The delivery ceremony was pretty decent.Everything went on smoothly and Shashank made sure that all documentation was spot on. We didn't have to wait for anything. Temporary Registration Number plates were fixed on the car.

The car ready for delivery:




Shashank is the one in Blue shirt on the extreme left. On his left is Mr Avinash Shetty, Team Manager. Mr Vishpal Menda, the Sales Manager handing over the key to my dad. The guy in the light orange T-shirt is yours truly.






Permanent Registration
I was informed by the dealership that I needed to drive the car to RTO, Mangalore on February 13, 2020 for inspection and completion of permanent registration formalities. Drove to the RTO that day and United Toyota's representative was there to help with the formalities. He etched the VIN on a piece of paper. The RTO inspector inspected the VIN, Engine No. and the formalities were completed.

A couple of days later(February 15 ,2020), I received an SMS confirming the car's permanent registration number. The RTO issued HSRPs for the car were sent to the dealership directly, where it was to be fitted by them and photographs were to be sent to the RTO for issuance the RC card. One February 27, 2020, I was informed that the HSRPs had arrived at the dealership. On the next day( February 28, 2020), I drove the car to the dealership for the fitment/drilling of the HSRPs on the car. An additional sticker from the RTO was stuck on the windshield.







The RC card arrived on March 20, 2020 by Registered Post.

[skanchan95]

Initial Driving Impressions
Like the Baleno, the Glanza is powered by a 1.2 litre K-series engine from Suzuki that has been updated to BS6 standards.

The engine feels peppy, refined and good for city driving. As mentioned earlier, the car pulls well in higher gears at lower speeds and shows no signs of stalling doing so, which is a boon in the city. The Suzuki K12 engine feels much smoother and quieter compared to Hyundai's 1.2 Kappa VTVT that powers our Grand i10. The gearbox is slightly notchy and nice to use as well. Clutch feels very light to use and the brakes work well. But if you rely on engine braking to slow down, be careful. Because of the lower weight, the car loses speed much slower than similar cars if you step off the gas and use engine braking. I almost learnt it the hard way once and had to brake hard once to avoid hitting the car in front.

The car weighs just 890 kgs and needless to say, because of the light weight, the FE figures have been extremely good and much better than I expected. But that light weight and build quality is also the car's Achilles heel. The car is much maligned for its build quality and poor safety ratings. It is certainly not the car to set high speed records in. I am a very light footed driver and do not drive the car above 80-90kmph. But on rare occasion or two, where I took it to 105-110 kmph on the highway, it did not inspire the same confidence I had with the Figo to push it further or maintain those speeds. The Figo felt planted at higher speeds but the Glanza felt a bit nervous at higher speeds.

But that being said, No car is "safe" if you drive irresponsibly or at insane speeds on our roads. One must not blindly believe in a car's build quality & higher crash ratings and therefore drive rashly or carelessly thinking they are safely cocooned in the car and nothing will happen to the car and its occupants in an unfortunate accident. I am not defending the light build quality of the Glanza/ Baleno and do not mean to say that we don't need any safety or crash test ratings. All I'm saying is that even a Rs 50 lakh car that has superior build quality and safety features won't save you if you try to satisfy your thrill or ego on the road.

The car is best driven and enjoyed at speeds around 80-90 kmph and you get optimal FE figures at those speeds, which in case of the Glanza/Baleno increases quite a bit compared to other cars.

The ride is quite comfortable and the car does a decent job of gliding over small potholes and undulations on the road.



The insulation sheet. Unlike the Figo which had its windshield washer spray ports sticking out on the bonnet, the Glanza has them neatly hidden and integrated under the wipers.


The Average FE has most of the times been above 17 kmpl with A/C on all the time - a mix of 60% highway driving & 40% city driving and extremely light footed driving upto a max of 85-90 kmph. The FE increases dramatically on the highway. Coasting on Idle helps as well. Thanks to the light weight, the car at times is able to maintain speeds at idle RPM in higher gears.



Interiors
The Cabin. The car comes with all black interiors(with dark blue fabric inserts on the doors)and that monotony is broken by the silver buttons and background of the A/C unit. Coming from the Figo, I felt the plastics used in the cabin is on par or slightly better than the Figo. But nowhere as good as Hyundai. I expect minor rattles to crop up soon. Inside the cabin, it is very quiet but the outside noise insulation is pretty bad. The outside noise feels very prominent and filters into the cabin very easily. On the safety front, the car is equipped with ABS,EBD, Brake Assist and two front airbags as standard (our Figo Titanium+ had six airbags). The doors lock automatically at 15 km/h. The door lock settings can be changed in the settings available in the MID.


The steering wheel is telescopically & tilt adjustable. I was somewhat disappointed with the positioning of the Call and Voice command buttons. I liked the simple way in which the steering mounted controls were implemented in the Figo. The steering wheel is leather wrapped. I chose to install steering wheel cover as my palms are quite sweaty and can easily damage the steering wheel leather in the long run.
The EPS is very light and is a joy to use in the city and while maneuvering the car into tight parking spaces. It expectedly becomes heavy as the speed increases.




Automatic Climate Control A/C console. The A/C is quite effective but nowhere as powerful as the Figo's A/C.


Front cabin light that has individual lights for the driver & passenger


The central dome lamp


Both sunvisors have mirrors & a lamp that switches on when you open the mirror flap


Front Seats- The are quite comfortable but the headrests are needlessly oversized. Underthigh support is quite good. The driver's seat is height adjustable. Notice how small the armrest is - almost unusable! Seat Covers are OEM, fitted at the dealership before delivery. The seatbelts are height adjustable too. Both front seats have weight sensors to check if they are occupied. The car is equipped with seatbelt warning buzzers and a warning is also displayed on the infotainment system screen in case either or both front seats are occupied and seatbelts not fastened.





The useless front armrest up close. The Altroz has a far better and functional armrest with its slide function. Wish Maruti had done the same on their armrest.


Armrest Open:


Underneath the armrest, there is a mobile charging port for rear passengers and space to keep the mobile


Rear Seats. They split down in 60:40 ratio. The seat is very comfortable and three adults can sit quite comfortably. The Altroz had an armrest for the rear seat but the seat isn't as wide as the Glanza's. Legroom in the Glanza is probably the best in class.


Adjustable headrests in the rear seat


The Auto-dimming IRVM. Call me old fashioned but I prefer the manual day/night mirror. At times, this auto-dimming IRVM can take a 4 to 5 seconds to dim the high beam glare at night , which I found annoying. No such issues in the manual day/night mirror for obvious reasons.


Push Button Engine On/Off. Like other cars equipped with this feature, the clutch needs to be pressed to start the engine with push button start.


The door sill guard(fitted as an accessory for all four doors)


Power window/mirror control panel on the driver side. The driver window has one touch Auto Up/Down feature. The wing mirrors are electrically adjustable & foldable(the mirrors also automatically fold when the car is locked & automatically unfold when the ignition is set to ACC mode - sort of Goodbye/Welcome function). I find it to be a sad trend in the segment that the power window switches are not illuminated. Our 2009 i20 had illuminated power window switches on each door.



Massive Boot - 339 litres. Because of the tall bumper, loading & unloading baggage can be a pain.


The boot has a light that has an on/off switch. When kept in the On position, the light switches off automatically when the boot is closed, which makes you wonder why did they provide the on/off switch in the first place!!!


The 3D boot mat. Small amount of space is lost of the mat sidewalls.


The hatch door gets a separate keyless unlock switch(the square button). Neatly designed grab handle to pull the door down.


Illuminated Glovebox


Footwell lights for the front - driver & passenger. By default they switch on when the front doors are opened. This can be changed in the settings on the MID


The steering mounted controls, A/C controls are backlit in Redish Orange and footwell lights are also in the same colour.


Usable foot rest

[skanchan95]

7" Smart Playcast Infotainment System
Again, the system is the same as the Baleno. The Toyota logo on startup is the only thing that differentiates the systems between Glanza & Baleno.



Apart from FM/AM, USB, Aux, the system Supports Android Auto & Apple Carplay. Android Auto connection is through USB cable attached to the USB port(which means if you use USB stick for music, you have to remove it to the connect the mobile phone). I am no audiophile and I find the sound quality to be pretty decent and apart from the door mounted speakers, the car is equipped with a tweeter on each front door.


Android Auto UI. I use Rocket Player as the default Music app.Voice Commands for Audio/Telephony only works through Google Assistant/Android Auto on the mobile phone when the mobile is connected through an USB cable. The Figo's Sync1 had voice commands for audio & telephony that worked through Bluetooth.

The system works well for the audio & telephony controls and does not require me to say the audio/telephony commands in an artificial American accent like I had to for the Figo's Sync1 system. Navigation is through Google maps on the phone.




If the mp3 track has Album art, the system displays the Album art as well




The in-system music player(for playing tracks through USB/Bluetooth - supports album art as well)


Reverse Camera display is very crisp and clear. There is no lag or pause in the video feed.


To be honest, I liked the way Voice commands worked on Sync with the Figo. It was nothing fancy and if you ignore the need for accented voice commands, it was rather simple and easy to use via Bluetooth. In SYnc, the system had access to and could read SMSes on the mobile phone. No such feature on the Glanza. Voice commands on the Glanza only works only if you connect your phone via USB cable to the system.

The gearbox is smooth to use and notchy like the Swift


The USB, Aux & Charging Ports:


Tweeter


There is a small storage under the headlamp levelling switch


A/C vents. The corner ones can be sealed shut


While the middle A/C vents on either side of the infotainment system can't be.


The Headlamp stalk. When set in the 'Auto' mode, the headlamps switch on automatically in low light conditions or in the dark.


Wiper stalk. Unlike the Figo, there is no five speed intermittent wiper wash interval setting


Speedometer. The ugly MID adjustment stalks shooting out of the speedometer look very ugly. The right stalk is for switching between various displays on the MID & for changing system settings. The left stalk is for Trip meter reset.


MID displays on the speedometer. You can cycle through them pressing the right stalk on the speedometer


In case any door is open or not closed properly, the Glanza graphic on MID shows which door is open. The colour of the Glanza can be also personalized using the MID settings.


The settings on the MID can be accessed by pressing the right stalk on the speedometer for 5-10 seconds. It brings up these settings:

[skanchan95]

Exteriors
I have always believed that from font on, the Baleno was a redesigned first gen Swift.The design of the headlamp is similar and it feels as if the Swift's face was stretched sideways to transform it into a Baleno.

I like the looks of the car from all angles.I wish however though that the tail lamp was better designed. As mentioned earlier in the thread, I liked the twin slatted grill of the Glanza and find it classy.

Like all light shades, this silver shade does a great job of hiding dust and probably light scratches as well.

Ground Clearance is quite good and I haven't scraped any speedbreaker so far.

The external features that distinguishes a Glanza from a Baleno - the grill and Toyota, Glanza & G/V variant logos.





The wing mirrors automatically fold in on locking the car with the key and automatically fold out once the ignition is set to ACC mode.



The creases around the fog lamp housing in the bumper adds a bit of muscle to the looks


The UV cut glass does help in restricting the heat buildup in the cabin. The presence of the rear quarter glass helps in making the rear cabin bright and adds to the airy feel in the cabin.


The nicely designed spoiler has a neatly integrated HMSL




Unlike the Baleno, the Glanza gets a variant decal on the boot (G/V). The Baleno does not get an Alpha, Zeta, Delta or Sigma logos . The lower chrome strip is an accessory. Thankfully they used Toyota's font for the Glanza decal.


The 16" Alloys. While they do look good, they can be a maintenance nightmare in the long run. Simple and plain silver paint finish alloys ar easier to maintain and repair(repaint) in case of scratches or nicks. Not sure if scratches on the machine finished part of the alloy can be repaired.


195/55 R16 Apollo Alnac 4G Tyres. The spare tyre is 185/65 R15 Steel wheel.


The rear camera integrated on the factory fitted chrome strip. The camera offers a wide angle of view. The car also comes with four parking sensors on the rear bumper that has a display in the MID and audio warning.


Rear parking sensor display on the MID


The front grill


Headlamp Cluster with Projectors. The chrome line of the grill continues seamlessly on the headlamp cluster.




DRL switches on automatically with the engine






Headlamp on. The headlamp illuminates the road well, much better than the Figo anyway.


Headlamp & Fog lamp on


The wing mirror and its indicator. The mirror is similar in shape and size to the ones used in the Ignis and it should have been wider for the Baleno/Glanza. The Grand i10 has a better and wider mirror


Tailight Cluster. No rear fog lamps. THe lowest section is probably a dummy.


LED "light guide" in the Tail lamp cluster:




All four door handles are chrome. The door lock/unlock request button are on both front doors. The boot has a separate request button, as shown in the post above.


Smart Keys (with a Baleno rubber key cover bought from Amazon.in). The Baleno has the same set of smart keys but with a Suzuki logo:


Car Manual & complimentary Manual/Documents folder from United Toyota, Mangalore

[skanchan95]

--------------
First Service
--------------
The first service interval was 1 month/1000 kms and the service due date was on March 01, 2020( as the car was billed on January 31, 2020).

Booked a service for March 02, 2020 on the previous day. But I had to postpone it for March 03, 2020 for some reason. On reporting to the workshop on that day, I was met by their SA - Mr Rakshith Shetty. He said as it was first the service, there will be no oil or part replacements. A checkup will be performed, the car washed and will be handed back over.

He asked me if I had any issues to report. There were no issues, but I asked him to update the car's registration number in their system and my e-mail address(which had a spelling mistake)

Almost an hour after the car was taken inside their workshop, the car was brought back out with the first service complete. 2nd service is due at 6 months/5000 kms.

---------------------------
Paint Protection Coating
---------------------------
I left the car at Sanjay Shet's Pitzstop Carz Spa, Mangalore for Paint Protection Coating on the same day. As usual, the work done by them was perfect and the pictures of the car in the "Exteriors" post confirm that. Pitzstop Carz Spa is probably Mangalore's best car restoration and detailing facility.

To me, such paint protective coating helps in minimising swirl marks & light scratches and helps in maintaining the car's paint finish in the long run and I get the coating done without fail on our cars. As examples, our i20 was five and a half years old and Figo was three years old when we sold them. I had got paint protection/enhancement coating done on both cars and both cars had almost nil or barely noticeable swirl marks and the photos were taken on the day I bid farewell to them.







The Car Cover issue
Notice how the cover does not fully cover the front bumper as pointed out earlier in the thread. If you try to pull the down from the left side of the bumper to fully cover the bumper, the lower right side of the bumper stands exposed and vice versa. So the cover, despite being OEM, isn't a perfect fit.



Like almost all cars in the country today, the Super Hornet too is Parked for Safety. The whole world is going through strange, tough & trying times and hopefully, we will emerge on the other side stronger. There will be better days soon where we get back to our normal lives again, get to enjoy the feel of driving a car on the roads again, free from the fear of the unseen enemy.

Till then, thank you for taking the time to read the review. Please be careful, exercise all possible precautions and take care of yourself and your families.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[TheHelix0202]

Crisp and nice review. You pointed out both the positives and the negatives quite well! I personally think the Toyota badge suits this car better.

Even the media people who first test drove the Altroz way back, complained about the slightly unrefined engine. Apparently TATA haven’t tweaked it yet.

When we test drove the Tiago petrol a couple of years back it was the same case. I couldn’t for the life of me imagine who would buy that noisy and strained engine over better alternatives. Heck, our 1.1 irde i10 was waaaay smoother! (I’ve not been in a JTP though, so wouldn’t know much about its NVH).

[Reinhard]

Congratulations skanchan95 on the new acquisition - a Super Hornet! Wish you unlimited safe & happy miles with the Glanza! (Loved the scale model too! We often interact on the naval/air force threads so that model isn't a surprise at all. )

Wonderful detailed review there. Enjoyed reading every bit of it. Thanks! The moment one has engine smoothness, refinement & power to weight ratio with a petrol engine (i.e. the feeling of a fast car off the line), Tata cars (Altroz in your case) go out of the list pretty much immediately. They just cant match the Suzuki K12 with their current 3 cylinder engine in refinement and silence. The power/torque numbers are not bad but the cars running them are far heavier than the Suzuki ones & that immediately reflects in the slow feeling and lack of power in the car. If I were shopping for a petrol car, I'd also have picked something else over Tata mostly. But then I'm an oil burner, so rarely face this question.

And the Altroz scale model incident . We both had the exact same experience in buying that fairly costly thing! We both selected the same colour, got the wrong one & needed to remind the Tata customer care for a month to get it post payment. I still have our message correspondence as something to smirk about later.

I'm sure you'll keep the thread updated regularly! Stay safe at home.

[chiranjitp]

Nice review & congratulations on the Glanza . The Glanza (or Baleno) is a car that one can't go wrong with. It has got the looks, interior space is good, engine is a gem, good resale value. Only slight issue with the Glanza is the light build quality, but then that's how it is in most Marutis. I recently took a TD of both the Glanza & Baleno (Baleno was the RS variant). The K12M is a gem of a motor, it is equally competent at both low & high revs, I had good fun redlining the engine. The driving position was good except for one slight issue, the driver seat is placed a bit too forward for my liking, the IRVM comes in my line of sight during driving. I found this a bit irritating, maybe it's because the front dashboard isn't very long & hence the front seats are placed a bit too forward.

Your car is a Toyota & will be serviced by Toyota. It will be interesting to see how the service costs will be w.r.t Maruti Baleno. I am sure the engine oil & filters will be same, & these will cost same. But the labor cost might vary between Toyota & Maruti. I hope you will be updating this thread with the service costs.

[alstonlobo]

Excellent well detailed review and a well deserved congratulations!! From a fellow Mangalorean i hope you remember our last interaction on the Sticker spotting thread post # (Team-BHP Stickers are here! Post sightings & pics of them on your car)12399


If I was in your place, I would take Toyota any day over a Maruti for obvious reasons!


I wish you countless miles of safe and hassle free driving! Hope to meet you the next time I am in town!

[ChiragM]

Nice review of the Glanza skanchan95. Congrats on the car. It was interesting to read why you chose the Glanza over the Baleno. Do keep us updated about the service costs as well. Toyota's customer service experience maybe the key in selling in Maruti-badged cars. That may attract more customers from Maruti. Wish Toyota had added some more features, other than just an on/off switch for the boot light.

Being a Toyota customer, you would be interested in this thread showing the behind the scenes of their customer service initiatives.

[07CR]

Congratulations on the new Glanza! Nice and detailed initial review as well.

Question- How does Toyota manage to undercut Maruti, with the Glanza? I used to believe Glanza being based on Baleno, Toyota would have to pay some sort of royalty to Maruti? Can someone please explain how this business model works for Toyota?

[TROOPER]

Many congratulations on your new ride skanchan95! I remember our conversations from back in January and feel good to have contributed to your car purchase decision. Wish you countless happy miles with the Glanza.

Having owned the 1st gen Dzire with that beauty of a petrol engine, your ownership thread makes me nostalgic of those good old refined, vibration and niggle free days. Any Tata is rightly opposite With 9 years of ownership, the Dzire never failed to start or gave up.

Your choice of car is accurate wrt your requirement. Mangalore is one of the best places to drive around and an AT car is not needed. Plus you get bulletproof reliability, one of the best customer support around and that gem of a 4 pot Suzuki petrol motor with fine refinement and efficiency.

The Altroz review is live and along with that Tata need to read your ownership thread too, and realize how they keep goofing up.

[AlphaKilo]

Congrats SKanchan sir. I hope the Super Hornet remains in your garage and doesn't make into IAF/IN inventory too.

When I was looking for a car for my parents, I too had a very similar experience with Lanson Toyota, chennai. They came out more professional and customer friendly than TATA. That was the time when the glanza was getting launched and they were updating me with the news almost on a daily basis. From my BIL, who had owned an Etios and currently the Innova (prev. gen before crysta) and from my personal experience with both those cars, I am sure the Glanza will have a long, trouble free life with you.

Happy Miles.