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2022 Maruti Baleno Zeta AMT: Delivery & initial impressions

28th June 2022, 15:29 by Ananth Iyer

The Baleno replaces our 8 year old and 1.13L kms run Figo TDCi as our daily driver.

BHPian mi2n recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have just had about 20 days with my Zeta AGS and all of 1400 kms on the ODO. This included a 600+ km small round-trip to a nearby tourist spot. Before i proceed to give my opinions on the car, please appreciate that I have never had any automatic cars before and neither have we had very quick/agile cars in our garage. I enjoy driving when I am not rushing.

Office commutes(city drives) - This is why the Baleno AGS has been purchased in the first place. A 60km daily commute in peak work hours amidst maddening and unruly traffic. So, ease of use, comfort and fuel economy were the only parameters considered. Infact, we upgraded our booking from an Ignis Alpha AGS. The Baleno replaces our 8 year old and 1.13L kms run Figo TDCi as our daily driver. The Figo has been designated to a more relaxed life now. During the wait from booking to delivery, my TUV300 was put to use for daily commutes. It is otherwise earmarked for our road-trips only.
Now, in a nutshell, the Baleno is sheer pleasure in city traffic. Yes, it is a bit slow to roll from a standstill compared to my torquey diesels, but for most of the commute the sheer ease and comfort it provides is nothing short of pampering. The cabin is well insulated and the car is extremely refined. With most of your work off-loaded to some electro-mechanical wizardry, which is not jerky at city speeds at all, I absolutely do not feel tired or irked at the day end now. The cabin also has this strange feel good factor to it. It is also returning in the range of 15-16 kmpl for city commutes which is as per my expectation from this bulky hatchback. The suspension is also superbly tuned. I call it the "comfortable yet not compromised" tune. My dad disagrees, he says our Etios sedan is more comfortable, the Baleno is a close second. As a fellow BHPian friend told me few months back, there is a learning curve for driving all types of automatics. I am getting a hang of it, quicker than I thought.

Highway and village roads - Honestly, I was not expecting much from the Baleno on the highways. But it has so far, far exceeded my expectations on most parameters. It is super stable in straight lines and you can actually chuck it once in a while onto the next lane. It won't complain or make you mumble to yourself - don't do it again. I drove mostly between 80-100 kmph on the toll roads and between 60-80 kmph on the State highways and village roads. At those speeds, you feel cocooned nicely and the brilliant suspension tune does not make you nervous for once.The only thing that would bother you would be the tyre noise seeping in the otherwise absolutely calm and quiet cabin. Braking is quick and precise. If you get bored and floor the A pedal, you are greeted with a throaty growl and 6k rpm up-shifts. In 3rd gear, 100 kmph comes up quite effortlessly. I wanted to hear the alarm buzzing for 120 kmph, so I floored it and got there in 3rd gear itself. Again, no drama getting there or stopping afterwards. I am yet to use the M mode.
But, in certain situations, like you change lanes to overtake a truck while in 5th gear at 70-80 kmph and tap the A pedal that little bit harder, the car shifts down to 4th and there is a momentary lull in delivery of power. Would get you to think, you could have completed the overtake without the downshift. This caused some discomfort for few times till I learnt to live with it or deal with it. Even at times, you are cruising at 70 kmph in 5th and going up a very slight incline the car would, for some reason which I am yet to figure out, shift a gear down.

That said, the shifts are actually smoother and quicker than many drivers I have come across. Off-course, it is noticeable for say 1st to 2nd and 5th to 4th. But unless you are keenly looking for it, you will miss most of the shifts, the passengers, even more so. Did I mention, the suspension is super silent?

Ok, next up. Ample ground clearance. Coming from the TUV, I started very apprehensively. Specially those lorry spec bumps on the village roads. No issues for the Baleno at all.

And if you want to leisurely cruise on the highways at 80-90 kmph all day, you will be greeted with magical figures of fuel consumption on the MID. BHPian Dip27in who accompanied us on the trip remarked - it is actually sucking fuel from cars around it.

Finally, yes, I do feel the Baleno is overpriced. But so are all cars these days. But it sure is a nice, comfortable and premium hatch to drive or be driven in.