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Maruti Baleno CNG: An owner's impressions after 7000 km & 4 months

Boot space is negligible with the CNG tank and space tier in place, so I have removed space tier and added an air pump for now as chances of puncture with new tiers is less.

BHPian sonmi-451 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a Baleno Zeta CNG, It has been foUr months and have driven close to 7,000 kms. Here are my observations about the Baleno:

  • I live in a 2nd tier city(Vijayawada) with moderate traffic but narrow roads for the most part. I have been getting 18-20 kms/kg of CNG within the city and 27-28 kms/kg on highway if I maintain the speed between 90 and 100 kms/hr.
  • Enough has been said about the Maruti's 1.2 Engine, I like it. It does a good job both in the city and on the highway. I noticed when RPMs fall below 900 when in second gear the engine doesn't respond quickly. I prefer a NA engine over a turbo as my usage is 70% city and 30% highway.
  • I like the brakes and suspension, I didn't have high hopes for the suspension but it has been a pleasant surprise.
  • Love the light clutch and excellent gearbox, it has helped me over some of the regret I had for not being able to buy an automatic.
  • Head lights are decent but I still added Aozoom HID fog lamps. Both combined give excellent illumination but try very hard not to blind oncoming traffic.
  • Space is excellent and seats are comfortable too, so far I only did one long trip between Vijayawada and Hyderabad and didn't find any issues with the seat cushion.
  • Boot space is negligible with the CNG tank and space tier in place, so I have removed space tier and added an air pump for now as chances of puncture with new tiers is less.

Coming to the issues I faced so far:

  • I kept the speeds below 80 kms/hr until the first service. Once it was completed I noticed wind noise like a slight whistle from front left passenger door when ever I crossed 80 kms/hr. Nexa service center kept the car for 4 days and finally resolved it but in the process they probably had to remove the door and all related parts, the door would require more force to shut it properly, this was also fixed at a later stage.
  • After crossing 5000 kms or so brakes started making screeching noise like a trains brakes would do, although noise is too high it is enough to irritate me. I have low tolerance levels for noises coming from my cars. Service center tried to fix this by cleaning the breaks but sound still exists. Will be going back to them again soon but I would like to know from BHP members if getting better break pads would fix it? If not please suggest a solution that has been proven to fix this.

I didn't come across many posts on Team-BHP related to Baleno CNG, may be I will start my ownership thread soon. Over all I am happy with the car, I do regret not going for Tiago EV sometimes when I have to pay for fuel or when I am stuck in traffic rowing the gear. I understand EV have their own set of draw backs, grass always seems greener on the other side I guess .

I tried registering on Team-BHP 7 or 8 years ago but was not successful. I was accepted a month ago, I was elated. I am excited to be posting for the first time. I have great respect towards this community. Looking forward to many more interactions.

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