The Baleno is based on a European hatchback, this time a car that was introduced in 1995. The original Baleno looked even more forgettable than this one, and the large, rounded headlamps and mildly revised grille have at least ensured you’ll find it again in the car park. The rear is still as dull as sliced bread though, with its flat, uninteresting surface and eminently boring tail lamps.

 

India’s foremost budget-car maker burned its fingers when it ventured into the premium midsize market, and the Baleno did very poorly in the market, a victim of Maruti’s grassroots image and its own poor looks. Baleno offered with two variants VXi and Lxi with Bharat III.

 

Maruti has performed some mild touch-up jobs, with a new grille and nice alloys, but something much more drastic is needed if the Baleno’s looks are to match its talent.

 

The Baleno uses MacPherson struts in front and a smart four-link set-up at the rear, and there is little extraordinary about the car’s design; the lack of ABS, airbags or any other safety equipment is quite regrettable.

 

The interiors too are quite ordinary, and very plasticky. It style is look little poor. It’s very spacious and functional though, with good width and lots of cubby-holes. The seats offer superb under-thigh support, but a lack of headroom marks down comfort at the rear.

 

Maruti has spruced up the cabin with aluminium-look trim on the centre console, white dials and a new steering wheel, but plastic quality is some way behind the rest, and some controls, like the slider switches for the air-con, look pretty down-market for such a car. Build quality inside is typically Japanese and light.  

 

The Baleno comes with a single 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, with 94bhp and 13.4kgm of torque, and only a five-speed manual gearbox. These figures are impressive not only on paper, as we found out, but even more convincing on the road. Using a redline of 6600rpm, the Baleno recorded a 0-100 time of 11.13 seconds and on the high-speed track we touched 175kph. It could have gone more but we gave up before the car did. We estimate the Baleno to have a top speed of 180kph.

 

 

The gearbox, although direct, feels somewhat rubbery and unsporting. The Baleno is the most fuel-efficient in the class, with 9.7kpl in the city and 15kpl on the highway. The Baleno’s suspension has been stiffly set-up, but Maruti has still coaxed out a very good ride from it. The high-profile tyres and well-chosen damper settings ensure the Baleno rides comfortably and quietly over poor roads. The problem area is grip. Maruti has shod the Baleno with tall but skinny 165/80 tyres on 13-inch rims, which, with their narrow contact patch and high sidewalls give up very quickly in the middle of a corner — shame given the car’s abilities.

 

The Baleno suffers from image and a distinctly bland character, but apart from that, this is an excellent all-rounder, with lots of space and performance, and good dynamics and fuel economy as well. The styling is unenthusiastic, the interior is comfortable but cheap looking, and Maruti’s image doesn’t cut it in the executive car market, but the Baleno is a very practical buy.

Filed under: Maruti Cars in India