When Maruti launched its first (so called) luxury car in the Indian market around 5 years ago, a lot of eyebrows were raised. Basically it was the first attempt from the manufacturer ALWAYS renowned for small cars. Let’s see how the Baleno fares against its competitors in its price range (5.5 lakhs-7.5 lakhs):Looks and Interiors:Baleno is one of the earliest C segment cars launched in the Indian market. Unfortunately, it has started to show its age. The shape looks dated and boxy. More like a 3-boxes put together on four wheels, especially when compared to the better looking Chevy Optra, Ford Ikon, Fiat Petra and Ford Fusion.Interiors were conservative when the car was launched. No wonder that it induces sleep today. Some clever touches like electric windows, power steering, good seats and a cozy air con are its saving grace; however it still arises the question on whether to compare cars on these features. With the stiff competition in the C-segment, these features are more like ’’standard features’’ for any car than ’’accessories’’ on top-end models. Though in a few feature the car still outclasses most other C-segement cars. The air-con is fully electronic, and has lots of adjustments available (all electric). It is quite efficient and does not put load on the car’s overall performance. The mirrors too are electric (rare feature in this segment).Engine and Performance:The car has a 1.6 litre 92 bhp Engine. It might seem a little underpowered when compared to Chevy Optra, Accent GTX Tornado or Fiat Petra 1.6 (all with more powerful and advanced twin-cam engines). But make no mistake, this is a SUZUKI engine powered car afterall renowned for their Free Revving and zippy engines. The weight too being less than 1 tonne gives the Baleno significant advantage over the other cars. Performance is superb with 0-100 coming in less than 11 seconds (great for a car this big). The engine is extremely torquey with a nearly flat torque curve. This helps ease the city driving with very less gearshifting hassles required. The gearbox is silky smooth, probably one of the best you can find in any C-segment car (except maybe the new Honda City). Overall, the car can beat Petra 1.6, Ikon 1.6 and Optra on flat roads (read Pune-Mumbai expressway).Ride and Handling:Baleno rides on an all-wheel independent suspension (McPherson Strut), I really don’t know the technical details. But I can definitely say that the car rides better than ANY C-segment car. Ikon, Optra, Fusion and New City all have a firm suspension setup for better high speed stability which hampers the ride quality at low speeds. This does not mean that Baleno lags in handling at high speeds. The handling is pretty good for its size, though it might help if you switch to lower profile tyres. It will compromise the cushy ride a bit, but you will get great handling... something you cannot live without if you always drive in the 5th gear.Fuel Efficiency:The Baleno’s engine is pretty fuel efficient (granted for SUZUKI cars). Add to that, a weight less than a tonne and slightly flimsy tyres and you have a C-segment car giving B-segment car like fuel efficiency. The car gives 12 km/litre in City with Air-Con switched on. This will improve even further on the highway, where it can stretch a litre of petrol to 15 km/ltr with A/C and 17 km/ltr with windows rolled down. This is excellent and probably better than most C-segmen cars.
Overall Verdict:Hmmm, this is the most interesting part. This is a car that tries to do too many things at once (and actually succeeds at most): Provide a luxury and cushy ride, great performance, fuel efficiency and trouble-free maintenance.
With aggressive price cuts from Maruti, the Baleno is probably all that you can get for your hard-earned cash. If you can get used to its (ugly) looks, go for it. Afterall, which other 6 lakh Rs. car can give a 9lakh+ Honda City VTEC tough time on Pune-Mumbai expressway? :-)