Maruti Suzuki has just introduced the new Baleno and we did get our hands on this hatchback for a short drive. We were highly impressed by the petrol engine and have done a detailed drive for the petrol engine. Majority of premium hatchback buyers(about 65%) are petrol buyers, and hence that is an important engine.
This time around we drive the CVT version, as there is a rising demand for automatics. The demand for automatics is on the rise and with increase in city congestions buyers are tilting towards automatics. The design of the Baleno will grow on you. It isn’t something that will be love at first sight like the Hyundai Elite i20, but the design is very subtle. Engineers at Suzuki have changed the design language of this new hatchback and this is the design language the new generation Suzuki products will follow. The front of the premium hatchback does resemble the Swift to a good extent with honeycomb mesh grille with a thin chrome lip, and headlamps that resemble somewhat the Swift also.