Recently test drive 2 petrol variants in hyderabad as I want to buy the cvt due to traffic in the city. To be brutally honest, there is nothing premium about the car or the nexa experience. Baleno is just an updated swift with more knee room and boot space. 4 things about the car which are a complete turn off.
SUSPENSION: When in the front seats, I felt it was fine. But jump into the back seat, I could feel every little bump in the road. When just 2 people in the back, the suspension sags a lot. The suspension of my 7 year old Ritz Vdi feels 100 times better.
STEERING: when the steering is turned completely to take a u turn, it’s does not auto correct to get back to it’s original position. I mean, it does a little but it turns so slowly that you have to manually try to get back to the original position which, needless to say, can cause accidents. This is very serious flaw that needs to be looked into. I read the Ciaz too had the same flaw when it was first introduced in the market. I dont know if it has been rectified yet. Seeing the Baleno has the same problem, I doubt that it is. Also the steering is way too light and gives absolutely no feedback hence no confidence to driver.
ENGINE: In Suzuki’s attempt to give a satisfying response the it’s customers when they ask’ Kitna Deti Hey?’, they tuned the engine completely towards extracting the beat FE it can hence the feels completely underpowered. With just 2 people in the car and the gas peddle touching the floor, it was taking it’s own sweet time to get a move on. Even in first gear, to move the car from a complete stand still, I had to give it a good amount of gas and be very gentle at releasing the clutch to stop it from stalling. The engine noise gets filtered into cabin by some margin which was another turn off. Felt like I was driving an underpowered 3 cylinder diesel.
QUALITY: Sure the Alpha variant looks good with the chrome and headlights but same can’t be said about it’s interiors. It uses all the same bits from the Swift. Which is not bad actually but I, like many others, was hoping it would be slightly more upmarket to give the Elite i20 a run for it’s money. Nope, not happening with this car. Also when closing the doors, some pressure needs to be applied or else they won’t close properly.
If all you care is about buying a new hatch from Suzuki that is slightly different from swift irrespective of the above issues, then go for this car. My recommendation, buy the Ritz. It’s much better car. Also VW Polo and Fiat Punto are really good Hatchbacks. I also encourage you to test drive other vehicles at least twice and then decide. Make a logical decision not an emotional one. Some people buy a car without even a proper test drive. OMG.