We finally bought a Maruti Baleno Vxi I Jan 06. After going through the same dilemma that every prospective car buyer goes through, I finally decided to remain loyal to Maruti. Apart from their Customer Care Number and the Email Feedback system that never works, they still make very reliable cars.
With this I decided to go for the Baleno (Our 6th Maruti Stable Car) in as many years. Although a bit dated in the looks department the engine is a beauty. You almost feel that you are driving a much bigger and powerful car. It requires very less gear changes thanks to the high torque output and good fuel economy (12Kmpl) in city with A/C.
The Cost Value proposition is impossible to beat, for under 7 lacs you get a host of additions like the standard 14 Inch Alloys with Extra Wide Tubeless Rubber. An Automatic Climate control that actually works quite nicely, a decent MP3/WMA Cd Player from Kenwood and the usual things like Drivers Seat Adjustment, Rear Defogger, Electric Rear View Mirrors on the outside etc etc etc.
I have driven the car quite sparingly in these 3 months and clocked just around 2.5 K till now, my driving impressions so far are quite good. The car acts and behaves like a mature sedan, no fidgety feeling or jumping around on the car, a super sensitive steering which is also very well weighted. The car also stick to the road like nodody’s business and I pushed it to 155 and experienced no shake, roll or any other unstability. My Esteem on the other hand just wants to fly off into the air the moment I cross 120.
Cabin is very quite inside, just like it is claimed to be and the overall build quality both inside and outside is much better than all the other cars from Maruti, I personally own 2 800’s , 1 Zen , 1 Omni and 1 Esteem and I have to say that the quality of material and workmanship in in a different class for the Baleno.
So finally if you can get along with the looks then there is no better deal in the market today. The looks nevertheless grow on you and within a week you will actually start appreciating the Wedge and Barrel Design and actually like it.
Happy Motoring.