One day in Dec 2005 I got out of office for lunch and I saw a Black Baleno go by. It caught my attention. I knew it had a good reputation except for maybe looks. But this black one had impressed me. So I got back to office called the dealer and next day paid them the booking amount. Its a different story altogether that due to family pressure and other factors I ended up buying a pearl silver model Vxi.
Comfortable(space and climate control - suspension has an issue), powerful and value for money is what I think. The climate control works great with blower fans at minimal. But when the fan is on max, the blowers make noise. Even with the front seats pushed all the way back, there is enough room in the rear seats for a person of my height.
They have introduced Automatic Climate Control on the Vxi and it also comes with Alloys and wider 185/65 R14 tyres (tubeless). Other standard fittings include an Kenwood mp3/cd audio system, electrically operated side mirrors, drivers side seat height adjuster and rear window demister. Also as part of standard equipment is Nippon keyless entry system. Pretty neat, only its manual didn’t seem so user friendly to me.
Compared to the Accent Viva, the Baleno lacks ABS, a rear wiper, illuminated power window controls and fog lamps.
On the other hand, the Baleno has a climate control, an MP3 system, electrically operated side mirrors and Mc Pherson Strut suspension on all four wheels which the Accent doesn’t. Offers a pretty silent and comfortable ride inside.
Disclaimer: I have not extensively researched the Accent Viva, so you might want to personally check it out. I want to state outright that I have a bias for the muscular looks of the Baleno rather than the Accent Viva. The Viva, particularly the Passion Red model from behind, reminds me of Marilyn Monroe’s famous scene in the Seven Year Itch - standing over a subway grate with her skirt flying in the air. Somehow doesn’t jell with my idea of how a car should look. I
’ll keep updating this review after the 1st and 2nd service.
After 1st service at 1000 km:
Update on 02 nd Feb 2006: A 160 km trip through slightly hilly areas.
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The drive was fun. The road was full of twists and turns but mostly not of the hair-pin bends variety. After my initial cautious cornering I became more confident with my car and started using the brakes less and less before and during the corners. Throughly enjoyed the ride on the return trip as by that time I was taking corners at about 60-70. Just point its nose where you want it to go and I goes there without skidding or getting off balance. As you get more familiar with this car, you grow more confident of its abilities and it becomes more fun to drive.
I got an average of 14 km/l on this trip but that was only because I had to spend quite some time idling the engine with the climate control on.
On a previously not mentioned trip to Alapuzha from Cochin, I got an average of 16 km/l :)
I drove the car 360 km entirely within city limits of Cochin over a few days and on the full tank to full method I got a mileage of 10 km/l on Speed. Of course all these figures are with Climate control on all the time, no switching off at signals and traffic jams etc.
Update on 12th March 2006:
A 470 km trip to Munnar, adjoining areas & back.
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Started from home at dawn and came back the same night. So you can see we spent a lot of time on the road. First thing that comes to mind about the car: ’’Stable’’
A friend of mine did a lot of the driving & I could see that he was impressed with its stablity when he threw it into corners and started taking turns more and more confidently.
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Update on 04th May 2006: Suspension issue
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I had been having a feeling that my car’s suspension was very firm and was not absorbing the effects of unevenly tarred roads. I confirmed this by driving an 800 and a Zen on these same roads where I found these lower segment cars to be actually better. A complaint about it on 1st service had not improved things. Then without waiting for a second visit to service, I complained directly to Maruti and I got a response. They have replaced the front struts under warranty and there was a improvement to the earlier ride quality I had thought at that point. But as I drove another 200 odd km, I came back to the conclusion that the suspensions are bad.
I hear that since the earlier Baleno’s had a a problem with the car’s bottom hitting the road while going over speedbreakers of the "Indian" variety, Maruti responded to it by making the suspension stiffer. My car’s bottom has never hit the road till date. So I guess engineers at Maruti have been successfull in their endeavour, but I can tell that the suspension is stiffer and doesnt give the shock absorption that you might expect from an all wheel independant Mc Pherson Struts equipped car.
Aggressive highway driving returns me a mileage of 12.9 and driving easy returns 15+
The ride is comfortable, AC performs satisfactorily even in the peek summer that we are having now.
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Update on 15th Oct 2006: Suspension issue still not solved (After 2nd service)
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After the second service I complained to Maruti again about the suspension. This time an engineer from Maruti came with me for a test drive. Initially he claimed that Maruti had great R & D and this problem cannot exist. After test drive he was satistifed a problem does exist and recommended some part of the suspension apparatus changed. I forget which. I just took delivery of the car after this was done and the problem exists as it is. No improvement. Basically like I’ve explained above, you can feel all the unevenness of the road as it is. Even on a fully paved road, you keep slightly shaking inside the car unless the road has been paved meticulously to keep it totally flat. I very few stretches of roads in India which are that way. On an average fully paved road, I can assure you, you will experience a slight shaking inside.
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Apart from the suspension issue, I’ve had no problems with this car. Zero maintainence except at engine oil change.I’ll update you guys on this as I clock more km’s on this one.
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