We had a Baleno since last one year. It’s been a great car. Well the main reason that I bought this car is that its got great features that come along with the car. Then that was the only model available then came with a stereo, adjustable steering, motorize antenna, power windows, power rear view mirrors.
There is also a control for the dashboard lighting where the intensity of the dials can be varied. So all in all its a great value for money with the toys that come along with the car. The air conditioning is great and the cooling is real fast.
Coming to driving the car its been a pleasure driving the car. Of my experience the pick up is a little sloppy at low RPMs but as the RPM gets higher the acceleration is great. The breaking is very smooth. On the highway the car is very smooth and easy to handle. We have been able to reach a top speed of 160kmph and I did not feel a thing and the car seemed to be going along smoothly.
Well I guess the best thing I like about this car is that I think its a very safe car. There was an accident that happened on the NH7 near hyderabad and the car rammed into a truck at almost 80-90kmph. Thankfully it hit the tyre of the truck.
The front of the car was thoroughly smashed and the car was in for majore repairs. There were three passengers travelling and they escaped unhurt. Except for one of the passengers fracturing his finger in the anxiety of the crash.
Well the service after the crash was very poor though. Varun motors Balanagar, Hyderabad. They took about 3 months to repair the car blaming the delay on the insurance company HDFC for not clearing the insurance.
Even after 3 months the work done on the car was very poor. According to the manual the seatbelts have to be replaced after any major crash. The back seatbelts were not workin when the car was returned to us after 3 months. there was a loud noise while driving the car at beyond 40-50 kmph.
Later when we went back they said that it was a problem with the bearings. They also said they would replar not replace the seatblets.
Also the car was given for servicing a month after the crash and all the while the exhaust was not fitted properly and kept touchin frequently. even after the service the problem was not noticed and fixed. Only after we pointed it out that they solved the problem.
The bearing replacement cost had to be borne by us. Also the windshield was not fitted properly. There seems to be no supervision of the work that is done at varun motors.