It is more pleasurable to own a used BMW than a new Alto
Dear Readers,
If you are serious about Baleno, you need to have some patience in reading my comprehensive review.
Around 15 months back, I purchased a second hand Baleno VXI, P. Silver, August 2003 model, 49K driven.
I have driven a lot of cars in India and abroad. Baleno is my second car in India. I have driven it around 20000 Kms - city driving as well as highways. I think, its time to share my experience of making a choice of the car and my experience of owning it.
I retured from abroad last year and wanted to purchase a mid-sized car. My budget was flexible to accomodate either a new and costly car with more down payment + installments or a used car with full payment.
After considering new honda city ZX, Old honda city, Lancer, Ford Ikon, Esteem, Ascent, Verna............. and after balancing a lot of pros and cons like size, fuel economy, safety, space, comfort, resale value, depreciation, already depreciated (if used car), reliability, ease of getting serviced, cost of service and ownership, cost of finance, etc............... I finally decided to go for an used Esteem or Baleno or old honda city (first good deal).
After spending some reasonable time, I met my Baleno. It costed me 3 lakhs including renewel of insurance, replacing cracked rear bumper and RTO expenses.
I feel that it was a good deal. It also came with Pioneer CD player, remote lock with security alarm and fog lamps.
Pros:
A good buy as second hand. I feel that it has depreciated a lot already after Maruti stopped its production and wont hurt much if I re-sell it after 2 years or so. A big car feel at decent price.
Good fuel economy for its size (powerful 1600 CC engine). I am getting 12+ in city driving (mostly used with AC). Some time backl, I travelled to other city and got a mileage of 13+ with 50% AC usage on a total 300 km journey.
Very powerful AC - you get chilled quite fast. I have no experience with Mercedes S class but people compare Baleno’s AC with S class ;)
Very good pick-up and very stable at high speeds. I easily beat 140 KM/Hour on NH-8, Gurgaon.
It was the car that beat the Lancers in rally driving in India.
Features - rear spoiler, power steering, power windows, rear de-fogger, electronically adjustable side-view mirrors, adjustable driver seat, alloy wheels, power antenna.
Having a maruti car in India makes sure that you can get a good and easy service almost everywhere in India. Also, spares are not as costly as Honda’s or Hyuandai’s or Lancer’s.
External looks: Although some people dont like the shape of baleno but I like it very much. Its truly european style with a big and sleek bonnet and lot of width. It looks amazing with rear spoiler.
Cons:
Low ground clearance: Drive it carefully on bumpers. Cut on speed-breakers at an angle to avoid brushing the bottom with road.
Interiors: Interiors are the weakest point of Baleno. I have done something great with my interiors as mentioned later in review.
Although there is a lot of leg space, Baleno is quite short of luggage space as compared to cars like honda city.
My analysis: If you are looking for a bigger mid-sized car that gives you a lot of driving pleasure with decent FE and if you dont worry much about interiors and ground clearance, BALENO may be your car.
I am very happy to have this car. It gives me a great feel at the price of a new ALTO.
Maruti has closed the production of the car in 2006. So, it has already depreciated resonably well and wont pinch your pocket to maintain and resell after a couple of years. Try to get a less used one with hard bargain.
Latest Updates:
Upgraded the tyres to 185/70 R13 86H (tubeless), 3 months back
Result: Comfortable and cushionable ride but little drop in fuel efficiency.
New interiors in art leather. Color - (grey + beige) = Greige, combination of high quality normal
leather + perforated leather, bucket fitting
Result: Car looks class apart from original, recommended
Feel free to contact me if want to ask anything.
Regards,
Ashish Jain
Drive carefully, She is big and wide!