Lately, Maruti Suzuki’s upcoming premium offering Baleno is grabbing a lot of Buzz in the market as its launch is approaching. Bookings for the premium hatchback have already begun for a token amount of Rs. 25,000 at all NEXA dealerships across India. This new hatchback will slot in above the current B2 segment leader Swift. Prior to its launch on 26th October 2015 all the details regarding the hatchback have been revealed.
The Hatchback will be sold in four variants- Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha and it will take on the likes of Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo.
Price:
In a bid to crack the premium segment and to sell in more than decent numbers, as it will be pitched against Elite i20 and Honda Jazz which are ruling the segment with their skyrocketing numbers. MSIL’s recent offering S-Cross is getting criticism for being an overpriced vehicle. We expect Baleno to arrive in the price range of Rs. 5.37-8.20 lakh (ex-showroom).
Engine details:
The Baleno will come with same engines that do duty on Swift i.e.1.2l Petrol and 1.3l Diesel. Earlier there were reports that it will be getting a bigger unit of diesel mill that power Ciaz sedan and a 1.0l EcoBoost engine but unfortunately both of them will not be the part of the vehicle at an initial stage. Both the engines will come paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard while CVT gearbox will be available on Delta petrol trims. Maruti Suzuki claims that petrol mills of the hatchback is good for 21.4 Kmpl while the diesel variants returns best in segment mileage of 27.39 Kmpl.
In a bid to outclass its rivals, Maruti should have provided a 1.0l EcoBoost engine on Baleno as it would make it the most powerful hatchback in its segment.
Space and Dimensions:
Talking about dimensions, the Baleno measures 3995mm in length, 1745mm in width and 1500mm in height and has a great wheelbase of 2520mm. The hatchback has a ground clearance of 170mm and boot space of 339 liters. Despite of being the lengthier hatchback than its sibling Swift, Baleno is lighter in weight. The diesel Baleno weighs 960kg as compared to 1060kg of Swift while the petrol variants of the premium hatchback weigh 890kg as compared to 965kg of Swift.
Exterior and Interior:
Maruti Claims that it is based on the new platform which Maruti calls it as Liquid Flow results in new design concept. The front gets V shaped honeycomb grille with chrome outline (two slate matte black for Sigma variant) flanked by projector headlamps and Daytime running lights (DRLs). The company has given 15 inch alloy wheels as standard while the top variant comes with set of 16 inch alloy wheels.
Maruti Baleno will be a feature loaded vehicle as it will get 7 inch Smartplay infotainment system with Apple car play (segment first) and voice guided navigation, automatic climate control, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, rear seat spilt, automatic headlamps with follow me function, front footwell and glovebox illumination, black interiors with silver and chrome embellishment.
Colors:
Maruti Baleno will be available with a choice of seven exterior paint options – Premium Urban Blue, Autumn Orange, Metallic Premium Silver, Granite Grey, Ray Blue, Pearl Arctic White and Solid Fire Red.
Safety:
Maruti Suzuki is offering ABS with EBD and dual front airbags as standard across all variants of the hatchback which is applaud able move. Besides standard equipments, it will be equipped with safety aids like reverse parking camera, front seat belts with pretensioners and limiters, reverse parking sensors, central locking etc.
