Maruti Suzuki Baleno has finally been launched in the country at a price range of Rs. 4.99-8.11 lakh. Tagged as a premium hatchback, it will be second Maruti model after S-Cross to be sold via NEXA dealerships. The Hatchback will be sold in four variants- Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha in both petrol and diesel engines. The hatchback will lock its horns against Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo. Named after a sedan, which was the part of Maruti’s armory a decade ago, Baleno comes with a CVT gearbox. The Baleno is a completely made in India product with 99 percent localization level. Also, India is the first market to get Baleno and it will be exported to over 100 countries. Here is all you need to know about Baleno:-
Price:
The Hatchback is stepping into a competitive segment which is fiercely dominated by Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz. Maruti has nailed with the price of Baleno as the base petrol starts at Rs. 4.99 lakh which is less than its competitors. The top spec petrol variant cost at Rs. 7.01 lakh whereas the petrol CVT variant cost at Rs. 6.76 lakh.
On the contrary, Maruti has priced the base diesel for Rs. 6.16 lakh which goes up to 8.11 lakh for the fully loaded Alpha diesel trim. All the prices are of ex-showroom Delhi.
Engine details:
For the Indian Market, Baleno is offered with tried and tested range of engines i.e.1.2l K series Petrol and 1.3l DDis Diesel. The former produces 83bhp power@6000rpm and peak torque of 115Nm@4000rpm while the latter is good enough for 74bhp@4000rpm and 190Nm of torque@2000rpm. Furthermore, both the engines come paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard while Delta petrol is available with a CVT gearbox, seen for a very first time in a Maruti car.
MSIL’s in house 1.0 litre turbo petrol mill called as EcoBoost will be available for international Spec Baleno and unfortunately it won’t be coming to India anytime soon. The Baleno Diesel is now the most fuel efficient premium hatchback in the country with an ARAI certified mileage of 27.39 KMPL whereas petrol trim delivers a decent fuel efficiency of 21.4 KMPL.
Space and Dimensions:
Based on the light weight platform, Baleno is lighter in weight than Swift and measures 3995mm in length, 1745mm in width and 1500mm in height. The hatchback has a ground clearance of 170mm and boot space of 339 liters. With the good wheelbase of 2520mm, Baleno will provide ample amount of in cabin space to the rear occupants.
Exterior and Interior:
One of the biggest cars in its segment which is based on the new platform known as Liquid Flow lends a spherical design to the hatchback. The front fascia consists of familiar design cues of Maruti with honeycomb mesh grille designed in V shape and assisted by S badge at the centre and chrome underlining that meets the headlamps. The bulbous front is matched by first in segment sweptback projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights. A rectangular air dam integrated by circular fog lamps completes the front design.
Side profile with sloping roofline, chrome detailing around the windows, chrome door handles, multi spoke 15/16” alloy wheels, raising waistline, shrink C-pillars makes for the sporty element of the hatchback. At rear, it gets stuffed LED tail lamps, muscular bumper, thick chrome appliqué breaking the tedium and roof mounted rear spoiler to make it look an impressive looking Maruti ever.
To justify the premium tag of Baleno, Maruti has given host of features like it boasts of a 7 inch Smartplay infotainment system with Apple car play, voice command, navigation, bluetooth and USB connectivity. For those wondering, what an apple car play system is, it is a smart way to use IPhone which not only offers best experience to IPhone users but also let the driver to access various functions of the car via Voice command.
As said earlier it comes with all the bells and whistles one would expect from a premium hatchback like it has an automatic climate control, Suzuki’s familiar leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, 4.2 inch multi function MID with color display, glove box and foot well illumination, height adjustable driver’s seat, 60:40 rear seat spilt, central locking, power windows and many more. Whereas, all black dashboard with silver detailing on AC vents, and steering wheel along with V shaped central console goes well with premium quotient of the hatchback.
Colors:
Maruti Baleno is making its presence felt in seven vibrant color options which are Ray blue, Granite grey, Pearl arctic white, premium Urban Blue, Autumn Orange, Fire red and premium Silver.
Safety:
Taking safety as priority element, Maruti is offering Dual front airbags, ABS (Anti-lock braking system), EBD (Electronic brake force distribution) and front seat belts with pretensioners and force limiters, Anti theft security system, dual horn and driver side seat belt reminder as standard across all variants of the Baleno. The top variants of the hatchback comes loaded with features like reverse parking camera, rear defogger, rear parking sensors, driver side window with anti-pinch technology, rear washer and front disc brakes. To further enhance the features, Baleno is based on Suzuki TECT (total effective control technology) body structure.
