Maruti Suzuki Baleno diesel Driven

The Baleno nameplate is exactly 15 years old in India – and I know that because the Baleno was the first car I road tested when I dipped my toes into automotive journalism. Okay, I was too wet behind the ears to pen the road test, but I was in the passenger seat as we went hell for leather on VRDE’s treacherous banking, the heavy Datron testing gear on my lap, tasked with calling out the top speed figures and keeping a watch for any animals that might decide to cross the track. Back then it was one of the fastest cars we’d tested (scariest too, on the VRDE banking, thanks to those weedy tyres and soft suspension) and if it was not for the way it looked it’d have given the City a run for its money.
Fast-forward fifteen years and the new Baleno no longer competes with the City. The nameplate, kept alive by the cars that still run in the national rally championship, will now adorn the backside of Maruti’s first premium hatchback – a car, they hope, will give Hyundai’s all-conquering i20 a run for its money. Does it?

A bit conservative, don’t you think?
Styling is a very personal subject so we won’t delve too much into the Baleno’s ‘liquid flow’ styling. It takes a leaf out of the please-all-offend-none stylebook but the downside to that is it won’t turn many a head either. It is all soft lines and smooth curves – there is not one angle, curve or streak that stands out; that provokes discussion.
Step inside and things improve dramatically. The all-black colour scheme is a welcome relief from the sea of beige and does look upmarket, even a touch sporty. When we first saw it at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month the interiors didn’t feel all that great but, out in the real world, it does feel very nice. Only thing is some soft-touch plastics would have made it feel genuinely upmarket. Also the cabin uses far too many bits and pieces from the existing Maruti Suzuki parts bin and that makes it look very familiar, taking away from the newness of it all.

Loaded, and how!
The Baleno does not skimp on equipment, that’s for sure. Lets start with safety – all variants get twin front airbags and ABS. On the exterior there are 16-inch wheels, day-time running lamps and projector headlamps on the top-end version. Also on the top end variant, the interiors get climate control, a 4.2-inch touch screen with a rear parking camera, navigation and Apple CarPlay (a first for this segment). There are steering mounted controls for the stereo and mobile phone, keyless entry, push button start/stop, a large TFT screen between the speedo and tacho that shows all sorts of cool info, and a coating on the glass area cuts UV rays by up to 85 per cent. I could not find cruise control but, really, where can you use it in India?
Another thing Maruti have got spot on, is space. The front seats are wide, supportive, very comfortable and height adjustable and allied with the steering that adjusts for both reach and rake it makes for a lovely driving position. The rear knee room is extremely good, something that could not be said about a Maruti hatchback up until now. In comparison the shoulder space seems a little tight but overall the cabin is very spacious and the boot is also large at 339 litres.

Not related to the Swift
The Baleno is based on an all-new platform that is 100kg lighter than the Swift but 10 per cent stronger to meet future crash safety norms. The Baleno is a global Suzuki product, not a hatchback engineered only for India, and as such has to meet safety standards in force in Europe and other parts of the world. In fact the Baleno will be exported to 100 countries from the mother plant in India and India is the first country to get the car underscoring our importance in Suzuki’s global scheme of things. This is also a modular platform that will underpin a whole range of future Suzuki cars including the next generation Swift due next year.
What is very unlike the Swift is the ride quality. This is the first Maruti hatchback to have a ride quality that can be termed as good, without having to resort to high-profile tyres. It rides with genuine sophistication and only sharp bumps has the suspension crashing into it noisily, betraying its light-weight ethos. At the same time it hasn’t lost the Swift’s fun-to-drive genes and can handle corners with aplomb. The electric steering does have some feel and you can genuinely have fun with the new Baleno. The brakes are also sharp but progressive, again giving the driver lots of feedback and confidence.

Engines
The engines are shared with the Swift – the 1.2-litre petrol makes 83bhp of power, 115Nm of torque and has a claimed fuel efficiency of 21.4kmpl. This petrol can also be had with a CVT automatic gearbox but what will baffle you is you can’t get a CVT on the fully-loaded version. Go figure.
The diesel is the familiar 1.3-litre four-cylinder Multijet. Badged DDiS 190 it develops 74bhp of power, 190Nm of torque and delivers a class-best 27.39kmpl fuel efficiency. This engine is a class act and it feels better than it ever did thanks to the Baleno shedding 100kg over the Swift. It adds up to even perkier performance, more eager responses and faster acceleration. The Baleno does feel light on its feet and in the DDiS engine – already the best in its class – it has an eager companion that eggs you to push harder and have some fun. It is mated to a slick five-speed manual gearbox with no option of an automatic – a shame that.

So should the i20 be worried?
Under the glare of the Frankfurt Motor Show lights, the Baleno didn’t seem all that impressive but that was down to its conservative styling, the only aspect we could judge it by. Out on the road though the Baleno makes for a rather impressive package. That diesel engine is a gem and when mated to a chassis that is lighter and stiffer; it shines even brighter. The Baleno is the first Maruti hatchback to ride properly, while the handling continues to err towards the fun end of the spectrum. The Baleno is also the first Maruti with abundant space on the inside and the cabin – which misses out on soft-touch plastics – is well put together and feels premium. Being a Maruti it will be priced aggressively, you’re assured of top-notch quality and despite it being sold only through Nexa showrooms you will still have access to Maruti’s unmatched service network. We have to pitch the Baleno against the i20 to say for sure but it looks like Maruti is set for a cracker of a Diwali.

For the petrol review click here