The truth (what to expect). Review on Maruti Suzuki Baleno

I have written this review so that you may get an idea of what to expect from your baleno when it is over 6 years old...

Before my dad got our Suzuki baleno 1.3 auto, the word Suzuki did not mean anything to me, perhaps the only thing that came to my mind then was my cousins Maruti 800 in India. After “tasting” this car for 4 years I have developed a sense of the whole Suzuki company and what to expect from there cars.

Okay, first of all my Suzuki baleno is a 95’model and has been purchased in 96, we bought it in 99.(in Brunei) Some things might have been improved from then, the India model has a different front end, rounded bumpers(I’m very observative), the rear is the same, but it seems they would have kept everything else unchanged to cut costs. Excuse me if the Indian model is slightly different(I doubt it), but here is my analysis anyway:

Ride

The ride is very comfortable on the highway, at speeds of 80 km/h upwards, it gets smoother as you go faster. The car often bounces though, if the road conditions are not perfect, it does not feel like its stable at lower speeds before the airs donwforce comes in, swinging from side to side, but you get used to it. nothing like the “Stuck to the ground” feeling you get in a merc c-class, but that’s a very bad comparison. The cabin Is noiseless, unless you have a rip in the rubber window fittings. The engine is smooth and puts a nice exhaust note out at 4000+ rotations, below that it is very quite and has a smooth whine. if the suspension is dramatically different, ie.stiff on indian version, please leave comment...

Handling

although I haven’t rode this car on the highway,(I’m only 17, another year till the license) I am familiar with the chartesitics. It jumps into corners and if your going too fast also skids, but it does not feel like its going to lose control or that the back is going to spin off ( it never has), bear in mind that we have BF Goodrich tubeless tires. Also while breaking hard it nose-dives into the ground, stopping none the less.

Interior

The plastics are alright, they do not reflect light, which Is very important. The wind-deflectors in the air vents are the biggest problem, mine have broken and now move from side to side freely and not al-together in a uniform pattern. The power-windows can also become dysfunctional after years of use, one of my windows did when the car was 5 years old. This is not a major problem, what breaks is the iron wire which pulls the windows down, unfortunately this spare part cannot be bought from Suzuki, you must buy the whole unit with the motor also( which is Singapore $350). To fix this you can simply get one from the junkyard or in India any mechanic could fabricate one himself(unless he wants to rip you off). I have just saved you $350, hahaha...

Exterior

I like to face the facts and ill have to disagree with karana23( read his review) on this. Lets see the competitors, city, accent, ikon and lancer. The ikon is not curvy enough and does not have free flowing lines, instead has rock straight lines and curves, as if they were drawn using a compass and ruler, in other words it looks like a goddamn box! I am writing all this from memory since I remember what these cars look like from ads and magazines.

The city looks good from the back, but not so much from the front, it looks nowhere near as good as a Honda civic, the front lights are not creative and look too bland. The accent looks more thrilling and menacing then the others. Now the baleno, from the side (afar) it gracefully sits long and low, which is a relief from all those tall short (wheelbase) ugly cars out there. the front looks a bit conservative but has a lot of character, its not freighting, but there are many curves you can see around it to amuse yourselves. Now the back, oh that ass!!, so much controversy centered around this cars backside, why is it that all the Indian reviews call it ugly. It is curved from side to side (left to right), also there’s a curve where the boot finishes which makes light reflect off it in amusing ways. It is not ugly! I would call it cute, if you want the car to look more menacing lower the shocks and drop 17 inch wheels on it, it will look awesome.

The conclusion…

I remember having a new Mazda 323 when I was 12 in Australia. That car never gave us any trouble in the 4 years that we had it, Mazda’s are truly very well made and reliable cars.

Nowww… what do I think of the Suzuki company, it is cheap, cheap, cheap. Everything in it made for cheapness and not longativity, except the engine. But, Although small parts may break now and then, like the cup-holder near the handbrake, it’s a good package for its price. I would recommend you to either buy a baleno,lancer or city in this segment, nothing else.

Live long and proper,

Abhinav