[Carma2017]

It's simple guys. Maruti knows people who love VW tech will anyways not fall for a Maruti. So, no harm in pricing it high and giving the common man a taste of a tad more powerful engine. Let's face it, enthusiasts who have tested out the VW or Abarth engines are a minority. The majority of common buyers still don't see value in VW or FIAT products, that have iffy resale values. They will risk easily on a Maruti.

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

This also means VW can't sell anything! What is the difference between TSI and normal petrol Polo?

Well, I think VW does quite decent numbers on its premium variant (GT variants), given the pricing and niche nature of market. But seriously. Older product aside, the Polo TSI is much superior product - build quality, chassis, engine, gearbox..whatever.

Anyway, I am keen to see the market response to the boosterjet.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

But I know of some hardcore Maruti fanatics who will still rush to buy this pseudo/watered-down "RS" iteration and make it a grand success as well.

You are missing an important aspect here. While the engine is nothing great in comparison to Abarth or even the TSi, the Baleno is nearly 200 Kilos lighter than Polo and approximately 300 kilos lighter than Punto. The stock Baleno is nimble and has proven to be quicker than Polo TSi on track.
http://overdrive.in/reviews/affordab...-introduction/
Agree it is overpriced but in terms of performance do you still think this is a pseudo RS? I would not be surprised if Baleno give 140+HP Punto run for its money on track.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by vijayvelprakash

. But we need to wait and see the market's reaction. The 1.6 S-Cross was not accepted well initially although it had credits to it for power and performance.

I just checked the S-Cross 1.3 Alpha vs 1.6 Alpha pricing. Even 1.6 S-Cross alpha costs around 1.4 lakhs more. But that premium is definitely worth it. Why would someone pay 1.4 lakhs more and get booster jet Baleno?? Maruti is really on cloud 9 after selling 150K units of Baleno.

[chncar]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

It's simple guys. Maruti knows people who love VW tech will anyways not fall for a Maruti. So, no harm in pricing it high and giving the common man a taste of a tad more powerful engine. Let's face it, enthusiasts who have tested out the VW or Abarth engines are a minority. The majority of common buyers still don't see value in VW or FIAT products, that have iffy resale values. They will risk easily on a Maruti.

Sorry, but that would be more of a conned man than a common man, at these prices.

[reignofchaos]

Is this supposed to be a joke from Maruti? I for sure hope it is. At that pricing, they'll have trouble shifting a hundred cars let alone more. This is another Kizashi in the making.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

It's simple guys. Maruti knows people who love VW tech will anyways not fall for a Maruti. So, no harm in pricing it high and giving the common man a taste of a tad more powerful engine. Let's face it, enthusiasts who have tested out the VW or Abarth engines are a minority. The majority of common buyers still don't see value in VW or FIAT products, that have iffy resale values. They will risk easily on a Maruti.

Completely agree.

In addition to what you have said, there is some fear in the minds of public too. The DSG unit in the VW isn't the most reliable thing on earth. And the less said about Fiat's commitment to the market, the better.

The Baleno RS is definitely overpriced, they could have priced it some 30-40k lower, but then, the pricing isn't what I'd call atrocious. It has its own share of merits and demerits as a product, and as you have rightly said, Maruti never targeted a person who is owning a VW GT TSI.

Baleno RS will be the choice of people who wanted a turbo petrol with a manual gearbox, but weren't convinced by the Abarth Punto. Heck, the Abarth isn't even available in many cities.

Originally Posted by chncar

Sorry, but that would be more of a conned man than a common man, at these prices.

Creta is selling in huge numbers. And why target only the Creta, New Fortuner and now the 2017 City-The conned men are too common.


Regards,
Shashi

[Chillout]

At this price the Figo 100PS 1.5 oil burner is a steal and value for money. The 0-100 is 9.72 which also beats the Baleno RS. If I were looking for a fast car , I would definitely pick up the Figo, change the tires and enjoy the ride at much lesser price and better build quality. However I wouldn't have chosen the Figo as I love the refinement levels of a Petrol, so would have ended up picking the Polo TSi which has a better build and a proper 4 cylinder engine.

Also with occasional offers going on with VW, it may even cost less than the RS. Hope Suzuki realizes its folly the second time and has the price corrected else this would just end up the Scross 1.6 way.

Time for Ford to advertise the Figo as a fast car and get the message across

[Vid6639]

This car is never about the numbers. It's clear Maruti is testing waters. They will probably be looking at mass manufacture of this engine once the tighter emission norms kick in.

Right now it's a good feeler for letting the public know about this engine. They don't want mass market cars later on and give the public impression of an unproven engine.

That said, 1.4 lakhs above the 1.2L is atrocious pricing. It should have been priced in the middle of petrol and diesel and definitely not above. Ford had done exactly that in 2013 with the Ecoboost. The 1.0L Ecoboost was priced around 40K more than the 1.5L Ti-VCT petrol engine and 70K lesser than the diesel mill which was bang on. The engine may be turbo petrol with cutting edge tech but it also loses 1 cylinder and all the components that are associated with that 1 cylinder like pistons, bearings, rods, spark plugs, valves etc. There's no reason to price it above the Diesel at all!!

While the Polo is 40K more and now actually looks appealing and vfm in relation to Baleno RS, it has some flaws with that unreliable DSG, poor VW service impression and lack of rear space and even features. This makes the Baleno RS more appealing. You are getting almost the Polo GT TSI performance but with more practicality, comfort for family and Maruti peace of mind ownership.

If your main priority is engine and you need a practical car for family, there's no other car other than the Baleno RS right now to have fun when driving solo and also take family out in good comfort.

[Rajeevraj]

While the pricing is definitely on the higher side, not at all surprised. Prices are continuing to go north and we can see the range of different segment continuing to move up. In addition, it is in line with the trend of premium pricing of hot selling products. Whether it is the Crysta or the Creta or even the City to name a few.

Finally, I doubt that Maruti is aiming for big numbers with this. The GT TSI sells around 500-600 units per month on an average (based on my reading somewhere that 25-30% of Polo sales are of the GT TSI). With the wider reach and brand value, I believe there will be a good number of takers for this. For a petrol, the only real competitors are the VW and Fiat cars and as already mentioned above, the percentage of folks who want a good performance car and consider the Polo or the Abarth will be very very low.

No wonder there is no AT option, that would have taken the pricing well above the GT also.

[Sankar]

So if they were to launch an Ignis RS with this engine we can expect it to cost 1.4Lakhs more than top of line Ignis petrol. Which means it should be around 8.2L ex showroom in my place. That should be a cute package.

[Coplay]

20k lesser than this pricing and I would have been happy. Now I have second thoughts about this pricing. Especially considering the fact that it will touch 10.7-10.8 OTR Bangalore.
Thank you Maruti.

Hello Honda WR-V, let's see what you have in store for us.

[y2ksrs]

Well, if the folks at Ford are following this, they should quickly move to plonk the EcoBoost engine to the Figo twins right away. Pricing them a lakh above the 1.2 should still undercut the Baleno RS by a good margin!!

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

While the Polo is 40K more and now actually looks appealing and vfm in relation to Baleno it is flawed with that unreliable DSG, poor VW service impression and lack of rear space. This makes the Baleno appealing. You are getting almost the Polo GT TSI performance but with more practicality in comfort for family and Maruti peace of mind ownership.

+1
As a owner of a VW car it is given that the car all premium in its Fit,Finish, Quality, ride and handling. But when it comes to Service part is when you will regret.
I will most probably never get a VW again with the type of ordeal a customer has to face not citing the innumerable guessing game on diagnostics.

Maruti Suzuki seem to know that very well had has priced it as a premium with the customer base they have in their fold for Baleno.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

While the Polo is 40K more and now actually looks appealing and vfm in relation to Baleno it is flawed with that unreliable DSG, poor VW service impression and lack of rear space. This makes the Baleno appealing. You are getting almost the Polo GT TSI performance but with more practicality in comfort for family and Maruti peace of mind ownership.

If your main priority is engine and you need a practical car for family, there's no other car other than the Baleno RS right now.

While I agree to all of what you have said, here are the reasons why the GT TSI sells in reasonable numbers:

-> Automatic. When i was getting my car, a couple of others had come to TD the GT TSI. Neither was a performance freak and both were buying the car solely cos it was a loaded AT.

-> Both were looking for a second car. This car is bought by a lot of folks who want a city beater or a car for the wife and have higher end car for highway duties.

-> The primary reason the above folks buy this car are (a) Technology, (b) Drive Quality, (c) Build Quality, interior quality and feeling of safety in a small package.

-> Performance of the DSG+TSi combination. These are the folks who mod this car due to the extensive modification options.

Unfortunately for the folks above, the little bit extra in maintenance or the lack of rear seat space simply isn't a consideration. Neither is the fact that it is a Maruti as this clientele doesn't really buy Marutis. In fact the 3 cylinder and lack of refinement will probably work against it.