[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Some more video reviews
...

No offence meant but all of them seem pretty pointless. The first one takes the cake with a story about his first car where he was handed a maruti as its safe .I even checked the comments section on youtube where they can be seen promoting this heavily. Its anybody's guess why.

No comparisons to the competition whatsoever and the basic point being put across is the 1.4L premium is worth because its a maruti.

About video reviews I guess PD does a much better job than these. Rest nothing beats a comprehensive TBhp review. Did TBhp drive the car in BIC?

[Swarit19]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

What about companies like Ford? They actually re-calibrated the ECU, adjusted the steering, suspension, exhaust, intake all drastically done just to add an S badge to their 1.6 Fiesta. By your definition the top end endeavor and the figo 1.5 are also GT cars

Wow you're really gonna mention THE CAR so casually like that..Especially when I can't find it anywhere. *looks at olx again just to check* P.S if anyone wants to sell one pm me right away.

It for sure deserved the name! S for sports really makes sense as it is the performance oriented version of that car. But so does grand touring in a way if we only look at the Indian market, the NA polo and meaning behind it (the actual word). Yes they are clearly lying if the marketing team claims that and I'm sorry for not knowing so much in this department as I rarely look at ads or see one.

In the end Polo isn't really a High performance GT or even that would be classified as one by almost any enthusiast but I personally give it a pass on a badge because it's probably the only car I would take on a delhi varanasi drive when there's a conference to attend next day which I'm interested in instead of a flight / train. Just small enough as well for the journey and yet so stable / enjoyable throughout the crappiest of roads. We really are going to have an endless discussion at this rate which could be fun if it was somewhere else where it wasn't OT / practically hiajacking the thread for our own entertainment.

On the actual topic,

My dad saw our paper in the morning and the Hindustan Times had 2 whole pages of baleno RS right on there. Kudos to maruti for letting people know about it so quickly. I hope if the word spreads (which it will let's not kid ourselves) prices drop a bit for it.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

No offence meant but all of them seem pretty pointless.

No offence taken.

To be honest, the only reason I see and share these videos is because some of them provide some information(some wrong too) and it kind of fills the gap and keeps the discussion ON till our thoroughly comprehensive Official review arrives. Plus as you mentioned, PD shoots some real cool videos which are a treat to watch.

Regards,
Shashi

[Kumar101]

Watched the Videos posted above and Hot Hatches are certainly not what they used to be back in my day. This Car certainly is not worth of a RS badge.

This is what my understanding of a "Hot" Hatch is :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P115nTu6XbE

[Durango Dude]

"So, what you pay for is the punchy turbo engine, slightly stiffer chassis and improved steering and suspension (and our sources tell us that all Balenos will get the stiffer chassis soon anyway). In conclusion, the Baleno RS is a great range topper for the premium hatchback’s line-up; just don't go expecting hot hatch thrills." "And Maruti claims the suspension’s now 10 percent stiffer too."(Courtesy Autocar India).

How would it ride on stiffer springs on the Indian roads remains to be seen, as it's ride is rather revealing in the normal Baleno, itself.

[chncar]

One of the better reviews so far, from the Hindu Businessline:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle9572373.ece

[MercFan]

Baleno RS ads in today's newspapers.

[PetroTurbo]

Maybe an OT: Am so confused with the arguements and viewpoints posted in this blog. Not pointing to anyone as it might look like a personal attack

Polo TSi comes with awesome 7 Speed Auto gear and people cry for Manual Transmission and few go to the extent saying that the it was the sole reason to drop the TSi from the list

Now, Maruti launches a Turbo engine with Manual transmission and all of a sudden everyone cries that Maruti has missed the magic criteria of launching an Auto gear version and RS goes off the list as Auto gear is not available

Please make up your mind, if you want Auto gear go for Polo, if you want Manual Turbo go for Baleno. Yes I agree, Baleno is over priced by 50K (my opinion) but decide based on what you have, not based on what you need. We are in an illusional world, where we are made to think that Customer is King, but the bitter truth is that it's just an illusion. The truth is Manufacturers are still the kings and we are just consumers. We have only options in chossing from what we have, we can't order and what we need

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by chncar

One of the better reviews so far, from the Hindu Businessline:

Thank you chncar for sharing it here.

Personal take-away from the review:

The comparison can’t be with real performance cars and that is also the reason why Maruti isn’t offering a 0 to 100 kmph time for the Baleno Rs.

Bottomline
Baleno Rs is still firmly in the premium small car segment; it is just a level sportier than its regular variant. And that is a perfectly good position to be in. At least, it is a start for Maruti Suzuki to plan real RSs in the future. Next, can we get a true blue Rs. on the Swift please?

So the only 'Fly in Ointment' (if I may) that I see is the RS badge, which is quite misleading. But if you actually look at it, this RS from Maruti stands for Road Sport.

So in short, we have 2 From Indian and By Indian RSs

Bajaj RS 200 and Baleno RS

Originally Posted by PetroTurbo

Polo TSi comes with awesome 7 Speed Auto gear and people cry for Manual Transmission and few go to the extent saying that the it was the sole reason to drop the TSi from the list

Now, Maruti launches a Turbo engine with Manual transmission and all of a sudden everyone cries that Maruti has missed the magic criteria of launching an Auto gear version and RS goes off the list as Auto gear is not available

You had me in splits there PetroTurbo.

I guess this reminds me of one of Shahrukh Khan's hit hindi number:

Hum Aise Bhi Hai, Hum Waise Bhi....Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani !! LOL

[chncar]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Personal take-away from the review:



So the only 'Fly in Ointment' (if I may) that I see is the RS badge, which is quite misleading. But if you actually look at it, this RS from Maruti stands for Road Sport.

Exactly. The RS has sporty pretensions, but that is all they are, pretensions. So debating whether it is a true RS or GT etc is fairly pointless.

What it is really is a more powerful engine variant, like the 1.5L option for the Liva or the 1.6 option for the S-Cross. Internationally Suzuki sells it as just another engine option, that people can choose based on their tastes. The engine and the rear disc brakes are the only major differences. Even the suspension is not really a sporty suspension (which would have been MUCH stiffer, probably different components, and lowered height), though people seem to be under the impression that it is. Even C.V. Raman of Maruti plainly said that they had to change the suspension purely because of the increased powertrain weight. If Maruti had given it a genuine sporty suspension they would be howling about it from the rooftops.

When looked at it from that perspective, it is actually a decent choice, though the premium asked is still too much to be good value. Also, while it is a Maruti and comes with relative peace of mind (at least compared with the likes of VW and Fiat) one has to keep in mind that the entire powertrain is imported (the gearbox is also different from the regular 1.2 variant) and any long-term spares support will likely be costly, especially the clutch and gearbox wear and tear items that generally show up after 50K.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

About video reviews I guess PD does a much better job than these.

The PowerDrift review is now live.

https://youtu.be/5qOWTNED-Dk

Regards,
Shashi

[Night_Fury]

Originally Posted by Kumar101

Watched the Videos posted above and Hot Hatches are certainly not what they used to be back in my day. This Car certainly is not worth of a RS badge.

This is what my understanding of a "Hot" Hatch is ....

that was the sierra you were talking about? that is ridiculous!

saw the powerdrift review. The car looks fun to drive for a 3 cylinder. but, can you really call this a hot hatch? Not on my watch.

[Kumar101]

Originally Posted by Night_Fury

that was the sierra you were talking about? that is ridiculous!

saw the powerdrift review. The car looks fun to drive for a 3 cylinder. but, can you really call this a hot hatch? Not on my watch.

This thing in the Video is a modified "Fiesta". According to a Poster on Youtube this video was shot for an old British Magazine called "Max Power". The guy on the floor bleating out the profanities is apparently one of the writers. There is no doubt Cosworth did amazing engine enhancements. Ford used them in their production Cars like the Sierra and Escort.

A good example of a factory produced "Hot Hatch" would be something like the Peugeot 206 GTi180 (circa early 2000's) which had 175 BHP Engine and is capable of doing 0-62 KPH in 7.4 sec.

[Kumar101]

Originally Posted by Kumar101

Peugeot 206 GTi180 (circa early 2000's) which had 175 BHP Engine and is capable of doing 0-62 KPH in 7.4 sec.

0-62 KPH is according to Wikipedia(says citation needed) but somehow does not seem right for a 175BHP Engine - albeit a 2L non-turbo would have expected it to be much better than that.

[jetti]

It might be a typo for MPH, because 62 MPH is 99.77KMPH. They were probably trying to mention 0-100KMPH timings.

Originally Posted by Kumar101

0-62 KPH is according to Wikipedia(says citation needed) but somehow does not seem right for a 175BHP Engine - albeit a 2L non-turbo would have expected it to be much better than that.