Team-BHP - Maruti Baleno : Official Review

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Originally Posted by WRXXX (Post 3878180)

Old Baleno has nothing in common with the new one except the name.

Never said anything about the new baleno. Was stating my experience with the Etios and it just happened that the other car was the old baleno

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Also, I don't think a rear ending at 50-60 kmph in any car will leave the car being rear ended slightly shaken.

Please do check my post. I have clearly mentioned that the boot lid was damaged - had to be cut open to access luggage and the read bumper was a complete mess.

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Was the Etios too traveling at 50-60? Was the Etios stopped?

Etios was doing 30 kmph and I did not have my foot on the brake, which is why the damage is minimal. In my openion, the Etios is built like a tank and on any day, I would rather drive that than a Dzire. Again this is IMHO and I think we are OT. Can talk more on the Etios thread if required.

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Originally Posted by dragonov007 (Post 3878150)

I feel all cars have their own strengths and weaknesses and the process of buying a car is an exercise in deciding in which areas a buyer is willing to compromise, after evaluating the pros and cons of the choices available in the market.

Absolute +1
And many thanks for sharing your views and what you considered during your purchase.

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Originally Posted by procrj (Post 3878207)

Please do check my post. I have clearly mentioned that the boot lid was damaged - had to be cut open to access luggage and the read bumper was a complete mess. Etios was doing 30 kmph and I did not have my foot on the brake, which is why the damage is minimal. In my openion, the Etios is built like a tank and on any day, I would rather drive that than a Dzire. Again this is IMHO and I think we are OT. Can talk more on the Etios thread if required.

Hey mate,

Everybody is entitled to their opinions and just opinions will not decide crash worthiness.

There is no need to extend this, as it won't add any value. Closest measure for relative safety of the cars is crash tests and it is absent for most of the cars that are sold in India.

I was just suggesting you should state your comments as opinion if it is so and the right thread for this discussion actually is accident thread and not even Etios thread.

Note from Support: Please use Multi Quote (Quote+) when quoting and responding to multiple posts together instead of back to back responses. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by procrj (Post 3878158)

Disagree based on personal experience. I was driving an Etios when a Suzuki baleno (old) rammed into the boot at 50-60kmph. The baleno was in shambles but the Etios only suffered from a broken bumper and damaged boot lid.

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Originally Posted by Sheel (Post 3878190)

I just might agree with you here based on seat of pant experience but please do tell me, is there a way to determine this? :)

Ofcourse the only way to actually measure how safe a vehicle is, is to wait for the Indian crash test agency to be setup and to conduct tests on cars. However, if everyone is resorting to opinions, then I would anyday trust a tinkerer who has worked on many accident vehicles than a one off instance narrated by an etios taxi owner who claims to have struck something at 100kmph plus (no matter what impact angles one talks about, this is simply impossible from an Etios and we don't need any testing agency to confirm the same) the driver may have been travelling at 100 but definitely must have shed some considerable speed just before the crash. Posting a link of a VW Golf (inarguably far better built) crash at 100km/h (not even 100km/h "plus") and one can clearly see a deformation of the chassis and passenger cell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TNFDeK6GLE

Again, a rear-ending of a combined speed of around 20km/h is nothing particularly impressive IMHO

That said, I would also stay away from a Indian made Swift and I too have my doubts about the Baleno based on the poor performance of Maruti's version of the Swift. All I am saying is, the Etios twins seem to be the same if not worse when it comes to chassis and structural deformation during a crash.

@ Amalji,

As pointed out earlier, the European Swift with the same unbelievably low kerb weight, scores 5 stars but the same cannot be said of the one diluted by Maruti and sold here so please don't take the fact that Jazz has scored 5 in some other market, as any indication of how it would perform here, in your lengthy "analyis" :)

This is a really competent car and unfortunately most of the discussion has only been about the structural strength & low kerb weight. Considering that a lot of us make decisions based on what we read on forums like this, I feel we should stop this excessive bashing till we see the crash test reports for Baleno. The car is selling good volumes, its a commercial success without a doubt, in fact no one understands the Indian market better than Maruti. It's kind of become fashionable to bash Maruti and maybe Maruti bashing is a way to being labeled an enthusiast.

I have been driving an Alto Lxi for the many years now. Now tell me how safe is that? I have been in two accidents - one minor - hitting my home compound wall in first gear and second one - slightly major - where I bumped hard into the rear of a cargo autorickshaw at 70 Kmph, although had applied brakes. The coolant was all over the road and the radiator was damaged. Thankfully nothing inside the cabin and me safe :) Now compared to Alto the Baleno must be stronger in similar situations, hopefully! I have booked one and waiting for delivery. Wish me luck :)

Baleno in black is being tested in its boosterjet variant in India. Expect a 2016 festive season launch in India. Spotted in Kochi!

Being benchmarked against Polo GT TSI.

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It was an export model and had additional safety features like side airbags, All 4 disc brakes, tyre pressure monitor and radar based brake support (which was showing as disabled in MID)

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They were benchmarking it against polo gt tsi, driving both back to back.

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-marutisuzukibaleno1.0lboosterjet1.jpg

Maruti Baleno : Official Review-marutisuzukibaleno1.0lboosterjet2.jpg

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...oosterjet.html

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Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 3879080)

Baleno in black is being tested in its boosterjet variant in India. Expect a 2016 festive season launch in India. Spotted in Kochi!

Thanks for the excellent news!! Also heart felt gratitude to the TAI member for this scoop. clap:

Some other noteworthy points from the link

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India launch in mid or late 2016
Body panels and doors felt the same as Indian Baleno. When I asked if body shell is same for Indian and export models, he said YES
250 kgs lighter than punto abarth and planning to launch as fastest hatch of India

I wish Baleno comes with matching dynamics with the upgraded engine to compete with Punto. The petrol 1.2 Baleno didn't feel as sporty as the Swift.

Regards,
Shashi

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Originally Posted by terra85 (Post 3879502)

Hi I just had a small doubt. The cars are being sold through NEXT but can you get the car serviced at any maruti service station or is it restricted to their dealers only. This will affect sales in tier 2 cuties then.

Like any other existing Maruti car, you can get the Nexa cars serviced from any Authorized Maruti Service Centre. The existing service centres will have separate bays to cater to Nexa cars, so no worries there.

Lovely news! Knowing Maruti, I don't think they will wait till festive season of 2016 to launch this variant. They could keep the black colour exclusive to the boosterjet - I have to say black seems to suit the Baleno the best from the pictures we have here.

Benchmarking against the GTI is a smart move. I don't think Maruti is worried about the Abarth as a competitor. Only issue is that the boosterjet is a 3 cylinder motor against the GTI's 4. I hope the vibrations are sorted out by MUL. Maruti should launch this with all round disc brakes & 6 airbags to make this car deserving of the premium tag.

Why all the negativity against 3 cylinders ? I think even the ford's ecoboost engine is a 3 cylinder one. I think we should give the benefit of doubt to maruthi about boosterjet being better to 4 cyl motors. There could be a strong engineering design reason why both maruthi and ford went for 3 pot engines. I don't know the exact reason for this design decision but do know that- these kind of design decisions undergo a lot of discussion and brainstorming (atleast in my domain I see some of best brains fight it out if it's anything to do with a radical new design)

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Originally Posted by sathish81 (Post 3879598)

Check the other thread about the Baleno 1.0 L BoosterJet scoop. You will get answers to your questions.

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Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore (Post 3879839)

One of the Baleno owner posts a short video showing the dimples on the door, 'Reportedly' caused by hard pressing the door.
I am not able to believe it completely.
But if it has even 1% truth then it's worrying.

PS: Mods, you can delete the post if you don't find any gravity in it ;)

Nothing in it. I specifically checked out the body metal issue by banging hard on it with my knuckles/heel of my hand. No dents.
The dimples in the video were probably caused by something hard hitting the vehicle.