[GTS]

Originally Posted by johy

We also took a look at the Baleno Vxi and I found it powerful, fast, big, with a good AC (climate control), but nothing more to it

What more do you want in a car especially considering the fact that you are on a tight budget!

Originally Posted by johy

Esteem Vxi: 5,13,000
Baleno Lxi: 5,90,000 (6,75,000 for the Vxi - out of budget).

If you bargain hard, you could bring it down to 5.68L or even lower (depending on the region you live in). I bought my Baleno Lxi for 5.68L OTR in Chennai and absolutely loving it.

Originally Posted by johy

What would you guys say? Take the Esteem Vxi and enjoy its great engine and performance?

Why not pay about 50K extra and buy the Baleno Lxi instead of ruing later on that you 'could have bought one'


* Value-for-Money sedan.
Yes, both the Esteem and Baleno are VFM sedans from the Maruti stable.

*Tight budget (The lesser the merrier). Yes, he could stretch for the Baleno Lxi, but it would be a stretch.
Kindly ask him to stretch a wee bit given the fact that your bro has found the Baleno to be a tad luxurious

*Low cost of maintainance.
Baleno isnt going to bomb the pocket as far as maintainance goes. The cosmetic parts might cost a bit extra but otherwise reasonably priced.

* Initially chauffer driven mostly, but ultimately he would drive it a lot. I would drive it a lot too from day one.
The esteem as someone suggested (when I posted my query in this same section) is a 'pseudo big car'. I think it is Sivadas and I couldnt agree more with him. Your bro wants a 'sedan' and why dont you guys shell out 50K more and get yourselves a real big one? Yea I know that the looks of a Baleno is nothing to drool about, but it is practical.

SupremeBaleno (a Bhpian, who also owns a Baleno Lxi) had a signature which went: Power on tap, good FE, insta-chill a/c, all this <6L, what more can a man ask!

Apt dont you think! But a man could ask for more, and I am not going to elaborate on that!

Warm Regards and Happy Hunting
GTS

[prince85]

Originally Posted by GTS

*Low cost of maintainance.
Baleno isnt going to bomb the pocket as far as maintainance goes. The cosmetic parts might cost a bit extra but otherwise reasonably priced.
GTS

Baleno is definately going to be more expensive on the maintainence front when compared to the Esteem.

I own both the Esteem as well as the Baleno so i guess i can say that on a comparative base.

But both offer bullet proof reliabilty so maintenence costs should not be a criteria between the 2 cars i feel and thus i agree with GTS

@JOHY - But at the end of the day the Baleno is a better overall package if only you can stick its controversial looks and can strech your budget.

ON the other hand the Esteem will give you better FE. the Esteem Vxi which you are looking at will be more loaded with features compared with the Baleno Lxi like height adjustable drivers seat, Rear Defogger, Rear Spoiler, Auto Antenna, Basic Music System, Fog Lamps, Body coded OVRM's and Door Handles etc.

Whereas the Baleno LXI will give you better ride and comfort, Bigger Car, More Space, Terrafic A/C and yea not to forget my favourite feature "Power Rear View Mirors", i love em hehe.

Cheers

[johy]

Hi friends,

A big thanks you to (rahul_intlad, n_aditya, theMAG, prince85, kailash, GTS) guys for sharing our dilemma and posting your opinions.

Yes, my brother is also from Siliguri - and the Maruti service is pretty good here (the Hyundai service is good too BTW). We got the Maruti salesguy to bring the Esteem Vxi for a test drive today because we did not get the opportunity to drive it the other day. Yes, I had driven my friend's new Esteem a couple of days before, but my brother had not, and we wanted to give it a good spin today and that we did. For one, I regret having driven the Baleno the other day . The Esteem felt like its poor cousin (no offense - we poor folks might end up buying one ourselves!!). I missed the power, comfort, ride quality, space, chilling AC - everything. We took it for two rounds of a fairly bad strip of road I insist on taking every new car - and well, when we got back, my brother disembarks shaking his head and I hear him muttering under his breath - "Baleno Lxi, Baleno Lxi
...."

So fairly blows the southerly winds, stretching the budget perhaps. We are not still sure - the insomnia is bound to continue. For one, the salesguy wants to close the deal - today, within the hour, here, and now! Very irritating! Do I smell the new model Baleno on its way to the showrooms? That doubles the dilemma.

For now we have agreed on these

* Esteem Vxi will give us a good value-for-money car - we can spruce up a White Esteem with leather seats, alloys, and dark tints to give it a really good look.
* The Exteem Vxi is easy to drive (narrower, and not as long as the Baleno).
* You don't compare the Baleno and Esteem - it is not fair - I am sorry I did.
* How much can he spend - it depends on my brother - really his dough on the table.
* Our nights of insomnia must continue. We should perhaps wait and watch because the rumors of the new Baleno are getting pretty warm.

- Regards

johy

[supremeBaleno]

Can't really blame your bro for jumping from Esteem to Baleno. And in his case it is only a difference of 60K or so. I ditched an almost-confirmed WagonR to buy the Baleno (50% costlier) after a testride that was supposed to be only for fun.

However, be aware that power/performance wise the Esteem is almost there with the Baleno. It is in the A/c, space, big-car feel, seating comfort, etc that the Baleno wins.

Both are nice cars and have been around for sometime now, due to which there is a probability of them being replaced with newer models. But then MUL is not known to do a Honda as far as replacing models are concerned. Only time can tell what MUL has up its sleeve.

[rahul_intlad]

Now that your hearts too are saying baleno why not go in for the Baleno LXi,You should not worry much about the car being replaced since I dont think spares will be much of a problem.
In the new baleno you may not get discounts and will have to stretch your budget even further,if you can do so then it would be best to wait[although apart from rumours actual evidence of the new baleno not yet available]


The best advice which I have seen at team-bhp what car section before is picture yourself sitting in the esteem and then looking at a passing by baleno if you feel that you would still be satisfied then go for the esteem but if you feel your heart would say what if........... then go for the baleno.

Ps: Have you considered the option of a pre-owned Baleno?

[Master530i]

This is an interesting discussion and this post seams to answer my questions and clear up some confusion that I have for esteem and baleno. This car is going to be for my father but he thinks a small car would be desirable for Delhi's congested road and I can NOT agree with small cars. My mind is set on used Baleno Vxi (after getting a comprehensive check on this used car).
As someone suggested used (not abused) baleno would be good choice and that way you don't have to dive deep into you pockets. Good luck !!

[johy]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

The best advice which I have seen at team-bhp what car section before is picture yourself sitting in the esteem and then looking at a passing by baleno if you feel that you would still be satisfied then go for the esteem but if you feel your heart would say what if........... then go for the baleno.

Ps: Have you considered the option of a pre-owned Baleno?

Yes, rahul, I think right now my brother is more inclined towards the Baleno - and for the "There-goes-the-Baleno reason. " However, he is thinking about the maintainance costs as well - where the Esteem wins.

And yes, we are lookign for a used (and not abused as Master530i righty put it) Baleno - but those specimens are hard to come by this part of the planet. Master530i, good luck to your car hunt as well!

[BMW]

johy, Since your brother does not mind the dated looks, I suggest him to go for the Baleno. There is no point in waiting for the new look Baleno. As per ACI's current issue, the new Baleno might be launched in the price range of Rs. 7-8 lakhs. The article further states that Maruti might launch the new Baleno with the current version's 1.6 litre engine to keep the cost down. But I have my doubts that the price of the new model will be less than 6 lakhs.

Master530i, There is no doubt in the fact that Delhi roads are congested. After all, Delhi has more cars than Chennai, Mumbai & Kolkata put together! Though the govt. is improving the infrastructure by building flyovers, underpasses etc., still the situation is not that good. It all depends on how frequently your father will be using the car. If he is comfortable with a hatch back that can be easily parked in a crowded market, then its better to go for a small car.

[four_tire]

Johy Dear!!

I have been in the same dilemma before buying my secondhand OHC - VTEC 1.5 for 4.75 in 2005. Before that, me and my brother have taken lot of time to check the Esteem and baleno... but were as confused as you guys were. The other thing is trying to look at options with little compromise on popularity and ownership (in case of used vehicles)

So after i was not able to choice between esteem/baleno, I went ahead with fiat Petra ELPS.. Barathstage2 in beginning of 2005 ... and its a pretty good vehicle with lots of legroom.. On the other hand Accent GLE and Accent Viva are some good vehicles to check out...

If you would really care for a VFM .. then you could still buy a OHC 1.3 for anything below 3.5 lacs after through checking...you will be happy person..

[bilal]

well,seeing all your requirements a suggestion seems tough.but I suggest you test drive the Accent GLE also which fits in to your budget...

[sriny_blr]

Master530i, After all, Delhi has more cars than Chennai, Mumbai & Kolkata put together! .[/quote]

YOU dont mean that do U....

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by sriny_blr

Master530i, After all, Delhi has more cars than Chennai, Mumbai & Kolkata put together! .

YOU dont mean that do U.... [/quote]
OT : actually he means that... only that the data on which he based that statement is a bit dated. Delhi lost that status about a couple of years back. Its still higher than any of the other metros but not all of them put together... not any more. Also, the vehicular density wise delhi is still much lower than many other places... reason, delhi has as much as 20% or more of its surface under roads... compare that to less than 5% of hyderabad is under roads and hence has one of the worst vehicular densities in the country.

[BMW]

I am afriad we are deviating from the original topic...but here is more

Delhi has more cars than the total number of cars in the states of Gujarat and West Bengal. In fact, 17 per cent of the cars in India run in Delhi alone,

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060421/delhi.htm#6

The number of cars in Delhi is more than the number of cars in Chennai, Calcutta, and Mumbai put together and our roads are not adequate to meet this enormous growth.

Source: http://static.teriin.org/events/sele...an/dik****.htm

Cheers!

[BMW]

Originally Posted by BMW

Source: http://static.teriin.org/events/sele...an/dik****.htm

due to an "abusive" word in the surname of Delhi's chief minister, some part of the link has been censored (dik****) resulting in "dead" link.

Anyway here is the correct link:

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Master530i

This car is going to be for my father but he thinks a small car would be desirable for Delhi's congested road and I can NOT agree with small cars. My mind is set on used Baleno Vxi (after getting a comprehensive check on this used car).

I feel that your Dad has a point there. There is a saying that goes "Bigger the city, smaller your car should be", in which I was a firm believer for years. I deviated from this when I bought the Baleno 1.5 years ago and believe me a 3-box car is a pain in the cities, especially if the user does not need the boot.

Parking is a pain in the sorry areas that we call parking lots in our cities. Making sense of the rear view becomes tough with boot-ed cars compared to hatches. Ofcourse I am not going into the extra expenditure on fuel, tax, insurance, spares, maintenance etc. I would say you get him a good small car. Looking at the purchase from his point of view would help.