[girishglg]

Just happened to check out your initial ownership thread and wow what a well written one on that!

Always had a lots of experiences of the Jazz CVT with closes ones owning them and yes have loved the paddle shifters that come with it but must say that after reading your thread the Baleno seems to be quite a serious contender to the Jazz auto.

Well done on your selection and wish you many more happy stress free miles ahead!

[condor]

@Dheepak, very nicely written review, and nice pics too.

I also liked the way you commented about the rubberband effect.

Regarding the seating position in the A-Star, did you try combinations of seat height & incline of back-rest ? Many of us have found a nice position using these two settings.

[Djay]

Originally Posted by dheepak10

Congratulations on your booking!!

I got delivery of my Autumn Orange Alpha CVT 2 days back . Absolutely loving it so far!

Haven't got a chance to drive a lot, but noticed something strange during initial drives. While approaching a signal or while gradually stopping, I feel some slight vibrations from the engine/transmission. Similar to a manual transmission when stopping in a higher gear without pressing the clutch. The car doesn't stall and the vibrations are only for 2-3 seconds before finally stopping.

Have you noticed anything similar with your Baleno anytime?

[dheepak10]

Originally Posted by Djay

I got delivery of my Autumn Orange Alpha CVT 2 days back . Absolutely loving it so far!

Haven't got a chance to drive a lot, but noticed something strange during initial drives. While approaching a signal or while gradually stopping, I feel some slight vibrations from the engine/transmission. Similar to a manual transmission when stopping in a higher gear without pressing the clutch. The car doesn't stall and the vibrations are only for 2-3 seconds before finally stopping.

Have you noticed anything similar with your Baleno anytime?

Congrats on your new car!! . Autumn Orange is an interesting color and it is one of the best orange colors out there.

Regarding your issue, I have not noticed such a behaviour with my car - it stops without any vibrations as if clutch were engaged in a manual.
Do get it checked with the best Service center in your area.

[dheepak10]

I did a drive from Hyderabad to Hampi over the past long weekend (30th Sep to 2 Oct).

The route taken was Hyderabad -> Bhootpur -> Raichur -> Kampli -> Hospet (Google recommended route). The route was not that great - ridden with potholes and speed-breakers.

The Baleno CVT handled like a pro - quick acceleration was always available on tap; the car transforms from sedate to a powerful one at around 3k RPM.

The mileage on both onward and return journey was a decent 17 kmpl, due to the multiple slow-downs and quick acceleration. My Bangalore trip had yielded 20+ kmpl.

We did have an incident near Achutaraya temple in Hampi - While parking the car on the side of the road, I did not notice that the rear tyre was going over the end of the road. The side of the road was grass and mud from the rain and the car slipped off the road, sideways, and rested on the chassis at the front at more than 45-degree angle.

We feared that the car was going to topple, but luckily it did not. I got all passengers out of the car and then with the help of locals and taxi drivers who were parked in the area, we tried to move the car out, but the mud and grass was not giving any grip.

Finally, we tried reversing the car out and the front right wheel got some traction and the car started moving, but we needed people on both sides, lifting the car up on the left and pushing it down, as two wheels were airborne and finally managed to get it out.

We were lucky that the damage was limited to a couple of dimples on the body - 1 on the front left fender and 2 small ones on the rear left door. The dimples on the rear door are hardly visible. This, after so much pressure was put on the door panels. Looks like Maruti has improved the tensile strength of the panels in the 2017 models, as opposed to the videos showing panel flex in youtube.

One positive from this is that a minor rattle from the left-side dashboard area has now disappeared .

The return journey was even more difficult for the car - a cloudburst near Hyderabad triggered incessant rains and there were lakes overflowing on the highway, removing half the road. The Baleno had to go through major potholes, some of which almost toppled a bus, waterlogged roads (almost knee depth), but still managed to take us home, unscathed (both car and passengers) .

Overall, we are mighty impressed with this car and now I love the CVT even more!

Here's a couple of pics from the trip:

[koolguy_ani]

Hi Dheepak, hope you and your car are doing great! I happened to get alpha cvt two weeks ago and unlike the test drive vehicle, this seems to be very sluggish with 3-5 people onboard especially from standstill and after crossing the speed breakers. The rpm doesn't cross 2k even in sports mode and neither the speed of the car does despite increasing the throttle input. It makes a loud whining noise and once it gets rolling, the speed then increases considerably. Could this be temporary and could be solved by changing the driving pattern? I had filled the fuel from a reputed hp petrol pump. Thanks for your help in advance!

[dheepak10]

Originally Posted by koolguy_ani

Hi Dheepak, hope you and your car are doing great! I happened to get alpha cvt two weeks ago and unlike the test drive vehicle, this seems to be very sluggish with 3-5 people onboard especially from standstill and after crossing the speed breakers. The rpm doesn't cross 2k even in sports mode and neither the speed of the car does despite increasing the throttle input. It makes a loud whining noise and once it gets rolling, the speed then increases considerably. Could this be temporary and could be solved by changing the driving pattern? I had filled the fuel from a reputed hp petrol pump. Thanks for your help in advance!

Hi Koolguy_ani,

First of all congrats on your new car.

The CVT does feel a bit sluggish below 2K RPM when starting from standstill. Take it to just above 2K and then drop down a bit to get a quick start.

That said, mine does not have that sudden,quick acceleration you mentioned. It gains speed gradually.

On the sports mode, it generally keeps the RPM 2k above your current range. To be more precise, it tries to keep the RPM in the max torque range which is around 4k RPM.

This ensures that you can speed quickly and stay in the right power band for quick overtaking maneuvers.

You may want to get yours checked during the first service as even with 4 on board and without sports mode enabled, mine is able to gain quick acceleration from standstill.

[koolguy_ani]

Originally Posted by dheepak10

Hi Koolguy_ani,

First of all congrats on your new car.

The CVT does feel a bit sluggish below 2K RPM when starting from standstill. Take it to just above 2K and then drop down a bit to get a quick start.

That said, mine does not have that sudden,quick acceleration you mentioned. It gains speed gradually.

On the sports mode, it generally keeps the RPM 2k above your current range. To be more precise, it tries to keep the RPM in the max torque range which is around 4k RPM.

This ensures that you can speed quickly and stay in the right power band for quick overtaking maneuvers.

You may want to get yours checked during the first service as even with 4 on board and without sports mode enabled, mine is able to gain quick acceleration from standstill.

Hi Dheepak, was waiting for the engine to run-in before replying(approx 2000kms done) . Yes, the engine and the gearbox has got much smoother and responsive now. And also, I have done some highway drives and astonished to see the onboard average of 24kmpl with sedate driving at 100kph! And the onboard display does seem to be accurate enough. With spirited driving, it dropped to 19kmpl which surely is good enough as well. The best thing I noticed it the kick down mode, by which the gearbox will kind of downshift if the accelerator is depressed suddenly and works in proportion to the speed and force of pressing the pedal.
The confusing part is, the rpm is not always constant while cruising. At 100 kph, it was sometimes pottering around 1700rpm and at times 1900rpm with the same accelerator input. Not a huge variation though as at all times, it was indeed very quiet!

Thanks,
--Aniruddha

[Satishtv]

Hi Dheepak, I just read your review for the third time in 5+ months. It is very well written.

Have you ever felt the need to upgrade to alloy wheels and 16 inch tyres?

[Satishtv]

HI Dheepak, I am finally getting my Baleno Alpha CVT tomorrow, 15th March 2018.

Can you please give me some tips on driving the automatic car?



Thanks!

[nitinralli]

Hi buddy, planning to buy a CVT baleno myself hence a quick question.

What was the worst mileage you got on your CVT? Also what was the condition in which you got that?

Thanks and waiting for your input.

[koolguy_ani]

Originally Posted by nitinralli

Hi buddy, planning to buy a CVT baleno myself hence a quick question.

What was the worst mileage you got on your CVT? Also what was the condition in which you got that?

Thanks and waiting for your input.

I also happen to own a CVT variant of the Baleno. Here are some figures that might help.
During the initial 1.5k kms, while getting adapting myself to the CVT: 10kmpl city, 19 highway. That also included occasional spirited driving.
Current odo is reading 4k kms, and having learnt to modulate the accelerator input: 13 kmpl in city, with a very light foot; For highways, worst was 19 and also yielded almost 22-23 while cruising.
The fuel economy is a bit sensitive to the throttle input, and having realised that, more the accelerator input: faster I would go and apparently apply the brakes frequently while driving in the city. So, I drive as if I am driving a luxury sedan and still manage to reach the destination at almost the same time

[gunsho]

Originally Posted by koolguy_ani

still manage to reach the destination at almost the same time

You have a very valid point. During my initial days in Bangalore, tried to switch lane, hoping to reach office faster. After a while, gave and and use to drive in same lane, it almost takes similar time to reach office. I guess its all in brain in city traffic. Birds eye view may just be same.

[amarprusty]

How does Suzuki Baleno Delta CVT compare with Tata Tigor XZA AMT

As the Tigor AMT Top end is more than 1 Lac cheaper than the lowest end Delta Baleno CVT

Undecided which Automatic to pick

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by amarprusty

How does Suzuki Baleno Delta CVT compare with Tata Tigor XZA AMT

As the Tigor AMT Top end is more than 1 Lac cheaper than the lowest end Delta Baleno CVT

Undecided which Automatic to pick

A canyon seperates the two, basis refinement and driveability, baleno is way quicker, smoother, more fuel efficient and definitely more reliable than the Tigor AMT.
The baleno also uses a much more sophisticated automatic gearbox in the form of a CVT. Plus you cannot really compare Tata and maruti on the same page in terms of resale and reliability. Also, the delta automatic has almost all essentials ticked, so the 1 lakh premium is worth it. To top it all, baleno sells 10 times more than the Tigor, furthering my points.