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-   -   My Urban Blue Maruti Baleno RS (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/191915-my-urban-blue-maruti-baleno-rs-5.html)

Thanks for the information. Not sure where the service centre guys get their details :Frustrati

Well the RS turns one today! Time certainly does fly indeed :). The car has done just under 12000km. A summary of my experience so far:

• Abundance of space, one of the strong points of the car. Haven't really had any gripes from passengers in this department. Most people are quiet happy, although the rear seat does induce nausea for some.
• Great AC. Gets the job done in most conditions.
• Tractable engine. Enough power on tap in all gears, it does not need much effort to get going both in the city and on the highway. Constant gear changes are not required and I am usually less tired after a trip.
• Being a turbo petrol, the fuel economy can vary anywhere from 10km/l to 20km/l depending on how you drive. In the city the mileage is around 12-13km/l and on the highway it varies between 17-20km/l (with a speed of between 100-120km/h)
• More taut suspension would have helped on the highway. Although the car is stable, it does not have that hunkered down feeling. This kid of takes away from the fun factor.
• Steering gets the job done. Does not have a connected to the road feeling but it is direct for the most part. Have been facing a steering noise issue for the past few months. There is a crackling sound from the steering (like when you rub a plastic bag together) when I turn the steering. It is not a very audible sound and can't be heard with the music on, but annoying none the less. Will take it to the service centre to get it fixed. Took it once and they said it's common, told them I am not buying that and it has to be fixed.
• The tires are appalling. I never really drove the car on any bad broken roads but the front 2 tires got sidewall damage. Replaced them with Yokohama BlueEarth AE50 tires.These are so much better! Should have done this from day 1. Will replace the rear tires shortly. Many users are facing issues with the Apollo tires, yet Maruti continues to use them.

Apart from those 2 issues, the car is doing great. The main reason I got this car was for the engine and it has held its end of the deal quiet well so far.
One of the things I was utterly disappointed with when I got the car were the speakers. I am no audiophile but I do like good clean tight sound. A few months back I upgraded the speaker setup:

The Nippon stock speakers with a minuscule magnet







The stock tweeters



Went with the polk DB6501 component speakers for the front. These are quiet bright in their nature and have amazing clarity. Images courtesy of respective manufacturers. Could not take pictures during the installation unfortunately.





Open the door and you can see the lovely golden speaker through the grill. Looks great



At the rear are the polk db+ 522 coaxial speakers









The amp is the Pioneer GM-A6704.

Could have probably gone for a better amp but it would have exceeded the budget. Am actually more than satisfied with the results.The amp is under the front passenger seat.









For the sub woofer I needed something that would not take up allot of space in the boot, had to go for a shallow mount sub. I was a bit apprehensive in the beginning but after installation I was mightily impressed! Even though it is shallow, it does pack quiet a punch. I am not a bass head but I do like my bass to be low and punchy. The 12" Pioneer TS-SW3002S4 gets the job done and how! Being an enclosed sub, the thump cannot be heard outside the car unless of course the volume is high.







Installed in the boot. The narrow profile means that you can stack the sub on top of any luggage if required instead of removing it completely. The phone for reference is a 5" one.







Got 3M acoustic damping done on the doors and the boot. The cabin is quieter after this and definitely helps the sound quality too.





A couple of pics after 1 year! Car looks better than the day I got it :). I have not done any outside detailing to the car since I got it. It gets a weekly shampoo wash and a monthly polish/wax from my side.













The original RS logo was not visible since both the car and the logo were blue. Replaced it with a red all metal (the original one is flimsy plastic) RS logo from Aliexpress. Distinctly visible now and looks better too.

Good to hear that you are happy with the car.
1. How is the NVH when it is driven at high speeds? Is it easy to do high triple digit speeds?
2. Does a lot of noise filter into the cabin or is it quiet? Is the engine loud at high rpms?

The car easily does high triple digit speeds quiet easily without too much of a fuss. Even though the engine is quiet small, it does not feel strained (except when you are reaching the end of the speedo, but that is expected I suppose). It does not feel nervous but I do wish the suspension was a bit stiffer and the steering had a tad more weight to it. Overall it's a great performer on the highway with ample power on tap.
The engine is quiet audible at the higher RPMs but pushing it to it's limits is quiet futile as the power tapers over 5000RPM.

Initially when I got the car, the NVH was not great, there was allot of road noise especially at triple digit speeds. After I changed the front tires and got the 3M damping done the noise has reduced substantially and I am quiet pleased with the results. It should only get better once I change the rear tires :)

Hey Rog -

you've maintained the car well, my friend! I might get in touch with you to get some gyaan for the speaker upgrade.

Main intention was to drop in on this thread to share my experience from the test drive I took yesterday along with my friend who was searching for a good car. I took this opportunity to introduce myself to this RS. I must admit, I came out mighty impressed with the car. Mostly for the following;

1) Torque was adequate and the turbo kicked in time to impress me.
2) Well, Baleno will win hands down over swift any day for the sheer comfort and build quality of plastics put together inside the car.
3) Seats were absolutely comfy.
4) I never knew the car would perform well on bad potholes (not sure, if you share the opinion as I do since you own the car for a long time now)
5) Engine again. It was smooth and the turbo pleased me big time and the power it packed for a small engine, is indeed impressive.
6) Dials - I love Baleno for the MFD it has inside. It's absolutely brilliant.
7) Brakes were good as well. I didn't realize it had a Disc setup at the rear too until I saw it in person.
8) The only disappointment were the tires and the alloys. Maruti could have thought well and given it a good set of tires and alloys.

Honestly, this car is surely a good buy for an enthusiast next to GT twins!

You've got one there, buddy man :)

Absolutely, as I mentioned in my review, the Baleno was not on my list and I did not have any inclination to buy one. When the RS came along this definitely changed! It has a nice balance between performance and practicality where you don't have to give up one for the other.

As you mentioned Maruti should have definitely provided better rubber! In a way I am glad that two of my tires got damaged and forced me to replace them.

Get in touch regarding the speakers anytime. I'm no speaker buff though :)

On a different note, the car just completed 12000km! The car is doing great. Have to get that steering issue fixed though.

A couple of stats for the 383 days I have had the car. First up, the fuel:



The cost of petrol since I got the car. The spikes in the graph is when I used some special petrol. Lowest cost was Rs 64 in July 2017 and the highest is now at Rs 76.

My friend that is one really well maintained car. Do you drive less on the highways? I've seen a few Balenos with tiny dents, might be from stone hits. Your car seems to be super smooth on the surface. I test drove one 2 weeks back and it took some time to get used to the light steering from what I'm used to in the Ritz.

I think the most helpful feature in top end Baleno is its lights. They illuminate the roads so well without blinding the oncoming traffic, and this is something that makes night driving stress free. Also, the speeds that todays cars can reach, one better have great lights.

Enjoy your drive :-)

Thank you :) the car is driven 60% in the city and 40% on the highway. I am just pretty careful with how I drive and where I park to avoid as little damage as possible. This is not just with the RS but all the cars.

The car is inching towards 15000km now, after a 2000km trip recently. My home town is just 20km from the world heritage site of Hampi, I usually don't drive down since a car is already there. Due to a work emergency I drove down with the RS and decided to re visit Hampi after several years.

With 4 people and luggage onboard the RS performed effortlessly. Several passengers on this and other journeys commended on the performance of the car and I had to explain to them that this was not a regular Baleno. Seems like many people are unaware of the existence of the RS, it doesn't really help that the interiors are exactly the same so it would be hard for a regular person to differentiate.

There were heavy rains during the onward journey and the car behaved well throughout. As you approach Hampi the roads become winding and I did not lose any confidence in the car even in the torrential rain.

I had a fear that the car might have difficulty navigating some of the bad roads due to the front bumper, but thankfully most of the roads are good and there were no major issues. One time I did get the car stuck and I thought the side skirting would be damaged but luckily it had hit the exhaust chamber and there was no other damage.

Overall it was great fun driving the car in and around Hampi. It is holding up quiet well with no rattles or squeaks. Mind you I drive like a snail in bad sections of the road so maybe that helps too. The door damping and new tires in the front have made the car quiet silent and it's a pleasure to travel in the car without any intrusive road noise.

After returning to Bangalore I had to drive down to Chennai. This time there were only 2 people with luggage onboard. One thing I immediately noticed is that the car behaves much better with load in the rear. It feels more composed and balanced. If only Maruti had tweaked the suspension a bit, it would have made a world of difference (at least in the RS).

While I was in the Chennai, Maruti had an environmental day camp so decided to take the car for a checkup, after all it was running around allot.

Took the car to ABT Maruti in Ambattur. I was very impressed by their service to say the least. Way better than anything I experienced in Bangalore, although it might have something to do with the fact that the TSM of Maruti was there that day. The camp was completely free and it was like a service. They checked the entire car, cleaned all necessary components including the spark plugs, checked the emission levels and gave the car a good wash. I also got a coupon for the next service but sadly I can only avail it there.

I was chatting with the TSM throughout the entire process and had a great conversation with him. He was telling me about Maruti, their principals and how they operate. We also discussed about the incident involving the car and he did tell me that several things changed after that. Glad to hear that.

Overall pretty satisfied with how the car is doing so far. Average mileage of 17.4 km/l during the entire trip with average speeds between 100-120 km/h. But occasionally can't help but indulge :)

Couple of pictures. Not sure why they stopped the Urban Blue color. Looks great. Guess am the lucky few with the colour now.

Had a great drive to Kodagarai a few days back. It's a small village in the hills with a gorgeous winding road which ends there. Due to the isolated nature of the village, the roads were pretty much non existent till recently.

Since only villagers use the road, there is absolutely NO traffic except for the occasional bike.

Blasted the RS through the road and boy was it fun! It was composed for the most part and the brakes are quiet confidence inspiring. Body roll creeps in, but am sure it can be negated with a stiffer suspension.

Quiet pleased with this little machine. The motor is the star of the show here :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-72FQDsV5DQ

Hey ROG_AK... Came to your thread after booking a Silver Baleno RS. Still don't have the car but I have some questions in my mind:
1. Have you attempted to get RogerAB for the body rolling / suspension stiffening?
2. I am sort of against the blue lighting on the dashboard. Wonder if it can be changed to red?
3. The 3M sound dampening that you have, was it put in small strips or have you lathered on the entire surface?
4. Are you attempting to upsize the tyre? If yes, to what size?

Please try to help me as much as you can.

Congratulations on your booking! Hope the car serves you well. Coming to your queries, another Bhpian has written a great review on his silver RS. He has also installed RogerAB and upgraded the tires. Check out his thread here. The 3M damping was done in small strips throughout the inside of the door and boot. It definitely makes a difference.

Unfortunately you maybe stuck with the blue lighting, changing this may involve removing the entire dashboard to get to the instrument panel and change the individual LED's inside. It can be done but your dashboard will never have a factory fit again. As it is there are many complaints from Baleno users facing rattles and squeaks, if you are willing to risk it then you could try it.

Well the car is slowly yet steadily inching towards the 20000 km mark. Unfortunately I was not able to use it as mush as I would have liked in recent times, due to work and travel. None the less the car is doing great, with no major issues.

Recently I decided to upgrade the lights to LEDs, this included all the interior lights and the fog lights. The fog lights were first on my list and after scouring the net decided to go with these.
The specifications are nothing extraordinary but I liked the interaction with the dealer before purchasing the product so went ahead. The product appears to be a re branded Chinese one. Build quality is average but I do like the fact that the fan is enclosed in a casing. It's a 3 sided LED design, the Baleno uses a H8 socket for the fog lights.





















The stock bulbs from Philips.





Installation was fairly straight forward. It's just plug and play, no extra modifications needed.

Remove the cladding to gain access to the bulb



Once open, you can reach inside and remove the old bulb and install the new one. Installation on the right side required a bit more effort, the washer fluid tank was in the way and the bumper had to be removed slightly for the installation.



Regular halogen light



LED light installed



Well after installation, decided to try them out at night. The LEDs are substantially better than the regular halogen ones. They have a wider spread and illuminate the sides of the roads quiet well. Recently drove to Hyderabad in the middle of the night and quiet liked the extra illumination provided around the sides, which made driving a tad easier. Overall happy with the result, I only hope they last long.

Low beam, no fog lights



Low beam, LED fog lights



Low beam, no fog lights



Low beam, LED fog lights




Next up after the fog lights were the interior lights. There are a total of 11 lights that need to be changed:

• Front centre roof lights - 2
• Front foot-well lights - 2
• Front door puddle lights - 2
• Centre roof light - 1
• Glove-box light - 1
• Boot light - 1
• Number plate lights - 2

Unfortunately I was not able to change the foot-well lights and the glove-box light, they require a bit more effort and I did not have the time. Will be changing them shortly. Apart from these and the centre roof light, all the other bulbs are w5w.
After searching on Amazon, decided to go with Osram 0.5W bulbs. Link here. Installation is fairly straight forward: Remove the shroud, pull out the old bulb, install the new LED bulb.

After the front roof lights, it was time for the centre roof light which has a Festoon connector. Initially I order a light that was too long and it was a very tight fit in the space provided. The light had to be installed at an angle and it was looking very awkward. Later I realized that I needed a light that was approximately 30mm so ended up ordering another one which fit the requirements. Here is the link.

The centre roof light connector



Original bulb



Initially ordered a bulb that was too long



Awkward installation of the wrong LED



Ordered the correct LED bulb later on





After installation



Next up, door puddle lights





The number plate lights were next







Last but not least, the boot light





The LEDs certainly add a sense of class to the interior and provide better illumination as well. I might change the puddle lights and boot light to 1W LEDs though, the illumination is sufficient but I feel it could be a bit brighter.

A couple of pictures of the end result







And to end the post, a couple of pictures from the drive to Hyderabad. Since I was mostly driving at night, managed to get an impressive mileage of 21km/l with speeds between 80-100km/h

@ROG_AK, how is the overall performance of your upgraded LED fog lights? Can you suggest any other alternatives, if any?

Sorry to hijack the question addressed to ROG_AK.

I've H11 LED fog bulbs in my Baleno for close to an year now.

Yes, there's day and night difference between normal H8/H11 halogen fog bulbs and LEDs. The corners especially when driving close to the divider are more brighter.

The stock fog bulbs were just like 'Diyas' :uncontrol