Maruti Suzuki Swift vs Baleno: Which car to buy?

The sportier looks and the dynamic driving feel of the Swift were also something that I liked on this new-gen, whereas some additional features in the Baleno made it feel more premium as well

BHPian shubhgala9699 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Greetings to all,
This is my first long posed format thread on the forum, and it's a genuine ask for help, so please bear with me throughout.

So, for the past 5 months, I'm using the Innova Crysta 2.4Z in diesel manual which was purchased new on Dussehra'2024 and I have already driven it close to 9000kms. (City+Highway combined) With some great weekend road trips as well.

The traffic conditions in the city are getting worse day by day, and managing to drive such a large MPV in manual guise has left me feeling frustrated and cumbersome lately.

I absolutely love owning the Crysta, and plan to keep the car with me for the entire life of it, along side I do own a 2023 Superb Sportline as well as a 2023 Hyundai i20 N Line Turbo DCT, which are used by my Dad and my sister respectively.

Recently, I had been going through the forums and watching all YouTube reviews about the new Swift/Dzire and a thought came to mind, why not buy a budgeted small car (beater) with an Automatic transmission to take care of the city drives, while I can use my Crysta for the longer routes out on the highway, I suppose that would make sense, won't it ?

So I then started setting up my mind on a compact automatic beater car, only to fulfill the city needs with the basic priorities being safety, decently kitted (as a Toyota owner, I don't expect much in this regard ) but the higher priorities being the fuel efficiency and the resale value (as this would be an impulse purchase decision, and just in case if I end up not liking the experience and change my mind later to sell it, I don't want to take a huge depreciation hit)

So naturally, I considered Suzuki to be one of the best contenders to go for, that fit the aforementioned criterias and also fit my budget requirements (10L, stretched to 12L on-road, Mumbai)
P.S - I only consider the top of the line variants of cars while making a purchase decision or I start feeling as if I missed out on the best that could have been offered (just a quirk of mine, I apologise)

Coming down to the options shortlisted, I found the new 2024 Swift ZXI+ and the Baleno Alpha AGS, both in their automatic (AMT) versions to be the best suited cars for me, for the requirements.

I did briefly consider other options as well, but I personally believe that the Suzuki's rather straightforward and fuss-free ownership is something that no other brand would be able to offer (keeping in mind the high fuel efficiency and resale value)

I absolutely loved the new Dzire as well, but something about compact sub-4m sedans/SUV's just doesn't sit right in my mind since the beginning, (I know it's a very controversial/contrasting opinion in this day and age) I am a fan of conventional desgins - hatchbacks, sedans, SUV's, MPV's and basically everything else full-sized.

So, about the new Swift and the Baleno, I acknowledge the shortcomings of the new 3 pot motor, but after a short TD, I enjoyed it and it didn't seem far off from the legacy of MS' engine that's present in the Baleno. The sportier looks and the dynamic driving feel of the Swift were also something that I liked on this new-gen, whereas some additional features in the Baleno made it feel more premium as well. All in all, both options are pretty competent in their own regards.

P.S - I am personally of the opinion that the Swift in itself is a brand, which has a lot of aspirational value, something I'll be happy to have in my garage, and not to mention that helps with the resale quotient as well. (Just my thoughts)

I have listed down all the pros and cons of both the options for myself and tried to weigh them objectively, and I am pretty much convinced with either one of them, hence the question of choice remains; which one should I go for ? Kindly help.

Thankyou all for reading my post till the end.
Hope to seek some clarity in regards to my dilemma,
Any and all advices/suggestions are much appreciated. Cheers!

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