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A tastefully modified Maruti Baleno Zeta

18th June 2021, 14:14 by Chirag Moro

The modifications done to this car have been cherry picked after countless hours of browsing through the internet, talking to others with similar modifications in person or through the internet, or browsing through modifications available in the offline market.

BHPian chiranjitp recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is the story of a 2015 Maruti Suzuki Baleno, a car that is owned by a fellow enthusiast Shankhanil Tamuli, someone who is like a brother to me and this is the whole story of how he built his car through multiple stages over the span of multiple years.

This thread will be divided in two parts. In the first part, I will be acting as a messenger and will be delivering the words of my friend, who is the actual owner of the car to this forum. In the second part, I will be posting my own experience as I've driven this car for over hundreds of kilometers on various conditions.

The modifications done to this car have been cherry picked after countless hours of browsing through the internet, talking to others with similar modifications in person or through the internet, or browsing through modifications available in the offline market. The idea behind the compilation of this thread is that the owners of similar Baleno cars or other cars can have a fair idea of the options available to them at their hand.

Part 1

Choosing the Baleno

Back in 2015, we were looking to buy a new hatchback, that was going to replace our '01 Zen VX Deluxe. I loved our Zen to the core, but there was need for a bigger and more spacious car at home. Although Zen was very fun to drive, the family wasn't particularly impressed with its low seating, lack of space and weak AC. It was okay back in 2003-2004 when it entered our lives, but not in 2015 when hatchbacks had became way more modern, with better space, comfort, AC etc. The idea of a car had improved by every means of imagination by then. The premium hatchbacks on sale in 2015 were the likes of i20, Jazz, Punto Abarth, Polo GT TSI and Baleno. I was spoilt with choice. Was awed with the performance offered by the Italian and the German counterparts (i.e the Punto Abarth & Polo TSI), I was sure of what I wanted. But here came the Indian mindset while buying a car in the picture, with parents instantly rejecting this duo, primarily due to the face value of the brand. Fiat in Guwahati already had a reputation for bad service, lack of spares etc. On the other hand, the only VW showroom had shut shop in Guwahati.

So it was a three way race between i20, Jazz and Baleno. Somehow, Baleno appealed the most to me, with reviews clearly praising the features, space and performance (comparatively). We took a test drive in late October 2015 from our nearby Nexa dealership and was immediately impressed by how much bigger & better it felt when compared with the tiny Zen, it felt like a proper upgrade, in every means imaginable. Though I would like to mention that it was nowhere as fun to drive or had soul like the Zen. We took the delivery of the Baleno in pearl arctic white shade in the Zeta guise on 16th November, 2015.

Baleno on her first long trip:

The baby steps towards Modification

Never have I ever imagined that I would end up doing any modifications to the car apart from putting basic amenities like seat covers and floor mats. Also coming from this part of our country, where spotting a modified car is as rare as seeing the blue moon, the motivation to make one was never there. However, in the 2016-2017 period, there came a trend of wrapping. Following the trend, I unknowingly fell into the pit, onto which I'm still falling deeper and deeper to this day. Upon doing some research, I found a popular car accessories shop doing a roof wrap for Rs. 6000 and another for just Rs. 1800. Being a typical Indian, and with little knowledge, I opted for the latter.

The roof was wrapped by splitting into two parts (which explains the low cost) and quality was also nothing to write home about. I wrapped the roof, ORVMs, boot chrome panel, rear bumper lower area, the grille, all in gloss black shade. Also wrapped the chin of the bumper in tacky red shade to give it some sort of contrast. Following the wrapping, I painted my rims black as well (to enhance the overall looks). I felt it gave a sporty look at that point of time. Ordered a rubber bumper lip which goes by the name samurai from amazon, thereby commencing the 1st stage of personalization. Post which my college started and I shifted to Chennai (that's where the real story started).

The wrapped look: