Bleno 2020

Some Information about Bleno 2020 is given below:-

What we like:-

·         Best-in-class mileage

·         Peppy engine

·         Class-leading interior space

·         Competitively priced

·         Class-leading cabin space

·         UV Cut glasses

What we don’t like:-

·         Overall ride quality isn't at par with rivals

·         Poor interior quality

·         Stiffer suspension

What’s new in the Maruti Suzuki Baleno:-

·         Redesigned front bumpers

·         New smart hybrid engine

Maruti Suzuki Baleno Price list and Features

There are a total of 6 variants offered in the Maruti Suzuki Baleno with a petrol engine. The range starts from Rs. 5.59 lakhs and goes as high as Rs. 7.87 lakhs. The Sigma 1.2, Delta 1.2, Zeta 1.2 and the Alpha 1.2 variants get the same 1197 cc engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. While the Delta 1.2 Dualjet and the Zeta Dualjet 1.2 are offered with a similar engine coupled with an electric motor which Maruti calls as Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS).

Variants	Sigma	Delta	Zeta	Delta 1.2 Dualjet	Alpha	Zeta 1.2 Dualjet
Maruti Baleno Price Manual Petrol (Ex-Delhi) in INR	Rs. 5,63,602	Rs. 6,44,612	Rs. 7,01,112	Rs. 7,33,412	Rs. 7,64,112	Rs. 7,89,912
Maruti Baleno Price CVT (Ex-Delhi) in INR	N/A	Rs. 7,76,612	Rs. 8,33,812	N/A	Rs. 8,96,112	N/A
Maruti Baleno Price Diesel(Ex-Delhi) in INR	Rs. 6,68,611	Rs. 7,46,621	Rs. 8,07,921	N/A	Rs. 8,68,221	N/A
Features	Analogue Instrument cluster	Adds/removes features of Sigma 1.2:	Includes features of Delta 1.2 and these	Has Features similar to Delta 1.2 but with a powerful Dualjet engine	Includes features of Zeta 1.2 and these	Has Features similar to Zeta 1.2 but with a powerful Dualjet engine
	15-inch Steel wheels	16-inch steel wheels with wheel caps	Instrument Cluster with Chrome Semi Outline		LED Daytime Running Lamps
	Driver and Passenger Airbag	Power adjustable ORVMs	Triple Edge Chrome front grill		Styled Flex Wheels
	Manually adjustable driver and passenger seats	Automatic Climate control	Electrically adjustable ORVM		Rear View Camera
	Tilted Steering wheel	Front and Rear Power Windows	Chrome accents on the windows		Dual-Tone dashboard with Silver accents
	Honey-comb front grille				8” Touchscreen Infotainment System
					Apple CarPlay, Android Auto

The other engine option is the 1299cc DDiS diesel engine that makes 74 bhp and 190 N-m of torque. The price of base diesel variants start from Rs. 6.68 lakhs which tops up to Rs. 8.68 lakhs. This diesel engine of the Baleno is one of the most fuel-efficient engines in its class and provides a mileage of 28 KMPL as per ARAI.

Which Variant to choose?

The Delta 1.2 with the accessory package is the most value for money variant of Baleno. It is priced at a mere Rs. 6.44 Lakhs and gets a host of features like Brake assist, tilt-and-telescopic steering and power-adjustable ORVMs. According to the reports, the Delta 1.2 is also the best-selling Maruti Suzuki Baleno variant out there in the market.

Maruti Baleno Engine and Transmission explained

Powering the Baleno is Maruti’s tried and tested 1.2 Liter K-series VVT engine that is tuned to make 83 bhp of power and 115 Newton-meter of torque. A 5-speed manual transmission comes standard across the lineup with the option of upgrading it to CVT in the Delta, Zeta and Delta Dualjet variants. The base petrol engine along with the manual transmission setup hits the top speed of 180 Km/hr as tested

The other engine option available comes with a stamp of Dualjet (fuel-injector gets nearer to the intake valve) and makes 6 hp more than the basic engine. This engine was launched along with the facelift of Maruti Baleno in 2019 and is available since then. It is also paired with the same 5-speed manual gearbox with only the Delta 1.2 Dualjet getting an option of CVT transmission.

Maruti has come a long way when it comes to its petrol engine’s performance. Baleno’s engine is power-packed, punchy and shushed. There is literally no engine noise when you drive the car in city conditions but once you tap the pedal hard, a low grunt can be heard. The torque kicks in early at just 4000 rpm, that means you don’t have to shift gears much in the city traffic.

Models	Maruti Suzuki Baleno	Hyundai Elite i20	Honda Jazz	Volkswagen Polo
Price (Ex-Delhi)  in INR	Rs. 5.63 Lakhs	Rs. 5.53 Lakhs	Rs. 7.45 Lakhs	Rs. 5.87 Lakhs
Engine	1.2L K-Series VVT 4-cylinder	1.2L Kappa Petrol Inline-4 Naturally aspirated	1.2L i-Vtec petrol Inline-4 Naturally aspirated	1.0L MPI Inline-3 Naturally aspirated
Diesel Engine	1.3L DDiS 4-cylinder	N/A	1.5L i-Dtec 4-cylinder	N/A
Transmission	5 Speed Manual/CVT	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Manual
Power (bhp) Petrol	83@6000rpm	83@6000rpm	89@6000rpm	75@6200rpm
Torque (N-m) Petrol	115@4000rpm	115@4000rpm	110@4800rpm	95@3000rpm
Power (bhp) Diesel	74@4000rpm	N/A	98.6@3600rpm	N/A
Torque (N-m) Diesel	190@2000rpm	N/A	200@1750rpm	N/A

2020 Maruti Suzuki Baleno Braking:-

 

Model	Maruti Suzuki Baleno Sigma	Hyundai Elite i20 Era	Honda Jazz V	Volkswagen Polo Trendline
Front Brakes	Disc	Disc	Disc	Disc
Rear Brakes	Drum	Drum	Drum	Drum
Kerb Weight (kg)	865	1080	1042	1015

2020 Maruti Suzuki Baleno Exterior

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno facelift doesn’t get a lot of styling updates from the 2015 model of the car. It was the first car from the Maruti Suzuki that featured the new HEARTECT platform which is now available in most of Maruti Suzuki cars including the Swift, Ertiga and even the WagonR. Suzuki says that this new platform lowers the overall weight of the car and improves body strength but we disagree. The car might've gotten a little lighter but the body isn't robust. A single sheet of metal as a body isn't the strongest of choices for a car with a premium badge. A redesigned front bumper, a new set of alloys and a new honeycomb grille are the only upgrades that Baleno received on its exterior. Rest, it is all the same as before.

Baleno has subjective design nuances and calling it sporty will be a shame for the word sport itself. It is curvy with no aggression at all, the chassis though lighter isn’t as rigid as it seems to be and the car looks a little too bulky of which we are not a fan of. But then, it wasn't presented to the buyers as a sports hatchback rather it was the first premium hatch offering by the manufacturers. The amount of chrome used throughout the top of the line model of the Maruti Baleno makes it a little blingy at first look but it grows on you eventually. 

Model	Maruti Suzuki Baleno Sigma	Hyundai Elite i20 Era	Honda Jazz V	Volkswagen Polo Trendline
Kerb weight (kg)	865	1080	1042	1015
Length(mm)	3995	3985	3955	3971
Width(mm)	1745	1734	1694	1682
Height(mm)	1510	1505	1544	1469
Ground clearance (mm)	170	167	165	165
Wheelbase (mm)	2520	2570	2530	2469

Overall, Baleno is the biggest car considering its proportions. The longer and wider body of Baleno means there’s a whole lot of space on the inside. It has the highest ground clearance as well that helps it clear the bigger potholes with ease while the rivals might suffer some underbody scraping

2020 Maruti Suzuki Baleno Interiors

Open the doors of Baleno (which open a lot wider than any car) and you’d be welcomed with an all-black, sporty-looking interior. Everything is ergonomically placed inside for easy access and the interior seems a lot better unless you sit inside the car. Maruti has saved some bucks with the use of a lot of cheap materials inside the cabin. You can find hard plastics almost everywhere in the car. From the dashboard to the power window buttons, everything screams cheap. 

The cabin feels airy and offers great outward visibility as well. Baleno boasts an immense seating space with huge rear legroom (a 6 footer won’t have any problem stretching the legs) and an adequate amount of headroom. There's a lot of storage spaces inside the car with holders that can carry 1.5-litre bottles with ease. 

Model	Maruti Suzuki Baleno Sigma	Hyundai Elite i20 Era	Honda Jazz V	Volkswagen Polo Trendline
Passenger capacity	5	5	5	5

The seats are a little too stiff for the ride and you’d feel fatigued while riding it for long distances. The wider proportions of Baleno makes a great deal in offering the interior space. It has got the widest rear seats amongst rivals and can accommodate 3 people without any problem. There is one thing you'll absolutely love about the Baleno and that is the amount of cabin space and storage spaces you get inside. 

Though the rivals miss out on space that Baleno has on offer, they get a better interior than the latter. Hyundai i20’s dual-tone (beige-black) seems better and the minimal use of hard-touch plastic is what makes it better than Baleno.

Creature comforts on offer?

Maruti is offering a lot of bells and whistles on the Baleno and wants to play the features card, as the USP. Here are a few creature comforts on offer in the Maruti Baleno

·         All-black dashboard with Silver accents

·         Push Start-Stop button

·         Auto Up/Down driver side power windows

·         Telescopic and Tilt-adjustable steering wheel

·         Manual height-adjustable seats

·         Anti-pinch driver window

Infotainment system and Connectivity options

On the dash of Baleno sits a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment that Maruti proudly calls the Smartplay Studio system. The infotainment is pretty tech intuitive with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, navigation and voice-command activation but seems to respond late on touch and swipes. A smoother UI would have made it one of the best in its class. Little do people know that Maruti Suzuki has sourced this display from Harman while the pre-facelift models came with the one produced by Bosch.

·         7” Touchscreen Infotainment system

·         Apple Car Play and Android Auto connectivity

·         Bluetooth, FM, AM

·         Voice Command

·         Navigation with Live traffic update

·         4 Speaker R&GO Audio System with 2 front tweeters

·         Bluetooth and USB connectivity

How big is the Boot of Maruti Suzuki Baleno?

You might’ve heard a lot that hatchbacks aren’t meant to carry loads of luggage, buy a sedan or an SUV instead. Well, Baleno breaks the stereotype over here. The 339-liter of available boot space of Maruti Baleno can even put some sedans to shame. 

However, the higher load lip can be problematic while loading and unloading heavier luggage inside. The rear seats are 60:40 foldable enabling the user with loads of space to put some bigger boxes inside. 

Model	Maruti Suzuki Baleno Sigma	Hyundai Elite i20 Era	Honda Jazz V	Volkswagen Polo Trendline
Cargo Volume with rear seats up (Litres)	339	285	354	280

Honda Jazz is the clear winner here with its largest luggage carrying capacity of 354-liters. It is even easier to keep the luggage in and out of the Jazz. The VW Polo and the Hyundai Elite i20 stand neck-to-neck with each other in terms of boot capacity.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno Safety

The increasing demand for more fuel-efficient cars has made the manufacturers to find alternatives to make the car lighter and also safer for that matter. Most car marques like Honda have succeeded in doing so, but some like Maruti Suzuki will have to step their game up to make safer cars.

The Baleno gets a lot of safety features like dual airbags, ABS and EBD, engine immobilizer, ISOFIX child mount seats as standard but the structural rigidity of the car still remains a question. Euro NCAP crash tested the Made in India Suzuki Baleno and gave the car 4 stars with an extra safety package. However, the Maruti Baleno's safety has always been in question even after the manufacturer providing the car with good enough safety features. The single-layer sheet metal that covers Baleno is a bit fragile and hinders the overall reliability of car during accidents.

Safety Features

The Maruti Suzuki safety features on offer include:

·         Speed-sensing door lock

·         Dual airbags

·         ABD with ESC and EBD

·         Rear Parking Sensor

·         Rear Backup Camera

·         Driver side Load Pre-tensioner and limiter

·         Driver Seat Belt reminder