Maruti Suzuki has officially launched the eagerly-awaited premium hatchback ‘Maruti Baleno’ in India at an introductory price of Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).
The Baleno will lock horns with Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and VW Polo. It measures 3,995 mm in length, 1,745 mm in width and 1,500 mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 2,520 mm and a ground clearance of 170 mm. The hatchback is based on a new compact car platform which is claimed to be lighter by nearly 100 kg and 10% stronger than the existing comparable platforms in the industry.
The Baleno features Maruti’s “Liquid Flow” design language and comes with sweptback headlamps, a V-shaped honeycomb grille, an air dam with horizontal slats, blackened A, B and C-pillars, wraparound tail lamps and a roof-mounted rear spoiler. The side profile is characterised by a long and low roofline that ends at a rather steeply raked C-pillar. Overall, the Baleno appears to have a flat stance, albeit with muscular wheel arches and a strong baseline.
On the inside, the Baleno sports a fresh interior design with a clutter-free cabin finished in black with brushed silver inserts. The all-black dashboard features a familiar 3-spoke steering wheel, twin pod instrument cluster with blue illumination and the dashboard gets butterfly-shaped centre console with a touchscreen display. The interior look sporty and are spacious with ample of room at the front and rear.
Feature-wise, the top-of-the-line Alpha variant gets SmartPlay infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, navigation and voice command; Bluetooth, USB and AUX connectivity; keyless entry and go system, push button start/stop, reverse parking camera, co-driver vanity lamp, automatic climate control, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, co-driver vanity lamp, puddle lamps, anti-pinch driver-side window, auto dimming IRVM, power foldable and adjustable ORVMs.
The engine options on the Baleno are identical to the Swift. Its petrol variant comes powered by the 1.2-liter K-Series petrol engine producing 83 Bhp and 115 Nm of torque, either paired to a 5-speed manual transmission or mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). While the diesel trims comes with the tried-and-tested Fiat-sourced 1.3-liter DDiS diesel motor generating 74 Bhp and 190 Nm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
The ARAI certified fuel-efficiency figures of the Baleno is 21.4 kmpl for the petrol and 27.39 kmpl for the diesel. The Baleno is available in 4 trim levels – Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha. It also comes with a CVT option (Continuously Variable Transmission) in the Delta petrol variant. A total of 7 colours are on offer – Fire Red, Premium Urban Blue, Metallic Premium Silver, Autumn Orange, Ray Blue, Pearl Arctic White and Granite Grey.
Prices of the 2015 Maruti Baleno (ex-showroom, Delhi):
Petrol
- Baleno 1.2 K-Series Sigma – Rs. 4.99 lakh
- Baleno 1.2 K-Series Delta – Rs 5.71 lakh
- Baleno 1.2 K-Series Delta (CVT) – Rs. 6.76 lakh
- Baleno 1.2 K-Series Zeta – Rs. 6.31 lakh
- Baleno 1.2 K-Series Alpha – Rs. 7.01 lakh
Diesel
- Baleno 1.3 DDiS Sigma – Rs. 6.16 lakh
- Baleno 1.3 DDiS Delta – Rs. 6.81 lakh
- Baleno 1.3 DDiS Zeta – Rs. 7.41 lakh
- Baleno 1.3 DDiS Alpha – Rs. 8.11 lakh
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Also see: Maruti Baleno launches today – complete details out!
GALLERY: Maruti Suzuki Baleno
