Is the Baleno actually the best family hatchback in India? Here are the top 3 Maruti Baleno pros and cons, according to us.
Let’s get to the positives first.
Being a Maruti Suzuki, the Baleno aces the mileage quotient, with a claimed mileage of 22.35kmpl with the manual, 22.94kmpl with the AMT, and 30.61km/kg with the CNG powertrain.
With lots of space for both people and luggage inside, the Baleno ranks on top in terms of practicality, too. It boasts of 318 litres of boot space, along with lots of cubby holes inside the cabin. Five adults can comfortably sit inside the well-packaged Suzuki Baleno.
This is common among Maruti cars in India — reliability. Moreover, the extensive service network of the carmaker makes the after-sales experience a pleasant one. Maruti Suzuki cars don’t break often and when they do, there’s always a fix nearby.
Let’s talk about the cons now.
Maruti does not offer a lot of options for Baleno customers, with just a 1.2-litre NA petrol engine available in the country. There used to be a turbo-petrol on offer earlier, which has now been long discontinued. So is the CVT gearbox.
Maruti Suzuki is known for making good gearboxes. But, the AMT on the Baleno isn’t one of the best ones from the manufacturer. It isn’t as smooth as the one on the new Maruti Swift, and only makes sense if you spend a lot of time in bumper-to-bumper city traffic.
The Baleno, like many other Maruti Suzuki cars in India, has faced a lot of backlash for poor safety ratings at crash tests and flimsy panel quality. Notably, the new Dzire has got a five-star rating at the BNCAP crash test, and a similar trend is expected to be seen on more Maruti cars in the future.
To sum it up, while the Baleno isn't for everyone, it will satisfy the needs for most potential buyers. It proves to be a great package, and we believe that it might just be the best family hatchback in India. What do you think? Let us know!