The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is a premium hatchback sold from Maruti Suzuki’s Nexa network of showrooms. It is loaded with best-in-class features, looks decent, performs satisfactorily, and is well-priced.

So is the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Zeta a good buy?

The short answer is yes.

Read the following sections to know more.

The overall performance and engine of the car

As per the opinions of car experts associated with AutoHealth, the latest iteration of the Baleno entails the same K-Series, dual VVT engine equipped with the revered DualJet technology which is available in the DZire as well as the Swift.

Additionally, the car also retains the five-speed manual transmission that the entire Maruti Suzuki Baleno range is known for. The latest iteration of the Baleno is tuned to produce 88.5bhp of power and 113Nm of torque. The engine outputs might seem a bit low but one must remember that the latest iteration of the Baleno tips the scales at just 955kg. It means that it’s a light car with a decent engine output. In simple words, this is a slow car that feels fast.

The overall acceleration of the car is satisfactory and the top speed of the car is achievable only when the RPM surpasses 5500 to 6000 RPM!

The overall handling and ride quality of the car

Sift through the used car details of the Baleno in popular car forums and you would readily find out that the car was always praised for its planted handling irrespective of its speed. The chassis of the car has been reinforced by Maruti Suzuki in a bid to keep chassis flexes to the bare minimum.  Maruti Suzuki also went ahead and added a new torsion bar to the rear dead axle of the car in a bid to enhance the overall ride quality of the car. Additionally, the steering unit has been reprogrammed in a bid to enhance its self-centering capability by several folds.

The overall interior space and comfort of the car

Unlike other new and used cars from Maruti Suzuki, the Baleno is quite roomy on the inside especially when one considers the fact that it is a hatchback and not a sedan like its predecessor from the 90s to the early 00s.

The latest iteration of the Baleno gets a revised dashboard with a neatly integrated 9-inch infotainment system. The overall look and feel of the dashboard is on the premium side but to be honest, the finishing of the unit could have been better. The plastic trims are hard to the touch and the buttons lack tactile feedback but do what they are programmed to, do without issues.

In terms of comfort, the seats are well-padded and properly bolstered. The rear seats do lack a bit of under-thigh support. The suspension system of the car is not too soft or too hard and does a great job of damping all undulations the Indian roads can throw at the car! Maruti Suzuki could have done a better job at reducing the overall NVH levels of the car as one could feel quite a lot of noise creeping inside the car cabin especially when the car is cruising at high speeds!

Comes decked out with a Heads-Up Display Unit

Whether you are getting your hands on new or used cars in Kolkata, keep an eye out for the Baleno as the car is decked out with equipment as well as features that justify the price tag it carries. For instance, the top trims of the Baleno are equipped with Heads-Up Display units – which is a first in India especially when one considers the mass market hatchback car segment.

Should you buy the Baleno?

Sure, the present-age Baleno has no similarity with the iteration that was available in India from 1999 – 2007. But the new-age Baleno is no loser as well! If you ask the experts, they would state that by introducing the new-age Baleno in 2015, Maruti Suzuki played a masterstroke.

The latest iteration of the car was launched in 2022. It is a car that is the perfect example of a product made by an OEM after they have listened to everything their customers needed and has been asking from them.

It’s a car that looks good, drives well, handles well, and is packed to the roof with a host of new-age and ‘in-demand’ features. Furthermore, the car is priced well. The ex-showroom price range of the car starts from Rs. 7.71 and goes up to 11.27 Lakh. Additionally, the car is available in petrol as well as CNG variants. It means that even if one owns a Baleno and wants to sell used car, they will be on the winning side. The demand for this car is high and the value of this car in the used car market is pretty high as well!

On top of this, the car is available in both manual as well as AMT transmissions. However, although the car is loaded with features and is decked out with a refined as well as peppy refined, the cabin does feel a bit noisy, especially at triple-digit speeds. Additionally, the interior plastic trims of the car could have been better, in terms of quality. That’s all the complaints car experts can come up with for this vehicle!