It’s an all rounder that does lot of things well. It’s like a geared automatic – no constant shifting of gears in traffic.
BHPian supremeBaleno recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
The first time I noticed the Baleno was in the TV commercial where the guy misses his flight (or it’s delayed ?) & he instead drives down from Delhi to Jaipur for the meeting.
And sometime in the late ’90s, though I couldn’t then afford it, I thought the car was a total sweet package if not for the fly in the ointment (the rear) & shot off an email to MSIL suggesting they modify just the rear & the car will be a hit.
Come 2005, we had sold off our ’85 M800 & were looking for a new car. Almost finalized the WagonR when I happened to take a TD of the Baleno (on a whim, no intention of buying as we didn’t need a sedan).
The salesguy not only asked me to floor it on the TidelPark IT highway, but asked me to drive in the hot noon Chennai weather with the driver window rolled down with a/c on & it still felt like a cold cabin. I was so floored by the performance & the bone-chilling a/c that I changed my booking to a Baleno. They don’t make car salesmen like that any more.
Bought one new in 2005 and 18years / 1.2L kms later, she is still my daily drive and is as FTD as she was when new. I have done many straight Chennai-KL trips, which it does on a full tank without needing refueling enroute, inspite of 120kms being ghat roads that take me 4hours, while the remaining is smooth-wide TN highways where I let it rip. Goes to prove that you can have your cake (performance) and eat it too (FE).
It’s an all rounder that does lot of things well. It’s like a geared automatic – no constant shifting of gears in traffic, or to overtake – just point & shoot. A decent handler, while also rendering a cushioned ride for the passengers.
Keyword: My 2005 Maruti Baleno sedan: 18 years & 1.2L kms of blissful ownership