Only premium vehicles are to be sold through these Nexa outlets and the first one to plonk itself there was the S-Cross. The S-Cross is premium when it comes to features, road handling and driving ease, but when it comes to styling it’s a bit on the “wanting” side.
On the looks front, the Baleno is appetizingly awesome. The design is fresh, smart and absolutely stunning. By Maruti’s standards, it’s a major leap forward. The design of the Baleno is based on a concept that is termed “Liquid Flow”. Does that ring a bell? Of course, Maruti’s closest competitor Hyundai has a design concept known as “Fluidic Design” for its cars. This is “Liquid Flow” and it’s equally compelling.
The design of the Baleno is extremely refreshing, whether it is the exterior or the interior. The curving lines, the bold shoulders and the overall flowing design of the Baleno give it a very dynamic and energetic look and feel. Premium-ness comes naturally to this car.
I got to drive all the three variants. Each of them impressed me. The CVT, I presume is for those interested in safe and easy driving. It does not have the bull power like the others in terms of driving. The CVT eases your acceleration but gives you tremendous comfort while driving in thick of traffic.
The interiors are uncomplicated with a premium black shade with silver ornamentation. The dashboard is clutter free and its looks are enhanced by the multi-information speedometer display. The 4.2 inches colour TFT displays information like clock, average speed, the engine’s torque and power, fuel efficiency, etc. Then there is the SmartPlay Infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen display that accommodates what is known as an Apple CarPlay system.
Once seated you become aware of the space that has been created for your comfort. There is ample shoulder room and a lot of leg room. The boot space is incredible with 339 litre of storage. As for other storage space for your bottles and other knick knacks, there is plenty of it built all along the doors as well as the central armrest.
Coming to the exteriors, the Baleno has been built on an all new generation platform which is lighter and stronger, almost 100kg lighter and 10pc stronger than the existing one in this category.
Safety too has been given a lot of priority in this car. With this new generation platform, one can be rest assured of better strength, rigidity, crash performance and NVH. Built on Suzuki’s Total Effective Control Technology (TECT), the Baleno comes with crumple zones which absorb energy in the event of an impact, while the body frame disperses the impact energy away from the cabin. As standard fitment there are great features like dual airbags, seatbelts with pre-tensioners and force limiters, front disc brakes with Antilock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD).
The driving experience too was very satisfying. With both the petrol as well as the diesel powertrains, I could experience the right power and torque as we drove along straight and winding roads. The acceleration is good and at higher speeds, the vehicle stability too is remarkable. The NVH levels have been perfectly fine tuned because despite the potholes and bad roads, the quiet cabin conditions were impressive. When it comes to the CVT, it may feel a tad slow on the take but then CVTs are supposed to work that way, providing a jerk free acceleration and a smooth ride. As it automatically shifts gears and moves ahead, the car picks up speed with considerable ease. If you are looking at very zippy rides then the petrol and diesel manual mates are good. But if you are looking for a more hard core city driving through a maze of traffic every day of your life, then it’s definitely an automatic for you. The car feels well planted on the road even at high speeds and the steering is adequately responsive and does not snatch away the fun of steering, despite it being an electric assisted one. As for the sharp corners and turns and even the potholes, the car handles smartly and the McPhersons and torsion beams balance things well. With ABS and EBD being a standard feature, one can be assured of good and effective braking. Every which way, the Baleno is bound to impress you and could perhaps be the game changer for Maruti Suzuki when it comes to premium vehicles.
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![[roll]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Roll.gif "Roll Eyes [roll]")
but then i have seen baleno in Frankfurt auto show , and some said that even cvt is available in baleno with air bags and abs as default( as my budget is around 8.8 L for which i can buy s cvt jazz does not come with airbags) , i kept jazz on hold and went to nexa showroom and pre booked it , i pre booked it because some of my frnds told that there are only two nexa showrooms in hyderabad and you may have to wait for a long time to get vehicle if vehicle is a hit , after talking to relationship manager about booking amount that is 11k , and also about refund if i don't like the car ( he said he will be issuing cheque on the name of booking person if i don't like the car) ![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
, no driver seat height adjustment , and lot missing , but most annoying thing is with head Lamps , there are no projecter lamps even i thought replacing stock lamps them with projecter lamps ( it costs additional 34 k , as s cross projecter lamps are 17 k each and i think it will be almost same for baleno) , i called them they have no idea when these projecter head lamps will be available in accessories department , they said that it may take at least 40 days from the date of release of the car 
![[surprise]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Surprise.gif "Surprise [surprise]")
