Baleno petrol variants are powered by the tried and tested 1.2-litre, K-Series, VVT petrol motor producing 83 bhp and 115 Nm of peak torque
Maruti Suzuki launched the Baleno premium hatchback at the end of last October. The Indo-Japanese automaker stepped into an unknown territory with the market entry as it was the second product to be introduced from the Nexa dealerships. Crucially paved the way for company’s premium strategic plans, over the almost one year period, Maruti Suzuki surpassed one lakh sales milestone. The highest ever monthly sales was recorded at the end of 2015 as 10,572 units were delivered.
Through the year, an average of nearly 7,000 sales examples meant the fiercest rival Hyundai Elite i20 had been tested to the core. In September 2016, the December 2015’s sales tally was beaten as 10,623 units were totally retailed. The interesting prospect is that 8,383 are petrol-equipped models as only 2,240 customers preferred diesel Balenos – accounting to a whopping 79 percent petrol variants’ sales.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Baleno Crosses 1 Lakh Sales in Less than a Year
On a large scale, in the period between April and September 2016, just one-fifth of the sales indicate at diesels as among the 54,947 units sold, 43,785 were petrol-powered Balenos (80 percent of total sales). The affinity towards petrol engine is also reflected in the sales of Swift hatchback as 58 percent of customers went with it while on contrary its sedan cousin the Dzire encountered 53 percent diesel models’ sale during this fiscal so far.
The Baleno is exclusively manufactured in India and is also the first car to be exported from the country to Suzuki’s home land of Japan. The 1.2-litre, inline, four-cylinder, DOHC, 4V, K-Series VVT petrol motor is good enough to produce a maximum power output of 83 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. Driving the front wheels is via a five-speed manual gearbox or a CVT automatic.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Baleno Export Planned to 100 Countries Globally
The diesel mill on offer is the same 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged, Multijet DDiS 200 unit powering the Swift hatchback. It makes 75 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque at 2,000 rpm. No automatic gearbox is provided and thus a five-speed manual serves the transmission purposes. Among the ten Baleno versions made available for sale, six are petrol-powered. They start at a price range of Rs. 5.25 lakh for base petrol and goes up to Rs. 7.58 lakh for the top-end model (ex-showroom prices, Delhi).