Newly refreshed Swift-powered Suzuki Baleno revealed in India
· Citizen
Reported last month as being in-line for a mid-life update in early September, Suzuki debuted the facelift Baleno in India this past Saturday (5 September) as originally indicated.
The internally named WD2 Baleno’s first revision since premiering four years ago, the changes not only involve the exterior and interior, but as hinted, a switch in powerunit as well.
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Outside
Externally, Suzuki’s Maruti division has focused largely on the front as the rear has remained almost unchanged.
As such, the Baleno’s frontal redesign mirrors that of the Peugeot 508 and the second generation 308 by sporting a new grille with horizontal chrome slats and without the Suzuki badge, which moves to below the bonnet line.
Rear-end styling has been kept unchanged. Picture: Maruti SuzukiAlong with new internal graphics for the headlight clusters, the bumper and its air intakes have been redesigned, with the same applying to the log fog lamps and it outer surrounds.
A new colour option called Enigmatic Teal Green completes the exterior’s refresh as part of seven options available, the others being:
- Arctic White;
- Bluish Black;
- Grandeur Grey;
- Splendid Silver;
- Opulent Red;
- Nexa Blue
Inside
Inside, the Baleno’s interior refresh is minor as Suzuki has kept the overall design unchanged, meaning the steering wheel, physical switchgear, seven and nine-inch infotainment displays, dashboard and Head-Up Display on higher-end versions all continue.
New, though, is a slightly altered upper centre console that accommodates a ventilated wireless smartphone charging pad in front of the cupholders.
Interior has been subtly enhanced design-wise, but standard specification and safety has ramped up dramatically. Picture: Maruti SuzukiAlso new are ventilated front seats, the buttons residing between the carryover 12-volt power socket and type-C USB port above the charging pad, and a six-speaker Clarion sound system.
On the safety and driver assistance side, all Balenos now have six airbags as standard, with model-specific new additions comprising a tyre pressure monitor, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning.
Swift engine
Up front resides the biggest change where the previous normally aspirated 1.2-litre K12N four-cylinder petrol engine departs in favour of the same 1.2-litre Z12E three-cylinder as the Swift and DZire.
The result is a power drop from 66 kW to 61 kW, with torque only falling by one Newton Meter from 113 Nm to 112 Nm.
Despite the new engine, Suzuki has opted to keep the five-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) as an alternative to the five-speed manual instead of introducing the CVT as on the Swift.
Accordingly, the downsized engine comes with improved fuel efficiency of 4.2 L/100 km for the manual and four-litres per 100 km for the AMT.
An alternative is the compressed natural gas (CNG) which uses the same engine, but with outputs of 51kW/102Nm when running on gas and 61kW/112Nm when using petrol.
The only transmission option for the CNG is the five-speed manual, with Suzuki claiming a consumption of three litres per 100 km.
South Africa awaits
In India, the facelift Baleno range comprises four trim levels; Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha, with pricing from Rs 609 900 (R103 210) for the manual-only Sigma to Rs 954 900 (R161 592) for the Alpha AMT.
Locally, the Baleno is powered by the older 1.5-litre K15B engine that sends 77kW/138Nm to the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.
Consisting of GL and GLX trim levels over four variants, prices range from R269 900 for the GL manual to R341 900 for the GLX automatic.
At present, Suzuki Auto South Africa is yet to formally confirm the updated Baleno for the local market.