Unsatisfied user

I am a proud Automobile Designer and have worked with some major Automobile brands in India. I have sketched, designed and tested many successful products for the Indian automotive market. Working in the Industry I am very well aware of the cost cutting and how the companies and their R&Ds are making products and compromising on quality of the new products. It is very sad to state the experience of the New Baleno. I have been driving all kinds of 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers for 15+ years now.

I am sad to state that there are a series of problems with the new Baleno. I am listing out the main ones-

1)      Brakes – Worst experience ever.  I have the top model with ABS and every equipment possible. The brakes feel very weird and don’t give a good feedback when braking. They are somehow very moody. The ABS doesn’t function how it should.  The tires skid most of the times even when braking at slower speeds. I am afraid to go at higher speeds as I have no trust on the brakes.

2)      Tyres – I am sorry but the stock tyres (Apollo Tyres) have a really bad grip. They have road noise and are very hard. I am changing the tires for safety reasons and my car has done 8000 kms so far. Trending Word of mouth from many other users at the service center - ‘We won’t take Apollo tyres even if they sell for free.’

3)      The projector lamps- the only thing the projector lamps in the new Baleno do is just look Cool. Functionally they are very poor. I and my father are bound to change some driving manners here. We have always used dipper as a habit/manners, but we are changing our habit now because of this car. The low beam is the poorest of all and the light gets cut in a straight line, giving a black and white pattern on the road, even when it’s in the top raised position. There is no vision beyond 3-4meters(max) in low beam. We have to keep it in the high beam mode all the time to at least see clearly. The projector lamps vibrate a lot too. It seems that the lower model’s bulb headlamps are better than these worthless projectors.

4)      Worst of all suspension- The quality of the suspension is very poor. On the potholes and scenarios such as the Black and yellow Plastic speed breakers it is impossible to go smoothly as the suspension is very hard and makes a strong ‘Thud’ in the panels inside. It seems as the dashboard will come off because of the impact and the ‘Thud’ sound. Not at all appealing. The suspension in the cars from other OEMs, in this segment are much better, safer, softer and smooth.

5)      Infotainment system has a very bad User Interface and looks very old and is not very user friendly. The output of the system is very bad. There are presets but none is apt and can be compared to any other car sound system. The worst part is that even if you try and set it manually the output still remains bad.  The speakers are low quality. The system and the screen hangs too and one has to stop and restart the car to reboot it at times.

6)      Plastic and sheet metal quality- I just tried to press the front bumper of my SX4 and could feel how strong it is in quality as it did not bend at all and was sturdy enough. On the other hand I tried pressing the front bumper of the new Baleno and the plastic could bend easily. Same is with the sheet metal. I guess this is enough to say about it.

These are the main problems out of many that we are facing and I am very sure that these are happening due to the cost cutting and commonizing of parts. I understand it’s a volume game but I am really sorry to say that there is not even the so called premium feel to the car in terms of performance and basic driving feel. Maruti Suzuki has built up a good premium brand image with the advertising content with ‘NEXA’ but I am really sad to say that the products are only premium in pricing and nothing else. There is nothing premium in hearing your suspension sound ‘Thud’ on every pothole and when you don’t even trust the brakes and the tires of your Ride.

I feel that I have made a mistake of buying this car for my father as his safety is my top priority and I don’t feel he is safe in this car. Undoubtedly the car is feature packed but the brands these days are only focusing on features and none on the basic ride quality and safety. I really don’t know how ARAI could pass such a product in terms of braking and basic ride quality standards.

Interior spaceBraking, tyre quality, ride quality, projector headlamps.