A Baleno RS review, from kerala.

1. Not really great, had some confusions regarding the payments and all, but it was sorted out. I bought car from thrissur, I think it took some time and effort by Nexa to find such a connected and limited space to setup their office. I didn't felt anything premium in terms of experience.

2. Riding is better than many cars. It has good low and high speed ride quality. Btw, this car can't match the high-speed ride of old punto or low speed ride of say - vista. It's a tasteful blend. I had long drives and came out without getting tired and joints free from aches. My old Zen has failed to do this everytime. You get a comfortable seating position, view,and ergonomics are to my preference. Which helps it further.

3. I don't like - " look at me" kind of exterior, rather understated looks are fine for me. And Baleno is just good at that. Only bad thing they did was putting RS tag to it, this brings unnecessary comparisons. Could've been boosterjet instead. Having said that, this car is tailor made for my preference. What I was looking for was a practical, spacious, reliable petrol car with a better performance compared to the mass segment cars. Cars that were shortlisted are - Polo GT, Jazz,i20, here Jazz- Didn't like the shape, feel of mini Innova still in my head. But that is a great thing if you want more space inside. Interiors were not to my liking, but deal breaker was the meek 1.2L engine. There was a good chance Iam buying jazz if that 116bhp free revving motor was on offer with 10 lakhs on road price. Polo GT Flip the jazz perspective, you get this car. plenty of power and an effortless DSG combo is great for driving. But really limited space, and exterior looks are within my taste. Deal breaker here was the notorious DQ200 transmission they carried forward, I know it's an expensive transmission to begin with, and I was not particularly looking for a Automatic at that moment. And I can't afford either the crazy repair charges or arrogance of VW people out there in show rooms. Here they lost the opportunity to launch a manual version with this engine. The on road price couldve been 1 lakh less! Certainly I wouldve thought about it and maybe I would trade the space inside for that. Maybe! i20 In short - everything was in favour of i20, even though it lacks the agility and handling of baleno, riding experience is very nice but 1.2 L engine is extremely smooth and silent at idle and Normal running, but it is such a dull car, I can't think of it, after switching from a Zen. That's how I landed on Baleno RS. Every requirements were met. Earlier priced at 10.20lakhs, and thanks to GST the car got a price cut of around 60k and I bought it! It's faster and very easy to drive also returns a respectable fuel efficiency too. Comes with all around disc, and braking is very good. Additionally the turbo charger gives the option of doing a remap, when I feel the power is not enough, in the near future.

4. Its maruti and it is not questionable like ever.

5. Cons are - lack of better tyres, light build quality. Iam not a auto designer to comment the structure of this car. But, sheet metal thickness is relatively less, and prone to dents, inn the future. #2,and #3 talks about pros, there are many more. But that's not a big deal for someone who reads this. Consider them as a bonus!