Maruti reincarnated the name of the Baleno in the Indian market in 2015. The Baleno became Maruti’s first ever premium hatchback in India and has gained a lot of popularity since then. The India’s largest manufacturer launched its most powerful hatchback in the form of Baleno RS. It becomes the most affordable hot hatch of India. Is it any good? Let’s find out.
Looks
The Baleno RS is not all about the makeup job, yet the Baleno RS looks much sportier than the regular Baleno. The Baleno RS gets a new front bumper with a front splitter. The grille of the vehicle has been tweaked too. The Baleno gets hot looking 16-inch black alloy wheels.
From the rear, the Baleno RS gets a new bumper and a proud RS badge pasted on the lid. The car still gets seven exterior colours, and there has been no new addition to it.
Interior
The Baleno RS stays exactly identical to the regular Baleno from the inside. The only change is the RS branded door mats. The car comes only in one variant, which means the car gets similar equipment options.
There is a touch-screen in the middle with Apple CarPlay connectivity, but the Android Auto is missing from the system. The infotainment system also gets navigation and serves as a screen for rear parking camera. The car also gets rear parking sensors, electrically foldable mirrors and multicolour MFD display. There are no changes, whatsoever to the instrument cluster. A moniker of RS would have done wonders to the cabin.
Engine and drive
Now the most important part of the Baleno RS is its all-new 1.0-litre Boosterjet engine that generates a maximum of 100 bhp of power and 150 Nm of torque. The 3-cylinder engine is turbocharged and gets many advanced engineering to make sure that it produces power without fail. The engine transfers the power to the front wheels through 5-speed manual transmission.
The Baleno RS is also very light. The car weighs only 950 kg, which is almost 200 kg lighter than the Polo GT TSI, its closest competitor in the market. The engine returns a remarkable efficiency of 21.1 km/l.
Maruti has worked a lot on the Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH). The Baleno RS feels very refined, and the power delivery is very linear, unlike other turbocharged engines. The engine is very rev happy, and it can run through the gears quickly. The car can reach a maximum of 170 km/h but nothing beyond that.
Maruti has stiffened the suspension to carry off the extra 60 kg weight over the regular Baleno. The ground clearance, however, remains the same at 170mm. The steering feedback has not improved over the regular Baleno, but the disc brakes at all the four wheels sure have a good bite to make the car stop quickly.
Should you buy it?
The Baleno RS has priced at Rs. 8.69 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. The car is only Rs. 50,000 cheaper than the Polo GT TSI, which comes with excellent DSG automatic gearbox. Maruti Baleno RS offers a lot more space than the Polo, though. The Baleno RS will prove to be a good city car for the customers who love manuals and extra bit of power. If you are looking for an automatic in the hot hatchback segment, the Volkswagen Polo GT TSI is the clear answer.
