Maruti Suzuki Baleno was the top selling car in the month of February with 18,592 units sold, recording a massive 48% YoY growth over the corresponding month when it sold 12,570 units. The Swift, Alto and WagonR hatchbacks stood at number second, third and fourth with sales of 18,412 units, 18,114 units and 16,889 units respectively. What’s interesting here is that the hatchbacks (or small cars) continued to lead the sales chart despite a very high demand for SUVs.
Early last year, the Maruti Baleno received a mid-life update that certainly worked in its favour. The hatchback’s updated model comes with a 1.2L, 4-cylinder Dualjet K12N petrol engine that’s good enough for 90bhp. It can be had with either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT gearbox. Mileage figure of the Baleno stands at 22.35kmpl (MT) and 22.94kmpl (AMT). It also gets a new suspension setup and bigger 14-incb disc brakes at the front axle.
Major upgrades have been made in terms of features. The new Baleno comes with a 9.0-inch SmartPlay Pro+ touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Amazon Alexa and voice command support, auto dimming IRVM, a HUD (Heads-up Display), Suzuki Connect connected car tech, a 360 degree camera, automatic climate control, keyless entry and go and an Arkamys surround sound system.
The Indo-Japanese automaker will soon introduce the Baleno-based SUV coupe called – Maruti Fronx. It will come in five trims – Sigma, Delta, Delta+, Zeta and Alpha. The model will be made available with two powertrains – a new 1.0L, 3-cylinder turbo petrol Boosterjet and a 1.2L, 4-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol. While the former makes 100bhp with 147.6Nm, the latter makes power worth 90bhp with 113Nm. There will be three gearboxes on offer – a 5-speed manual, a 5-speed AMT and a 6-speeed torque convertor automatic.
