In both the petrol variants the suspension setup felt slightly firmer than in the diesel variant, so aberrations in the road surface filter through. The ride quality is still quite good, and there is very little body-roll.
Maruti have not stinted on safety either. All variants have ABS with EBD, dual airbags, front seatbelt pre-tensioners and force limiters, and a driver side seat-belt reminder. The top two variants get front fog-lamps, auto headlamps, and an auto dimming rear-view mirror, and all but the base variant have reverse parking sensors, with the topmost variant also getting a reverse parking camera.
Should you buy the Baleno? The car looks good and is packed with tons of equipment. The problem is that the competition has had this and more for a while — looks, features, performance, and others. As always, it boils down to the price — priced too low, it could cannibalise Swift sales (though the customer still stays within the Maruti family), and too high would make it uncompetitive in the face of other options in the market. Wait and watch.
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