The premium hatchback segment was thus born and now there's a lot more action now considering that there are players like Hyundai, Honda and now Maruti Suzuki. The Baleno will be the latest addition in this segment and will go up against the likes of the i20 and the Jazz and we do a specifications comparison to see where it stands.
Also Read: Maruti Baleno Review
When it comes to dimensions, the Baleno is as long as the Honda Jazz but slightly longer than the i20. However, it is the widest of the lot as its width stands at 1745mm. We expected it to have a longer wheelbase considering it's as long as the Jazz but sadly, it gets only 2520mm which is lesser than both the Jazz and the i20.
But Maruti Suzuki has given it a larger boot which stands at 355 litres which is a good 2 litres more than what you get on the S-Cross. The Jazz comes a close second in this war with 344 litres while the i20 is far behind with just 285 litres of space.
Coming to the engines, the Baleno will come with the 1.2-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre diesel option and wwe expect it to be tuned to deliver better fuel efficiency. The i20 comes with the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4-litre diesel option while the Jazz gets the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel one.
The trick up Maruti's sleeve however is that the Baleno will be made available with a CVT and that's a first one for the company. Moving away from AMTs, the company will fit the petrol variant of the car with a CVT. It's only the Honda Jazz that comes with a CVT in this group, however, we hear that if asked for Hyundai will happily fit an auto-box in the i20.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Baleno Booking Status
We expect Maruti Suzuki to price the Baleno at around Rs. 5.5 lakh, to give it that competitive edge and we will be driving the car soon so we'll let you know all about it.
