The recently-launched facelift has given the Maruti Baleno a fresh makeover, It has brought notable redesign to the model. More interestingly, the car now gets a revised colour palette. It is now available in seven colours including a new shade of Teal Green. Here’s a closer look at all colour options of the new Baleno.
The facelifted Baleno comes with seven colour options. They are Grandeur Grey, Splendid Silver, Arctic White, Opulent Red, Enigmatic Teal Green, Nexa Blue, and Bluish Black. These are all mono-tones.
We have seen the new Baleno twice so far. One at the unveiling event and secondly at the media first drive event. On both occasions almost all cars were either Blue or Teal Green. Maruti Suzuki likely wants these colours to sell the most. Quite frankly, both of them look good on the car.
Let’s start with the Enigmatic Teal Green. This colour is a fresh addition to the palette. It looks good and goes well with the refreshed design of the new Baleno. It gives the car a more youthful character.
All other colours are familiar to previous Baleno owner. The most familiar would be the Nexa Blue. Multiple models sold via NEXA showrooms have this shade in their respective palettes. The Baleno in particular, looks very familiar in this shade.
Bluish Black is for people who prefer to have their Balenos in a dark colour scheme. It looks almost like Black and fits the personality of the new design well.
Opulent Red is a loud colour. It is for people who prefer to stand out from the crowd. The redesigned front fascia looks good in this colour.
Grandeur grey, Splendid Silver, and Arctic White are all for those who prefer classy colours. These aren’t shouty. Instead, they add a layer of elegance to the design. India is a country in which White and light-coloured cars enjoy great acceptance. The Arctic White and Splendid Silver are thus likely to sell well here.
On the design front, the new Baleno gets a large triple-slat grille, new, sculpted front bumper with new fog lamp housings, new alloy wheels, and more. There is a sense of freshness to its design although the updates are subtle. Elements like the shark-fin antenna and LED lighting package have been kept safe on the facelift as well.
There are notable updates inside the cabin. The overall layout and interior design remains familiar. The touchscreen infotainment system has not grown in size, but it now comes with a premium audio system by Clarion. Wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto have been retained, along with features like automatic climate control, head up display (HUD), analog-digital combination cluster, and others.
Making the package stronger, Maruti Suzuki has added features like ventilated seats, wireless charging pad for smartphones, and a level 2 ADAS suit to the facelift.
The ADAS packages comes with features like Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, automatic high beam assist and automatic emergency braking. There is even a physical button to turn the Lane Keep Assist and Automatic Emergency Braking features off if needed.
The facelifted Baleno comes with two engine options- a new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder Z-series petrol engine and a CNG powertrain. The pre-facelift used to come with a four-cylinder, 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine (K12) that was known for its refinement and smoothness. The new engine is lighter and is claimed to have better fuel efficiency- 23.80 kpl. Both a five-speed manual and AMT automatic transmissions are offered on the petrol engine while the CNG comes as a manual-only model.
In the Indian market, the facelifted Baleno competes with other premium hatchbacks like the Tata Altroz and the new Hyundai i20. The Altroz and new Baleno feature interesting colour palettes, whereas that of the i20 may feel slightly dated at this point in time. That will soon change, as Hyundai is reportedly working on a full-generational upgrade to the i20.