Maruti Baleno Facelift: Launch timeline revealed

Maruti Suzuki is said to be working on a facelifted version of India’s best selling premium hatchback – the Baleno.  The facelifted Baleno will be launched by June 2019, according to CarDekho. The new car is likely to retain the  current version’s mechanicals, which means that the facelift will mainly deal with cosmetic changes and feature  additions.

Render courtesy IAB

Notably, Maruti Suzuki is yet to start testing the facelifted Baleno on Indian roads. There have been no renders as  well to give us an indication on what the new car could look like. Expect a mild makeover with nothing drastic as far  as styling of the facelifted Maruti Baleno is concerned. As for features, expect the car to get plenty of additions  in order to make it retain its edge when compared with the Hyundai Elite i20 – it’s chief competitor.

Currently, there are 3 engines on offer with the Maruti Baleno. A 1.2 liter-4 cylinder K-Series petrol with 82 Bhp-  113 Nm outputs is available with 5 speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox options. The sporty, top-of-the-line RS  variant of the Baleno gets a 1 liter-3 cylinder turbocharged motor with 101 Bhp-150 Nm on tap. A 5 speed manual  gearbox is standard with this motor.

The diesel engine on the car is the 1.3 liter Fiat Multijet unit with 74 Bhp-190 Nm state of tune. A 5 speed manual  transmission is standard with this engine. The Baleno is based on the light weight HEARTECT platform, and the  lightness of the car is a key reason why it’s not only peppy but also quite fuel efficient. The facelifted Baleno is  expected to retain all of these traits as the engines and platform will not change.

All variants of the Maruti Baleno get twin airbags and ABS as standard safety features. On the facelifted model,  expect safety features such as reverse parking sensors, speed alerts and seatbelt reminder to also become standard,  along with ISOFIX child seat mounting points. The facelifted car will be compliant with the upcoming Bharat New  Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) norms, which come into force for existing cars from 2020.

Maruti is also expected to engineer the Baleno’s powertrains to be ready to meet the Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission  norms, which will come into force from April 2020. Prices of the current Maruti Baleno start from Rs. 5.38 lakhs,  ex- showroom Delhi. Similar pricing is likely for the facelifted model, with a slight increment expected if Maruti adds a lot of new features.