Maruti Baleno Facelift: What it’ll look like

Maruti Suzuki is working on a new generation of Baleno. The premium hatchback has been spotted on testing on the Indian roads. It is expected to launch in February 2022. Maruti might also showcase the 2022 Baleno at the Auto Expo next year. Here, we have a render of the 2022 Baleno done by SRK Designs. The artist has made the render based on his imagination and the spy shots. He has only rendered the front fascia of the Baleno. It is important to note that the production-spec Baleno will look a bit different than the render.

From the picture, we can see that the bonnet is similar to the current Baleno. However, now it tapers off quite steeply. It gets an evolved version of the current grille. The grille is now larger and has a chrome surround.

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The bumper has also been heavily redesigned and gets more chrome which makes the 2022 Baleno look more premium. There is also a faux skid plate and redesigned fog lamp housing. The biggest changes are the redesigned headlamps. Now, they are square-shaped. It still uses an LED projector setup, there are also four LED Daytime Running Lamps.

The prices of the Baleno will go up once the new one launches. The current generation of Baleno starts at Rs. 5.99 Lakhs and goes upto Rs. 9.45 Lakhs. The 2022 Baleno will go against Hyundai i20, Tata Altroz Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo and Toyota Glanza.

There will be changes to the interior of the Baleno also. The dashboard will be redesigned and there will be a new larger floating infotainment system. It will have a touchscreen and will also come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The current one measures 7-inches and has started to show its age against infotainment systems of other manufacturers.

The upholstery will also be new and there will be a new multi-functional steering wheel that will be leather-wrapped. There will be cruise control and a centre armrest. We are also expecting a new digital instrument cluster on the new generation of Baleno. It will also come with push-button to start/stop, a height-adjustable driver seat, keyless entry, automatic climate control, rear parking camera and much more.

There will be no changes to the engine or the gearbox. So, we expect it to come with a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated, four-cylinder petrol engine. The engine comes with two injectors per cylinder instead of one cylinder. Due to this, the engine is called DualJet.

The engine produces 90 PS of max power and 113 Nm of peak torque. It comes mated to only a 5-speed manual gearbox. This engine does come with SHVS mild-hybrid technology that has an integrated starter generator. It enables an idle start/stop system that helps in saving fuel. There is also a torque-assist function that provides torque at lower speeds so that the engine does not have to work hard. The DualJet engine is not offered with an automatic gearbox. So, we will have to wait for the official launch, so that more information is revealed.

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