2019 Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS reaches showrooms, walkaround video

Maruti Suzuki launched the facelifted 2019 Baleno earlier this year. While the regular version of the Baleno started arriving long back to the showrooms, the performance version, which is known as the RS variant is arriving at the showrooms just now. Just like the regular 2019 Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the RS variant only gets visual changes and it remains identical to the pre-facelift vehicle mechanically.

The 2019 Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS is priced at Rs. 8.76 lakh, which is around Rs. 29,000 more expensive than the previous version of the hatchback. The video uploaded by Sricharan Vedamurthy shows all the changes of the Baleno including a short glimpse of the cabin.

The new version of the Baleno RS gets new bumpers at the front and rear, a new 3D grille and new alloy wheels. On the inside, the colour scheme of the dashboard remains unchanged but it now gets the new Smart Studio infotainment system.

Mechanically, the Baleno RS remains unchanged. It gets powered by a 1.0-litre BoosterJet petrol engine. The three-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine produces a maximum power of 101 Bhp and a peak torque of 150 Nm. The regular Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine that produces a maximum power of 82 Bhp and a peak torque of 113 Nm. The Baleno RS gets a 5-speed manual transmission and there is no option of an automatic transmission available with the performance car.

There are quite a lot of extra features on the Baleno RS. For example, it gets disc brakes on all the four wheels, dual-airbags, ABS+EBD, reverse parking sensors, reverse parking camera, seatbelt reminder, and ISOFIX child seat mounts. Maruti Suzuki also offers keyless start/stop button, keyless entry, automatic climate control system, electrically foldable wing mirrors, adjustable steering wheel for tilt and reach, front driver seat with manual height adjustment setting, automatic headlamp on and off, follow-me-home headlamp feature and the new Smart Studio infotainment system, which debuted with the all-new WagonR in the Indian market. The infotainment system gets both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS is the first performance variant from the brand in the Indian market. It takes on the likes of Volkswagen GT TSI and Fiat Punto Abarth. However, it lost its most-affordable performance hatchback title to Tata Tiago JTP.  The Tiago JTP is priced at Rs. 6.39 lakh in the Indian market and it offers more power and torque than the Baleno RS.

The Tiago JTP gets powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine that generates a maximum power of 112 Bhp and a peak torque of 150 Nm. It gets a 5-speed transmission. The most powerful performance hatchback below Rs. 10 lakh mark is the Fiat Abarth Punto. The performance hatchback is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine that generates a maximum of 145 Bhp and 211 Nm of peak torque.