Maruti Baleno Zeta Facelift walkaround video surfaces

Maruti has just launched the facelifted, 2019 Baleno premium hatchback in India. Over the past few days, the  automaker had also begun dispatching the car to dealership stockyards across India, which is a reason why the car was revealed through spyshots even ahead of the official launch that happened earlier today. From one such dealer  stockyard, we now have a walkaround of the Baleno Facelift’s Zeta variant.

Video courtesy AutomobileRepair&Knowledge

The Zeta variant of the Baleno sits just below the top-end Alpha trim of the car, and is priced at Rs. 6.84 lakhs for  the petrol-manual variant. The petrol-automatic trim of the Zeta variant is priced at Rs. 8.16 lakhs while the  diesel manual trim is priced at Rs. 7.99 lakhs. Across variants, the facelifted Maruti Baleno has become pricier by  about 20,000 rupees on an average. As for the Zeta variant, it’s pricier by about Rs. 16,000 for the petrol-manua  variant, by Rs. 43,000 for the CVT automatic trim and by Rs. 21,000 for the diesel trim. All prices are ex-showroom Delhi figures.

Talking of the key changes on the facelifted Baleno, the hatchback gets a stylistic revamp at the front and rear,  making it look fresher considering that it’s been around for more than 2 years. The interiors also get a refresh,  with blue-black interiors and an updated touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The car  gets a slew of safety features as standard. On offer are ABS+EBD, dual airbags, brake assist, pre-tensioner and force  limiter seat belts, front seat belt reminder, ISOFIX child seat restraint system, speed alert system and rear parking  sensors.

The petrol powered variants of the Baleno use a 1.2 liter K-Series petrol engine that’s tuned to produce 82 Bhp of  peak power and 113 Nm of peak torque. This motor is paired to either a 5 speed manual or a CVT automatic  transmission. The diesel engined variants use a 1.3 liter Fiat Multijet turbocharged motor with 74 Bhp of peak power  and 190 Nm of peak torque. The diesel engine gets a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard. In the coming months, this diesel motor may make way for a larger, Bharat Stage 6 emission norms compliant 1.5 liter diesel engine.

While that is one possibility, another possibility is that Maruti may dump the diesel engine for its small car range, and instead go with a petrol engine and a petrol-hybrid option to replace the diesel engine. This is because of the  fact that the upcoming Bharat Stage 6 emission norms could make diesel powered cars pricier by almost Rs. 1 lakh.  This possibility makes a petrol-hybrid car make more sense on smaller cars. Also, Maruti is expected to bet big on  CNG and LPG variants of its small cars from 2020. As of now, both CNG and LPG are much cheaper than petrol, and their running costs are comparable to that of diesel.