I think we’ve convinced ourselves to never accept a sedan offered by Pak Suzuki whether it has a 2.4 liter or a 1.3 liter engine. If you recall back, there was a car called Suzuki Baleno and it was for those who couldn’t afford a Corolla or a City but wanted a sedan, probably for more space. Currently none of us would even be interested to talk about the vehicle as it flopped to such an extent.
Also the car was seen on roads but what Suzuki thought about it, was not accomplished. Just introducing a sedan with the same engine capacity will not make you win the hearts of customers. You need to work on a lot more.
Suzuki Baleno entered the auto world in 1995, known with different names around the globe. The sedan offered in Pakistan had either a 1.3 liter engine or a 1.6 liter engine. A sports edition was also offered and the special thing about it was that it was also offered in black paint work. Anyways, the thing is, why the car couldn’t reach the customers properly and why couldn’t it make its name.
Suzuki has always been at a war, in fact tried to be at a war with Honda and Toyota. We’ve heard a lot of times why Toyota and Honda have their customers and they will stick to them no matter what happens. As Honda is more popular in Punjab because of the roads available and Toyota in Sindh and Baluchistan because of the rugged roads, likewise where do you make Suzuki Baleno stand? It looks like Suzuki just shaped the vehicle into a sedan and was confident enough to wipe of Toyota and Honda.
Suzuki Baleno had many issues with it; one of it was low road clearance, almost hitting every speed breaker. Although the engine was 1.3 liter but it couldn’t perform well. Another issue that was commonly seen in the vehicle was of shocks. Shocks gave up very soon as the car used to literally drag on road if 2 healthy people sat in it. Another issue noticed in the vehicle was of sagging silencer due to frequent hitting on roads.
As the car was more seen on roads during 2000-2005, likewise the petrol prices were also seen to hike up. Going for alternate fuel type in this particular vehicle was not at all a good idea. This sedan was never ever made for CNG. By installing CNG the car faced major issues in the head gasket. In short the car failed in our country and couldn’t do well.
Going back to from where I started, why can’t we accept sedans offered by Suzuki? Although I find myself lucky enough, guess why? As I recently saw a Suzuki Kizashi on road. I remember when the car was launched, I prayed to see the car on road and yes I did once, it felt amazing.
Editor’s Note: If you disagree with the author and are interested in a used Baleno, click here.
Launching baleno in Pakistan was a miserable move by PS. The car was designed to become a failure, This car shattered the trust of PS customers, before it, Margalla was a successful car, We had it for 7 years and it was a great car for an average household, After this, Liana marked the end of Suzuki sedan era in Pakistan. The way Bob Odenkirk presents this crap to be the choice of a crappy lawyer in “Better call Saul” is simply awesome, must’ve hurt the feelings of Baleno fans, if there are any.
Civic had a 1.5 and 1.6 which was EFI (fuel injection was electronic) but ignition was from distributor. Corolla used that 2E 1300 cc. Baleno came up with distributorless EFI (in the 1300 cc, the 1.6 Gti had a distributor). It had great pickup and extraordinary road grip.
But the engine was too advanced for our mechanics who always faaiiiil gaddi ay ji to every new thing.
Also, the problems with CNG were not head gasket issues but more so backfire and air filter tearing (developed a hole). PW forums are full of backfire stories.
It was a good car with great pickup and strong chassis. Loved it while i drove it. Since then I have not driven a car with a heavy chassis feel. All corollas I drove after that felt like they had paper light chassis. My 1.6 SE Saloon did not have as good a pickup as my baleno. Of course it was petrol only.
Baleno is a good car. But suzuki fail to trained the mechanics, in time regarding new technology they’re putting in the market. When they do so it’s quite late. Even now u ask any mechanic he said baleno is a good car. When suzuki replace baleno they replace it with liana rather than SX4.
A very badly written blog!
Not true at all, the reasons for failure are utter non sense spit by the blogger!
Baleno have been much more sucessfull than its ancestors and car launched aftewards ( liana) i have a 2005 model baleno it have no issue at all, no suspension issues, no milage issues infact on alternative sources of fuel( cng) it performed much better than toyotas and corrolas! It have never dissapointed me when it comes to Engine! A very powerfull engine!
No doubt this car needs a more inclusive maintainance and this car performs!
Thank you, I’ll surely improve on my skills next time.
Plus I’ve owned a 2004 model and it was a big regret. Also those I know are getting rid of this vehicle. If the vehicle has no issues regarding road clearance than I guess you’re the only blessed customer of Baleno to have one.
Piece of advice: If you bought a second hand make sure the car doesn’t have gutkas installed.
I own it since 2005 it have 14″ alloys with 185/75 tyres. With a speed of 60 80 kmph i cross speed bumps without a hitch! Factory tyres are made and tested on specific weights, if the weight increases the consulted numbers your car will hit ground! Every japanese car in 2015 needs to have spacer or after market tyres to over come these problem!
Totally disagree from your opinion about ths car. I have ths car since 2005 and it’s still working in a very good condition.. From shock suspension to its chilling a.c.. I have taken ths car with six person in it to the long routes many a times but it never disappointed me.. Even I have taken ths car to Northern areas on cng.. I also own a corolla as well but its ground clearance n Road grip is better thn corolla.. Corolla is good if you have a 1.6 or 1.8 cc engine in it
Totally bad written blog as said earlier by fellow member Mr. Hanan here. I am a proud first owner of Baleno since 2001 and this car is by far the opposite of what the blog suggests. I have had no issues at all mentioned in the article above. No engines issues, suspension,better road grip than others, mileage and performance is great on both petrol and CNG. One issue which i will admit did arise was with the spark coils which caused performance issues after about 8 years but upon changing them, I still don’t have any complaints. Though it needs care just like every other car, some of the technical problems need expert mechanics/electricians to diagnose. Lastly, having owned Toyota corolla too, this is the car I still Love to drive 🙂
P.S. The author should stick with the SUV’s I guess:p ..
Well, I own a 2005 baleno and I have no issues like you mentioned above !
Misleading Article !
Indeed.
I own Baleno 2000 model and I appreciate the work done by Suzuki for this specifically. I din’t faced the issues you have mentioned above. Only you so called experts mislead the people that’s is why the Suzuki car’s don’t get the space in the market they deserve. Yes, you don’t compare Suzuki car’s with Honda City but I would say they are far more better the ROOLA!! Hope you got my point. Don’t mislead the people.
who is this guy….wat is he talking about ? i dont think this guy has ever owned a Baleno..its one hell of a car for the average family man….i own a 2001 baleno, changed shocks twice in my life and its been to the moon literally 350,000 kms done so far…..the engine has been overhauled once, still gives me 11km/litre average in the city. its freakin cheap to repair. its faster than any 1.3 car of its era and 1.6 cud easily take on vtis…..and its was offered with company fitted cng which in cng days was wat u needed !
Its not True. I used to have a Suzuki Baleno in 2009-2010. and it was given to my father from there Office. Although it was used badly by previous owner . but i liked it very much, It was spacious , good engine power and worked charm on Cng. I never liked a Suzuki car Before and After Baleno. It was one of my fav car and still is. It was Damn Comfortable (Y)
Oh well. The price that Baleno is being sold at now it is a bargain, the ride quality and comfort it offers in that price is something whch is not available in any car. For 5 Lack 500,000 you can get a decent Baleno . If you are considering some other Suzuki or a Local car in that price you are out of options. In 5 Lacks to 6 Lacks you will end up with a from New Mehran which is still from 1980’s, or Cultus which is 1990’s or Alto which is from the time of Adam and Eve….Baleno is a great car indeed you can only know about if you have owned it.
60 80 kmph.. Isn’t that a lot?
Exactly, Margalla was way better, Baleno and Liana couldn’t make their name.
disagree.. that was the best car they ever made.. Oh & b t w the thing u were talking about “suzuki is at war with honda & toyota” u r wrong.. have u ever heard a word monoply.. well its the monoply of these 3 shits.. if they were at war with each other the price of a shit box would not be 7 lacks..
second thing you said about ride height & shocks.. well if u have a memory & u ever heard of a word HONDA CIVIC (the version commonly known as reborn). Well that car has also has road clearnce issues & when honda atlas announce their new civic ppl said yaar kya fazool gari hai.. road clearnce hi koi nai h..
third i might add there were some technical issues with baleno but they came when u dont tune it properly. so if u have a thing called internet & u know how to use it next time do some research!!!
If u talk about quality Yes Baleno can’t compete with Honda but you should know Baleno was not a failure L. It’s still being sold at 600K in ISB. I was never a suzuki lover but Baleno has beaten every other 1.3L engine in terms of economy
Sorry to say brother u are wrong. I have been using baleno since 2005 and it is one of the best car i ever had. Just love it. Go and drive a baleno . U will become aware of baleno’s power :*
1.6 was faster than se saloon due to its light weight, it was slotted between vti oriel and se saloon in stock drag. other than cam(or crank, don’t know which one is used in baleno) position sensor getting dirty preventing car from starting up occasionally in 1.3 version, i didn’t find any major issue with baleno.
baleno and khyber, are two solidly build examples of pak suzuki which you can drive fast on rough roads, the dash would rattle, a lot, but nothing would fall apart and upon getting back on plain road, it’d be as silent as new.(mine isn’t, not because its driven fast on rough roads, but because every vibration absorbing rubber lining has dried up, falling apart and needs replacement).
What a dumb article, baleno wasn’t a failure, it did well enough in Punjab(i’ve seen as many baleno’s in Punjab as city 1998-2003 shape and margalla). seems like author bought a lemon.
Yes thats what baleno is!
I like most other people who commented here dont agree with the writer that Baleno is a failure, in its period, it offered EFI system for the first time and its interior was way more modern and better than corolla of that era.
Baleno was good car as far as its price was considered…….my personel experience of the failure of this car was stealerships ripping off….and its wastespark system about which people were unaware of so they washed its engine like “ghusal e miyat” and thus mechanics rendered their “fatwa” of failure on it otherwise same engine like of cultus efi g10bb eas present with larger bore so was called g13bb…and its exhaust pipe had a bend below which striked below sometimes which i resolved with downpiping 😀
You need to write in proper English. It looks like a long facebook post than a blog.
I owned Baleno for more than 6 years, strongly disagree with this article. Would say, Baleno was the best car pak-suzuki ever produced, much better than City and Corolla of that time. JXR was the best model which lasted sadly for 3 years only, before pak-suzuki going for Liana.
Anyone can compare the sales of Baleno and City during the time 2003-2005 to see the difference.
Looks like the article written by a victim of second hand market, where any car can be a failure.
Hein, can’t find one thing in this post which is actually correct.
No he doesn’t. English is not his first language and the fact he has been able to convey his message in a second language, that is more than enough. No need to be an ass about someone else’s English. And lighten up a bit.
Why? It is not like someone intelligent is gonna read the blog.
At the end of day, dumbasses like you are going to be reading this crap. So why waste energy on something that is not going to be appreciated?
OO u sweet 18…… when that car was introduced on the road ……. u just cannot cross the road without ur dad……….. and u know Y
Just being “able to convey the message” is the concept that is not found in outside of India and Pakistan.
I agree with you, because I myself own a 2001 Baleno it’s a CNG fitted car and gives us average of 120 km (city) 195 km (highway) in single cylinder. As for maintenance, well we bought it back in 2005 and have taken it a hundred times to Mirpurkhas six (two underweight’s) people plus luggage and it has MaashaAllah never troubled us.
Personally I find it a much better car then 2010 Corolla and City, (I have driven both), where road grip is concerned. Also it’s interior too is better then both cars of that year.
I agreed I bought baleno this year 2005 model it still can on and on 140+ speed and econmy of 14 km per litre and it has a good drive on hilly roads.
i don’t agree with you… i bought Baleno 2005 Jxr recently
good petrol mileage
as far as durability.. it has some issues but in that cost you cant even buy any good sedan car.. it is very good car
Not at all true. Baleno was a very successful car. It had the highest cuatomer satisfaction rate after city at that time. I ve myself owned and driven Baleno and it was a perfect car of its time. pakwheels should check the facts in an article before posting it. For the writer he should learn a thing or two about local auto industry before writting something.
LoL…..
I have Baleno 2000 Model, 1300cc, distributer engine. I have repaired its engine already 7 years before. Now engine of Baleno again fail. I have visited Bilal ganj. Engine head cost is 45000.
I need opinion of some expert people what should I do. Repair old engine or replace head of engine?
Is the Engine from Bilal Ganj is good?