i own a baleno GTi 1.6 2001 model and that is one fast beast. i have smoked 2005 exi with two friends in the car and i have personally sat in a friend's 1300 cc baleno JXR and seen him take the car to 120km/h in a race on CNG with total of 5 guys in the car and the other car could not touch him. i also had a lil fun head to head with an uncle in his merc kompressor (model unknown) and the baleno kept head to head with him and started pulling away in third gear but i am optimistic about it as i think the uncle might have kept a light foot on the pedal. anyway baleno only looses marks in road grip and hence unless driven by an experienced guy, in a race you might find it doind tyre spins in second or third gear and that wastes time.
off the line, if driven by a guy who knows what he is doing, baleno will be fastest. civic will only catch up and pass it in 4th gear i think but then baleno will again catch up past 150km/h
i think i have an old video of a race car meets in isb somewhere where baleno is going head to head with a civic. lemme see if i can find it.