Comparison Area: Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS Vs Baleno

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s top-selling car maker, is all braced to launch the sportier version of its greatly popular Baleno premium hatchback. The performance oriented version of the car is called the Baleno RS and is finally launching on 3rd of March, 2017 Ending all the speculations and the long wait, as the model has been highly anticipated ever since it was showcase by Maruti Suzuki at the 2016 Auto Expo.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS hot hatchback comes packed with a more powerful newly developed turbocharged engine, some sporty cosmetic updates and some added new features to heighten it’s fun to drive appeal and to mark itself apart from the regular Baleno version. Owing to its more powerful and premium avatar, the Maruti Baleno RS will be slotted in a price slab bracket which is a tad higher than that of the stock model. In the meantime, the existing regular Baleno premium hatchback model continues to enjoy excellent success and is garnering segment leading sales volumes.

With the arrival of the new Baleno RS, one might easily get confused while deciding to buy this car and have a hard time deciding whether to buy the regular Baleno or to spend some additional premium to get hold of the more powerful Baleno RS version. To offer a solution to this confusion, we are looking at the two versions of the same premium hatchback model here. Check out the primary difference between the Baleno RS and the Baleno before you zero in on one.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS VS Maruti Suzuki Baleno

Exterior Design

When we say more expensive, we think more stylish at the same time. So, the Baleno RS is expected to be more stylish than its regular avatar. However, it is good to mention that the RS version is more about powerful performance and fun to drive experience more than anything else, although it does come with sportier looks. When exterior design language is concerned, the Baleno RS is very similar to its regular counterpart.

However, to distinguish itself from the stock Baleno, the Baleno RS will offer a sporty body kit which will include a new wide mesh radiator grille, powerful Bi-Xenon LED headlights, muscular front bumper design, sporty side skirts, newly designed black finished alloy wheels, new rear bumper and the RS badge. On the whole, the styling language of the Baleno RS will be similar to the concept model that was displayed by the Indo-Japanese car major at the 2016 Auto Expo.

Interiors

The same story continues on the inside, as the Maruti Baleno RS offers similarly designed interiors as the regular Baleno premium hatchback along with the same layout. However, the RS version will get some subtle premium updates. The car gets an all black interior treatment with classy silver accents around its center console as well as Air Conditioning vents.

The Baleno RS will be offering a more premium new black leather upholstery for the seats while will also sport the RS logo. The hatchback comes with steering mounted controls for audio and telephone, MID display on the instrument cluster and a touchscreen display integrated infotainment system on the center console. Some other subtle cosmetic changes will also be there including aluminum-finished pedals.

Features

The Baleno RS will also be offering a largely similar features list as that of the regular Baleno model, but albeit again with some additional new features. The expected creature comfort features and equipment changes on the RS variant are expected to include all four disc brakes, an expected Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and more.

The Baleno is a highly feature-rich car, and its other features include automatic climate control system, 7-inch SmartPlay touch-screen infotainment system, cruise control system, automatic headlamps, rain sensing auto wipers, reverse camera, rear parking assist, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, Bluetooth connectivity and much more.

The Baleno RS will be coming braced with the safety features like dual front airbags, ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution), Engine Immobilizer, Keyless smart entry, Speed-Sensing Door Lock, central locking system and more.

Engine Specifications

The primary difference between the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Rs and the Baleno lies under their hoods. The regular Baleno is offered for sale in the market with a choice of a petrol and a diesel mill, while the Baleno RS will be coming only in the petrol version.

The Baleno is equipped with a 1.2-liter K-series petrol mill which has the capability to generate a peak power of 84 BHP and a top torque of 114 Nm. On the other hand, the Baleno diesel gets powered by a 1.3 liter DDiS diesel motor which is good to pump out a max power output of 74 BHP and 190 Nm of top torque.

The Baleno RS boasts of a compact and powerful new 1.0 liter, three cylinders BoosterJet turbocharged petrol mill which is able of producing a max power output 110 BHP and a peak torque of 170 Nm, but for the Indian market, it has been tweaked to offer lower power figures of 100 BHP and 150 NM. The RS version will be equipped with a five-speed manual transmission gearbox while an automatic transmission is also expected but at a later stage.

Mileage

The existing Maruti Suzuki Baleno’s petrol avatar offers an ARAI certified fuel efficiency of 21.4 km per liter, while the more powerful BoosterJet powered Baleno RS is likely to offer even higher fuel economy as compared to its efficient K-series powered counterpart.

Pricing

In terms of pricing the Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS being more powerful and more premium with a number of cosmetic and feature updates is naturally expected to be dearer than its regular counterpart. The regular Maruti Suzuki Baleno premium hatchback comes with a price range of Rs. 5.25 lakhs to Rs.8.36 lakhs (ex-showroom, New Delhi), while the soon to launch Baleno RS is expected to cost in the range of Rs. 8.50 lakhs to Rs. 9.50 lakhs.