the Baleno, a car that deserved more interest than it received during its relatively brief visit to our shores between 1995 and 2001. Its somewhat bland styling didn’t do it any favours, but under that under-inspiring exterior there's a good car selling at a pretty reasonable price on the used-car market.
Interestingly, some of the components used in the Baleno are adapted from the Suzuki Vitara 4WD, making the little Baleno pretty tough.
Baleno is an unusual size, being larger than most small cars and smaller than the medium-sized ones. It comes as a three-door hatchback, four-door sedan and five-door station wagon. All with the undoubted advantage of the famed build quality of a Japanese factory.
Suzuki Baleno is easy to drive and park, with good visibility in all directions and steering which is well weighted, even in the everyday variants.
There’s a sporting variant called the Baleno GTX, not a full-blooded sports machine, but one with extra punch in the engine and chassis that will appeal to those wanting something more than mere transport.
Engine size in most Balenos is 1.6 litres, the GTX uses a 1.8-litre unit. The smaller engine has a single overhead camshaft, the bigger one a twin-cam setup. However both engines have four valves per cylinder for good breathing at mid to high revs.
