Why New Maruti Nexa Baleno Is 65kg Heavier? - Official Response | V3Cars

26 January 2024
By Mahesh Yadav
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With the help of a leaked brochure, we discovered well ahead of the launch of the new Baleno that it’s heavier than the outgoing model by as much as 65kg. We guessed that this gain may have come from the increased sheet metal thickness or gone towards improving the chassis to improve the Baleno’s crashworthiness. A heavier car door with a greater pull effort gives the feeling of driving a car with better build quality. We asked Maruti Suzuki officials directly about this weight gain to find out once and for all why the new Baleno is heavier. Here’s what they had to say.

According to our calculations, the new model of the Baleno petrol-manual is up to 55kg heavier than the old Baleno. With the manual transmission, it’s only 25kg heavier. However, this weight gain is smaller because the new Baleno also ditches the heavier CVT automatic for the lighter and more affordable AMT-type automatic transmission.

Also Read: Maruti Nexa Baleno Petrol Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

OLD VS NEW BALENO WEIGHT COMPARISON
	Old Baleno	Difference	New Baleno
Manual	865 - 890kg	55 - 65kg	920 - 955kg
Automatic	910 - 935kg	25kg	935 - 960kg

Also Read: Maruti Nexa Baleno Gains Weight

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Frame Reinforcements

According to Mr. CV Raman, CTO, Maruti Suzuki, about half of the additional weight went straight towards reinforcing the chassis with high-strength steel. This should improve the crashworthiness of the car and help the Baleno achieve a higher GNCAP rating.

The decision to add more high-strength steel to the new Baleno’s chassis and offering 6 airbags in the top 2 variants hint at Maruti Suzuki prioritizing safety in their cars. In recent years, we’ve seen Tata and Mahindra acquire greater mindshare among mass market car buyers by promoting and highlighting their high GNCAP crash test scores. Thus, a greater number of car buyers are prioritizing safety aspects when buying a new car.

Features

Mr. Raman said that about a quarter of the additional weight in the new Baleno goes towards the new features that weren’t available in the outgoing model. This is also evident as the new Baleno now comes with 4 extra airbags, a head-up display, 360-degree camera, a larger touchscreen, rear AC vents, cruise control, and a self-centering steering wheel.

Suspension

According to Maruti Suzuki, the final 25% or so of the additional weight went towards improving the suspension. While the older car’s suspension did the job, Maruti Suzuki invested towards re-engineering the suspension to improve the ride quality and feel of the car while driving. The Suspension plays a big role in communicating the road conditions to the driver through the steering wheel. It’s also extremely tricky to tune the suspension to find the right balance between ride quality and comfort for the target audience. Maruti Suzuki claim to have improved the suspension setup of the car and we’ll soon find out how much they improve the driving experience.

Heavier Doors And ‘Better Build Quality’?

Many old Baleno buyers have complained about the thin sheet metal of the car. While they are mostly satisfied with the other aspects of the car, they generally complain about the ‘poor build quality’ as their area of concern. This also gives other potential buyers reason to find another car with a heavier door pull, which gives a feeling of better build quality.

Unfortunately, in this area, the new Baleno still feels more or less the same as the outgoing model. During our first look of the new Baleno, when it launched, we didn’t find any noticeable difference in terms of the door pull effort and sheet metal thickness. On the other hand, if the new Baleno’s stronger chassis gives it a better crash test rating, then at least the safety conscious buyers will have nothing to worry about except for the ‘feel’.

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