If you’re used to read news articles about the automotive world, you’ve certainly seen several cases of companies trying to prosper in the market by investing in new categories. Four-door coupés, the revival of shooting brakes… not to mention the whole crossover movement. However, one of the reasons why this industry is fascinating is the fact that there’s no absolute solution for anything. Sometimes, the best way to conquer the market turns out to be entering it through the front door. After this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, which was held in September, it became clear that the latter is Suzuki’s newest intention.
What makes “alternative” vehicles so seductive is the possibility to open an entire new market exclusively for the company in question – competitors will follow, of course, but not before giving the pioneer plenty of time to dominate the new niche. The problem is, buyers will demand the same level of overall quality of established vehicles, which implies an investment that most companies would consider too risky for such venture. When the bets go to traditional categories, such as sedan or hatchback, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll have steady sales. Making them big, as well, will be mostly a matter of having a product as good as its most important competitors. Old-school segments, therefore, are just difficult to give an automaker interesting sales. Innovative ones are difficult as well as risky.
Suzuki is a particularly interesting company to work with that theory because it’s actually an example of the latter case as a company. Outside Japan, its only lineups one would think of as successful are Swift and Vitara. On the other hand, it’s hard to find any truly failed vehicles either. In other words, this automaker has already achieved the steady state. People may not dream of buying a Suzuki, but they wouldn’t dread that as well. Having that in mind, if it manages to come up with vehicles just as good as, say, Ford Focus or Volkswagen Passat, it would be mostly a matter of time for customers to start seeing the company as desirable as those, too. The latest SX4 and Vitara have already done some work in that direction, but those two are both crossovers. This article’s car, in turn, is a typical compact hatchback.
If its name is giving you a déjà vu feeling, you’re thinking of the midsize lineup Suzuki offered in the 1990s in Asia, Europe and Australia. However, this is the only reference to the past you’ll find here. The company is introducing the Liquid Flow design language, which combines “curving lines and expressive surfaces” to “a low and wide silhouette” in order to reach a “strong and sporty look”. Given how discreet Suzukis usually are, Baleno results a beautiful exception. The tall waistline makes it imponent, but the visual balance is restored by using big head and tail lights, and by painting the A pillars in black, which makes the glass area look bigger. Besides, the silhouette conveys a nice family vehicle, instead of just following the direct competitors and investing in flashy sportiness.
Entering the new Baleno will remind you once again that you are in a “modern compact car”. Compact because the overall design is quite simple, featuring only the necessary elements. And modern because none of that still means this is a bad car. The infotainment system uses a 7” touchscreen and sports many of the latest must-have functions, such as multimidia stereo and smartphone integration, while the LCD display in the instrument cluster can show a series of performance options that includes engine output and driving G-force. Suzuki also states that all of that is wrapped in curving lines and a general style crafted to give “a sense of breadth”. The black color’s dominance is associated to several silver elements, and to the button lights in what the company defines as “reddish-amber”.
As you can imagine, internal room is great. Suzuki didn’t let the inspired style get in the way of making Baleno comfortable for up to five occupants. Front seats had their shape and materials designed so as to concile ergonomy, resistance and light weight. Those and several other improvements came with the use of a new platform, which also increased body rigidity by 10% and reduced the total weight by 15%. Besides, there are new components dedicated to reduce NVH levels, and some of the latest electronic safety programs. The latter include Radar Brake Support, which uses “milimetre wave radar” so as to detect a potential collision and react to it (from warning the driver to applying the brakes). You’ll also find six airbags and stability control, although those are likely to appear only at Baleno’s upscale trim levels.
When it comes to powertrain, Suzuki shows a new BoosterJet 1.0 engine, which uses both direct injection and turbocharger in order to deliver 111 hp of power and 17.3 kgfm of torque. The other option is the DualJet 1.2. Both engines offer a five-speed manual transmission as standard, but can be upgraded with a six-speed automatic gearbox in the first case and a CVT in the other. However, even biggest news regards the new “mild hybrid system”. Named SHVS, it uses an Integrated Starter Generator “to assist the engine during acceleration and also generates electricity through regenerative braking”. Basically, it takes energy from some situations and stores it to apply in other ones, which is made possible by the use of a lithium-ion battery. Adding that to your Baleno helps to reduce CO2 emissions to 93 g/km.