I own one for nearly 3 months. Drove it like 2200 miles already and can provide first-hand impressions :) I have the 1.2 petrol, 90hp, manual gearbox. It's sold without the "mild hybrid" in my country, which I preferred. The positives: 1) The price of buying and using. Car is cheap to buy and by far the best equipped for the price in it's class. Here (Bulgaria) it comes with Nav system, rear-view cam, adaptive cruise control and auto A/C at 13 500 euro. Only Skoda Rapid hatch offered something close in equipment/price (it was still like 10-12% more expensive), all other brands wanted way more money for these gadgets ;) It's also cheap to run. The tax is small (guess it varies in other countries). Driving at 80-90 km/h on 2-lane roads gave me actual fuel consumption of 4,0l/100km, which I find very impressive. On the highway, driving 120-130km/h with A/C on full time, the consumption was 5,1l/100km, still very good. In the city it burns 6,0l/100km, which i find reasonable. 2) Legroom. It has very good legroom for the back seat passengers. I'm nearly 6'2" (187 cm to be precise) and my brother, who is 6'0" can sit behind me without touching the back of driver's seat. I went in several showrooms and tested the space in other models in Segment B (the Supermini) like Skoda Fabia, Ford B-max, Hyundai i20 Active and even Mazda CX-3. All had less legroom at the back. I find this very impressive and a strong selling point for the Baleno. (A note here - the headroom at the back is OK, but not as impressive). 3) The size. The car is very compact at a notch under 4m. I find this an advantage in the city, especially when parking. (But it really NEEDS it's rear-view camera, because the back-window is so high and so tight, one can see nothing through it.) 4) Ease of use. The controls are logical and simple enough, the touch-screen is not laggy (I have the 7-inch one), the adjustments of driving position and things like brightness of the dash are more than adequate. I drove it at night numerous times and find the headlights to be good. In all - I had no trouble adapting from my previous car to the Baleno. The negatives so far: 1) Used materials. The plastic in the cabin is hard and scratchy. I already have some permanent scratches at the inside lower portion of the driver's door from my shoes. And the other material I do not like is the thin metal the whole exterior is made of. Alas - a weakness of most modern cars in my opinion 2) Noise in the cabin at high speeds. The Baleno is very light (about 950kg) and I believe some of the weight was saved on noise insulation. It is not unbearable, don't get me wrong. But I find 130-135 km/h to be the limit in terms of comfort, a subjective, individual assessment, of course. (A note here - a lot of the noise is made by the tires it comes with, a budget model by Bridgestone. So this part is "improvable" by the user). As a conclusion - sorry for the long post :) I tried to be objective. So far I do not regret choosing the Baleno. Hope all this is helpful to anyone :)

l'm a recent convert to Suzuki cars. They're technically clever, competitively priced, practical, fuel efficient and well screwed together. I don't understand the fixation that motoring journo's have with banging on about soft touch plastics. Who cares? Who actually goes around feeling their dashboard?? All sounds a bit pervy if you ask me...

not a bad looking car. though I'll never get the point in reviews when they complain about the feel of plastics - who actually strokes there plastic dash?

I thought the review missed all of the important points. It seems that all the reviewers swap cliches..... hard plastic, not as much fun to drive as a ford fiesta, high boot lip etc etc. I dont know about you, but I do not even touch my dashboard and I've never found fiestas fun to drive. For me the interesting points about this car are the adaptive cruise and the radar stop, which only got a cursory mention and were not tested. He is to reviewing what Ghengis JKhan was to diplomacy. Please get a mind of your own, do a thorough review and avoid cliches.

I searched for a UK Baleno review about ten minutes ago with no luck, then Subscriptions comes good! Thanks Carbuyer!

Just got the Baleno with the 1 litre engine. I love it. Moves like a dream. Engine is very quick on the uptake.

I had a Suzuki Celerio which was a decent little car and had a Baleno loaned me whilst my car was in for a service. It was very nice…roomy, comfortable and quite nippy. Not sure what engine it had but it was very quiet. I’ve got a company car now and my wife drives a Fiat 500…but when we both retire in a few years we will looking to run one car only…and the Baleno will be a contender.

there´ll be an elephant in the car, with all those sweets and crisps.

He's a good reviewer. I don't like the sarcasm. I preffer the constructive criticism. This video shows that!!! Loved it!

just got this boy and I LOVE IT

Suzuki's 6 AT is 100% much better than VW, Audi 1.0 DSG or Ford 1.0 powershift series, at least you won't stuck on road and spend a lot of money and time to get repair. fuel efficiency and economical reliablity is everything.

Design is great, nothing to even complain about! Come on, ppl!

Fluent and coherent reviewer .... a kind of post modern Quentin Wilson from back in the day.

James you are a truly great very informative presenter... Carry on !

Even though I'm not in the market for a supermini I still found this video very enjoyable. Hopefully we can expect a review of the new NSX when it hits the UK?

this guy is amazing reviewer.. most of carbuyer reviewers are very lively.. nice

Very good reviw. Nice car! Well done.

James you are a great reviewer... Ignore those pathetic haters :) I enjoyed this review a lot (as well as all your others) :):)

What about the quality of the metal sheets and chassis? Is it very filmsy?

I don't know why there is so much criticism for this guy - his reviews are always very good

Why you need to scratch the plastic in cars. the plastic is not scratchy if you don't scratch it.

This guy speech n reviewing style start to grow on me.. He reminds me with Quentin Wilson..

Great review man, though sth sounded odd, lots of rollover, but firm suspension? Doesn't quite comply.

sir want to know that socker problem or not

how come we have two on screen logos ? the one on the left is best for me.

I liked this video! Good job!!

In India, the Suzuki Baleno gets a twin brother called the Toyota Glanza, due to a vehicle sharing agreement between Suzuki and Toyota. The Toyota Glanza is made in India by Maruti Suzuki.

The rear looks like the new ford Ka+ and the dash resembles that of the fiesta, focus and other fords

It's bigger than the Swift, and lighter? How did Suzuki work that?

Is it based on the new Ford KA+?

I bought the 2017 Baleno 1.2 ISG Hybrid just 3 weeks ago. Its super comfortable, responsive engine plus very economical. Unfortunately the plastics inside are garbage, its already falling apart and scratching everywhere even though taking special care. Had to take it twice to the dealership, the centre light just fell off whilst driving on a sleeping police and the mirror cover fell off whilst cleaning. For that price, I somehow expected it. Btw... Put a plastic bottle in the holder and there comes the scratches.

gonna buy it

Every video I ask where James the Goth remains, I think I have to accept that he is gone and might be back in the winter. Anyways, great review as always, thanks :)

Isn't it four wheel drive? Something not mentioned in the review?

Baleno its like glans?

I had a Suzuki rental car when I took my car in for a service a while ago and was actually pleasantly surprised with the quality of the car - it really wasn't bad, but their cars are just too small for me.

Over 11s 0-60 is punchy??

baneno or i 20 wich 1 i buy

I've a 2012 1.2 Ka which only has 69hp.. Dying for a faster but still small daily & considering this. Newer cars are mostly massive. This one is like an 08 Bravo I had before.

He wore those trousers on purpose didn't he?

Please Review Audi SQ7 TDI 2016

Which location is this??

is tgei20 is better than this ?

Unfortunately in my country doesnt have the same spec

1.2l is the best have it in my dzire and can truly trust it!!!!

What happened to the old balano

No mentioning the disappointing Euro NCAP results?

Is it really in the supermini class? I've seen a few in person and I'd have thought they're about the same size as a Focus or an Astra

Love the classic British accent..:)

Here in Japan, we can't get no MT transmissions. How sad.

The Swift may not have a bigger boot or be as spacious. But, it certainly drives and looks better in every which way.

trousers?

remember the Baleno chocolate bar. it was kind of like a twix but healthier.

James... you said it figits around and rolls. And your saying is comfortable at the end. (slow clap).

Great to compete with i20,but where's Ertiga?

A gadi ni ketli kimat che

Suzuki has a dealer in the Indian market. High time Suzuki reconsidered its association with the Maruti and unvieled many of its products, which the former is loathe to introduce to the Indian market.

Dacia Sandero meets Seat Ibiza.

does any one else remember how to read a map besides my self you know like back in the day before there where computers in every thing !

great car..

This seems a very fitting car for this particular reviewer!

FIAT like design, its not in Suzuki tradition... Good review.

Modern day Rover 25!

Never trust men in yellow trousers!

Ahhh, the bag of crisps has made an appearance once again👈 Seems like you get a lot of car for the money here, too bad Suzuki pulled out of the U.S. a couple years ago, always thought the cars were solid!

It's like he's channelling Quentin Wilson, to all the Millennials just look up old TopGear, I mean REALLY old.

This will be a best seller!

wonder why doesn't he mention anything about crash safety ratings...

I can't hear him over those trousers

The elephant in the room for this car is Dacia Sandero or Logan. Similar power, 90 HP on TCE or DCI engines , cheaper to buy slightly faster as well than the Baleno. In England I will consider the Baleno over Dacia for the single reason that you can get Baleno with auto gearbox but Dacia uk refuses to bring the Easy R transmission available anywhere else in Europe.

James, you are such a good presenter, clear, concise and interesting. The only things I don't like with this car are the rear lights and that horrible chrome thing along the bootlid eeeewwwwww LOL.....

The Suzuki should Include Soft Touch Materials and a better looking Interior

James doesn't sit properly in the back seats when demonstrating the head room in the back seats. He kinda stoops forward talking and doesn't actually rest his head on the head rest like a person would usually do.

The styling puts me in mind of the 1992-97 Toyota Corolla. This car is definitely the plain and chubby older sibling to the the Swift. I'd take the Swift every time. It's not spacious but at least it doesn't look like it was designed 20 years ago.

What's the best small cheap car? Let's do a drag race

punchy?

the dash looks like last years Hyundai Elantra

2:07. That sound shows its quality level. Good car though...

I thought it said Balena ("Whale" in Italian) at first.

Oh damn.... I thought this was a car exclusive for south asian and south east asian markets. Why would people choose a balneo where there are options like the Golf and Fiesta? Plus it's advertised as a 'premium hatchback' in those markets.

Come on.....Just launch that RS version with boosterjet engine in India.

only just noticed car buyer never shows then engine. why? cos their target audience is the suits in offices who send it to their dealers garage for service/problems

I bought it last year. Nice engine but the suspension is crap. It feels that there is no suspension at all. For the materials quality what you pay is what you get

Is he Tiff Needell's son?

Toyota Yaris hybrid or Suzuki Baleno 1.0 Booster jet

Nice kecks

which company make better engines suzuki or vw

James great video review......but Im sorry this car just screams "dull" I would rather have a base renault clio, surely anyone would??? lol

6 airbags?🤔😓 In India here we have only 2 airbags 😭😭😭😭

Vidéo très complète, mais s'il vous plaît fichez-nous la paix avec vos plastiques durs

i thought it only exist in india and Arabic and indonesia and malaysia and labuan

Prefer the sports version

Complaining about design wearing those pants?

I think is the platforme of Nissan Pulsar!!!!

why do they keep going on about fitting big water bottles in door bins. ive never bought a car based on the size of the door bins ,its like theyve got a script they do for very car,wasting time on trivialities

Daniel leoncio Sr. /Jr. Regina & Ryan Leoncio

Baleno is not a super mini, you can't compete it with Fiesta, it's a class C, compite with focus, golf, peugeot 30x,

looks like a 2010ish car

Swift 2017 vs Baleno??? 😎😎

I'd rather buy a 1,000 cc motorcycle. At least it will bring a bloody big smile to my face.