Maruti Suzuki Baleno facelift review: Is the new engine a downgrade?

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno has proven itself to be rather valuable for the brand. Launched in India in 2015 through the then-new Nexa retail network, it crossed the 10-lakh sales mark in just six years, making it one of the country’s most successful premium hatchbacks.

The second-generation Baleno arrived in 2022, bringing a much-improved cabin, better ride quality and more technology while sticking to the same basic formula: spacious, comfortable, efficient and easy to live with. Even that model found plenty of buyers, with Maruti collecting 50,000 bookings within a month of its launch.

Four years on, this facelift is a slightly more interesting proposition. The changes aren’t just cosmetic. There is a new three-cylinder 1.2-litre engine under the bonnet, replacing the four-cylinder unit, while Maruti has also added Level 2 ADAS, ventilated seats and a new premium audio system. The old Baleno was already a very easy car to recommend, so the question is whether Maruti has improved the bits that mattered without taking away one of its biggest strengths: the smooth, refined four-cylinder engine.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno design

The Baleno has always played the sensible card. It isn’t overly flashy or sporty, but carries the design well, maintaining a balance of a conventional shape with modern accents. The design has aged well, and even now, the Baleno looks up to date. Without messing with the formula, the team has concentrated largely on the front. You get a new grille with chrome horizontal bars connecting the headlamps, a reshaped bumper and revised fog-lamp housings. There is also a new chrome accent on the fender and a shark-fin antenna. That’s the extent of the updates to the exterior. Personally, I’d have loved a new set of wheels, but even the current ones look fine.

There isn’t much happening at the rear, and the overall proportions remain exactly what you remember. At 3990mm long with a 2520mm wheelbase, it remains a fairly large hatchback for the segment. Whether you prefer the old or new face will come down to personal taste. Though, going by the comments on social media posts, a lot of you didn’t like it, and I’d have to agree. It just feels like they stopped just one step before completing it, and it could do with another revision. 

Maruti Suzuki Baleno interior and features

The Baleno’s cabin was already one of the better parts of the 2022 car, and Maruti has left most of it unchanged. The basic layout remains familiar, but there are a few additions that make the facelift feel more substantial. The big one is Level 2 ADAS. The system uses a radar and camera and brings adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and prevention, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning and high-beam assist, among other functions. More importantly, it actually works quite well. The entire system has been calibrated really well for Indian conditions. I did turn off the lane departure prevention right at the start, but other than that, all functions, including adaptive cruise control, worked well.  

Next big additions include seat ventilation with revised upholstery, TPMS, and a new sound system by Clarion. The ventilated seats are a personal favourite. I genuinely feel every car in India should have it, and it’s a welcome addition in the Baleno; though the fan does get a bit noisy at level three, and you always need to just lower it. The music system is good, but not outstanding, and you will need to judge whether it’s an improvement by comparing it side by side with the old one. You still get the 9-inch SmartPlay Pro+ touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a head-up display, 360-degree camera, and wireless charging. Essentially, it had plenty of features already, and now it is just a tad bit richer, while continuing with a practical and spacious cabin. 

Maruti Suzuki Baleno powertrain and performance

This is the one you probably want to hear about the most. The 2022 Baleno used Maruti’s 1.2-litre K12N four-cylinder petrol engine. It wasn’t particularly powerful, but it was smooth, quiet and refined, and it did so in several cars, proving its reliability and wider use. The facelift replaces it with the 1.2-litre Z12E three-cylinder petrol engine. It makes 82bhp and 112Nm of torque, which is around 7bhp lower than before.

That, coupled with the missing cylinder, means there’s definitely a dearth of grunt at the top end. At low and mid-range, it still feels adequate, especially if you are driving in the city, but the moment you gain some speed, you can notice the engine doesn’t approve. There is a slight lag in the response, and you need to work the engine harder when you want a quick overtake or a brisk acceleration run. Especially in the AMT variant that I tested, I was forced to make a downshift almost always. On top of that, you also get a harsher note from the engine, which feels uninspiring.

In terms of smoothness, this is pretty comparable, but the lack of grunt does make itself apparent. That being said, if you’re going to be gentle, this engine won’t leave you asking. The manual gearbox remains the better choice if you’re interested in driving the Baleno yourself. The five-speed unit is light and easy to operate, and suits the character of the car. The AMT box’s calibration has improved, but you can still feel the shifts, particularly when you ask for more performance. It works best when you’re driving at a relaxed pace.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno ride and handling

The 2022 Baleno already had a very good ride, so there wasn’t much for Maruti to fix here. The facelift continues that theme. It deals with broken surfaces and undulations without making a big event of them. The suspension has enough compliance to keep the cabin comfortable while still maintaining reasonable control of the body. This is not for your everyday enthusiast, and if you chuck it into a corner, you’d feel it. But otherwise, for a family guy just wanting one car to do all of his household duties, this fits in quite well. The big takeaway is that the Baleno remains an easy car to drive. It has good visibility, predictable controls and enough suspension compliance to deal with the sort of roads most owners will encounter every day. 

Maruti Suzuki Baleno price and verdict

The 2026 Maruti Suzuki Baleno starts at ₹6.10 lakh ex-showroom, Bengaluru, which is around ₹10,000 more than the outgoing car. That is a fairly modest increase considering the amount of additional equipment you get. The question is whether the new engine spoils the package. I don’t think it does, despite considering myself a Speedy Boi. But it does take away one of the qualities that made the previous Baleno particularly likeable. Compared to the previous engine’s smooth and refined character, the new three-cylinder unit feels more strained when you start driving enthusiastically.

For most buyers, however, that won’t be the defining part of the ownership experience. The Baleno remains spacious, comfortable and efficient, and now adds genuinely useful equipment such as Level 2 ADAS and ventilated seats. The ADAS calibration is particularly impressive for something being introduced at this price point.

So, is it a better Baleno than the 2022 car? Yes. When you put the whole car together, the Baleno remains one of the most complete offerings in its class. It may not be the most exciting hatchback here, but it continues to make a very convincing case as the easy, comfortable and feature-packed choice.