Within a month of its launch in October 2015, Maruti’s aggressively priced premium hatchback, the Baleno, entered the top-10 sellers’ list in its category. At launch, the car was priced at Rs 4.99 lakh for the base variant, which was lower than its key rivals, the Hyundai i20 and the Honda Jazz.

Now a year later, the momentum is still on. Despite three subsequent price rises – by up to Rs 12,000 in January 2016; Rs 16,699 in March; and Rs 10,000 (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi) last August, the hatchback’s popularity hasn’t dimmed one bit. The Baleno sales have crossed one lakh units in the country, and Maruti has also exported 33,800 units to Japan and some European countries.

Due to this popularity, the car commanded long waiting periods right from the beginning; it was close to eight months at peak. Currently, the petrol and diesel manual models are available only after seven months of booking, while the Baleno CVT has a waiting period of around eight months.
However, the waiting period may reduce next year onwards when Maruti starts manufacturing it at its all-new Gujarat plant. The carmaker produces close to 12,000 units a month at its Manesar plant out of which some are for the export markets.

For now, the hatchback can be had with a 1.3-litre diesel and a 1.2-litre petrol. But early next year, a ‘hot hatch’ variant, called the Baleno RS, with a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine will be added to the line-up.