Maruti Suzuki has introduced a more fuel efficient petrol engine with the 2026 Baleno facelift. The previously on offer 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine (K12N) has been replaced by the brand's 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder motor (Z12E), which also does duty in models like the Swift and Dzire.
New Maruti Baleno fuel efficiency figures
The Baleno petrol-manual version now returns 1.45kpl more than before, while the AMT sees an improvement of 1.83kpl. The Baleno CNG sees the biggest improvement, with an increase of 3km/kg.
What's interesting is that Maruti has achieved these improvements despite the new Baleno being relatively heavier than the outgoing version. The new Baleno petrol-MT has a maximum kerb weight of 985kg, which is 30kg more than the older petrol-MT's 955kg. Similarly, the petrol-AMT is now 30kg heavier at 990kg, compared to the previous version's 960kg. Meanwhile, the new Baleno CNG-MT weighs 1,055kg, which is 20kg more than the outgoing version's 1,035kg.
New Maruti Baleno powertrain specs
While the K12N engine had four cylinders, the new Z12E motor used in the facelifted hatchback has one cylinder less. It has been tuned to deliver better fuel efficiency, as reflected in the claimed figures. The Z12E engine is also relatively down on peak outputs. Power is down by 7hp in petrol mode and 7.5hp in CNG mode, while torque is down by 1Nm in petrol mode and 3.5Nm in CNG mode. Transmission options remain the same.
The new Maruti Baleno is priced from Rs 6.10 lakh, ex-showroom. The carmaker has not announced the full variant-wise pricing at the time of writing.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
