The 2022 Maruti Baleno facelift will come with revamped exterior and interior along with many new features and even better crash worthiness
Maruti Baleno has been the country’s favourite premium hatchback ever since it was launched here in 2015. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that it became the first premium hatchback to cross 1 million sales milestone last month. The top-seller regularly outsells arch rivals Hyundai i20 and Tata Altroz put together and finally, right when it had started to age a bit, it’s about to get a comprehensive facelift that should keep it on the wishlist of many for the rest of its lifecycle. An image of the first batch of the 2022 Maruti Baleno rolling off the production line shows that the dealer dispatch could start soon. This, in turn, would mean an imminent launch.
2022 Maruti Baleno Facelift Exterior and Interior
The premium hatchback from Maruti Suzuki received its mid-cycle facelift in December 2019 but this time around, the visual updates are far more comprehensive in nature. Up front, it will get a new grille that will look sleeker than before. It will be flanked by a set of new LED headlamps with LED DRLs. The side profile could remain unchanged but the rear-end will have a set of new LED taillamps that will give the tail a more premium and sportier look than before.
The interior will feature even more updates as it will get a new dashboard that will feature a free-standing 9-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that will offer wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The same system is already available on some Toyota models abroad. The higher variants will also get Suzuki Connect as standard through which one will be able to use Geo-fencing, car health monitor, live car tracker and other such services.
5-star NCAP Safety Rating?
It is being said that the 2022 Maruti Baleno facelift will be a lot safer than the outgoing version. The premium hatchback has already received a lot of flak for its poor build quality and it looks like Maruti Suzuki has finally decided to shut down the naysayers by updating the entire safety package. The top-spec fully loaded variant could offer up to six airbags while the HEARTECT platform has been strengthened to offer higher crash worthiness. Also, the sheetmetal that is used is thicker than before and all this should help the car bag 5-star rating in Global NCAP crash tests.
2022 Maruti Baleno Facelift Specs
The current 1.2-litre Dualjet Dual VVT petrol engine will be carried over and will continue to offer a maximum power of 89PS and a peak torque of 113Nm. Other than this, the fully-loaded version is also expected to be available with a 1.5-litre petrol unit from the Brezza. This engine outputs a maximum power of 105PS and a peak torque of 138Nm. SHVS mild-hybrid system will be employed here to maximise the power output while the performance offered by the bigger engine should help the car take on the turbocharged petrol variant of the Hyundai i20. That said, the higher weight of the car could lead to a slight drop in the fuel mileage figures but trust Maruti to fine-tune the motor to deliver the highest possible fuel efficiency. Finally, the CVT offered on the current car would be dropped in favour of an AMT that should help the company keep the prices from soaring too high.
