Maruti Suzuki Baleno India launch on 26 October; price, bookings, features and everything you need to know

The long wait for the much-anticipated new premium hatchback Baleno from the house of Maruti Suzuki is finally getting over as the model is ready to be launched on 26 October (Monday).

Auto aficionados in India have heard a lot about the new Baleno - its variants, design elements and power plants; the only thing that is actually left to know is its price.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the first premium hatchback to be sold through the new Nexa chain, is expected to be priced at Rs 6 lakh onwards. The Maruti Baleno is the second offering of the company though Nexa after the S-cross crossover.

To be pitched against the new Honda Jazz and Hyundai Elite i20, the Baleno measures 3,995mm in length, 1,745mm in width and 1,500mm in height with a wheel base of 2,520mm. The car features 339-litres of boot space and 37-litres of fuel capacity.

The Baleno will be available in four trims - Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha, and will be offered in seven body shades - Granite grey, Solid fire red, Premium urban blue, Autumn orange, Metallic premium silver, Pearl arctic white and Ray blue.

The powerplant of the new Maruti hatchback will include 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine and 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine. While the 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine is tuned to develop 83bhp and 115Nm of torque, the 1.3-litre DDiS diesel mill will churn out 74bhp and 190Nm of torque. Both the engines are mated to a five-speed manual transmission and the petrol engine is also available with CVT automatic gearbox. The Maruti Baleno diesel is tuned to deliver 'fuel efficiency of 27.39kmpl' and the petrol unit returns a claimed fuel efficiency of 21.4kmpl.

Maruti Baleno - variants and features

Baleno Sigma -- Central locking, front power windows, power steering with tilt function, anti-theft security, front seat belt pre-tensioners with force limiters and seat belt reminder for driver seats.

Baleno Delta -- Full wheel caps, keyless entry, reverse parking sensors, audio system with aux and USB connectivity, Bluetooth, steering mounted audio controls, electrically foldable ORVMs and climate control.

Baleno Zeta -- Chrome door handles along with alloy wheels. Additionally, it comes with front fog lamps, lights to front footwell and boot space, multi functional colour display, leather wrapped steering wheel, start/stop push button, UV-protection glass and follow me home headlamps.

Baleno Alpha -- Projector headlamps, LED daytime running lamps, navigation system, rear parking camera and Apple CarPlay which is first in the segment.