Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong.

General Comments:

Car is very nice to drive, good brakes, excellent handling, plenty of power.

It is a bit noisy inside, but the low profile tyres don't help.

It is very well laid out, inside and out, and is very nice to look at, especially with alloys and the body kit.

Faults:

Right rear view mirror needed replacing

Handles on driver and passenger sides needed replacing

Drivers side window gets stuck.

General Comments:

This car has served us well over the past six years. We've never spent a day in the garage, and never had any kind of roadside breakdown. As you can see, we've put a lot of mileage on this car, and it still seems to be going strong. It goes for regular tune-ups every 10,000 km and the cost is about NIS 400 (a bit less that $100).

The interior has handled the wear and tear of small children fairly well, and the instrument panels and a/c are fine.

My hubby is the cars main driver, and he is not kind to the car at all - he's a pro at breaking stuff. I've seen other Balenos that look like new, so I'm not actually blaming Suzuki.

We are soon to be a family of 5, and the car is just not comfortable or powerful as we'd like - we turn off the a/c when we are going up into the mountains - but it's been so reliable, we hate to see it go. If Suzuki made something a little bit bigger with a 2000 engine - we'd seriously consider buying it.

Faults:

I had to change the brake pads at around 40000 but this was through wear and tear.

The Jubilee clips on the exhaust rotted away, but after a quick replacement all has been well since.

General Comments:

The power to weight ratio is a well thought out. The 1.6 engine and the light body means that the car performs when you ask it.

The shape on the car is very curvy, aerodynamic and very unique, but the space in the rear inside is not so clever.

The NC-AP safety rating is not very high, but there again, that gives you more incentive to drive carefully. But the twin airbags in the front are a visual reassurance, and the engine taking up most of the engine space would absorb a good knock.

The steering wheel is very bland in appearance and maybe a little large for a sporty model car. Handling is very good in all weathers.

The seats are very comfortable and the bucket seat look is a winner with the passengers.

Faults:

Nothing mechanical. Seat belt holder tends to dig into thigh, too close to seat.

General Comments:

Excellent, just like sitting in an armchair. The most comfortable car I've had since my Ford Cortina MarkI.

Faults:

-Drive shaft faulty

-ball bearing right front wheel

-stationary run: couldn't maintain consistent stationary run, went from 500 rpms to 2000 and back; especially when airco was on.

-blew one 'bobine' (the part that takes care of the power-supply of one of the four spark plugs)

-replaced battery.

General Comments:

My Baleno came equipped with an LPG-tank, which causes a bit of a power-loss, but overall, the 1.8 engine is quite nimble at lower revs and downright fast at higher revs; over 3500 revs and the party starts. To my surprise, it's quite economical: I do 11 kms with 1 liter of LPG, which is far better than the 9 km I was promised.

The engine's reliability is fair so far. Only the stationary run caused some irritation, but was solved by simply cleaning out the 'stationary engine', which has become clogged with soot due to a exhaust-return pipe. It's functioning fine now.

The suspension and thus the drive-ability are set to be comfortable; in my opinion, only a 2CV has more 'bounce'. Personally, I'd like a firmer suspension, which matches the SSCS sport-settings. I'm going to lower the car specifically for this reason. Also because the rear, especially when loaded, bouces up and down like an old city bus. Luckily, the tyres (Bridgestone Potenza) do make up for the weak suspension, so corners can be rounded at a fairly high speed.

Exterior: I think the car looks good; especially when seen from the rear. There's only a lot of space between the wheels and the wheel arches, thus making it look like an old Samara.

Interior: I never had any complaints from my passengers, although I had the drivers seat replaced since I didn't fit in it. Also, the fixed headrest was dangerously low and is probably suited for people under 6 feet in height. Same goes for the amount of leg-space and the way the sun-screen goes down; way too low.

I would also have like a bit more storage capabilities in the doors.

Also, the seat belts tend to stay in place when you release them.

The dashboard is often described as 'grey and boring'. Personally, I like it that way. Everything I need is there and at the correct place. What else does one need? Only the top part of the dash reflects in the front window, which is a bit of a nuisance sometimes.

Storing luggage is a piece of cake. The boot is easy to reach and adequate in size. Since my Baleno can carry far over 500 kgs, I never need to fear of overloading. Disadvantage is that the car will hang on its rear wheels and sinks deeply. To counteract this, I have applied load adjusters.

Maintenance and parts:

Since my 1.8 is a pretty rare car, second-hands parts are hard to come by, so sometimes I have to resort to buying new ones, which are frighteningly expensive. Luckily, this car comes with a cam-chain, not a belt. So no replacing necessary.

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a good car; it's fast, economical and comfortable. The downside is that it's too comfortable, thus taking away from the handling and that the interior is made for people under 6 feet tall. Also, spare parts are rather hard to come by and new ones are expensive beyond belief.

I'd buy another if the need would arrive. Only the first thing I'd do is lower the car a bit by shorter and stiffer springs.

Robert Boetje

The Netherlands.