The budget car segment doesn't mean you should only get the barebones motoring experience. Budget cars, even in base specification, have plenty of features. The Suzuki Baleno is one such vehicle that offers a lot for not so much money. We have a long-term 1.5 GLX Manual in the house, and there's much to love about the Baleno, so much so that we picked 5 of the best features, too.
Related: Heavily updated Suzuki Baleno launched locally
'Crafted Futurism' is a design philosophy that evolved from the previous generation of Baleno's 'Liquid Flow' design language. Much of the Baleno's feature set consists of 'First in its segment' tech and quality-of-life features that make you wonder, 'How did Suzuki do it all at this price?' One of those features is the infotainment system. With this in mind, let's discuss what Baleno's infotainment system offers.
What infotainment features do we have here?
If you opt for the GL trim, a 7.0-inch touchscreen handles infotainment duties. In the GLX trim now, you have a larger 9.0-inch HD touchscreen. The GL's system has 4 speakers to play your tunes; the screen has a standard definition but some decent functionality, such as Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and even Mirrorlink for your smartphone connectivity. The connections here are wired, but you can also use Bluetooth to connect your phone for music and phone calls. There is one USB-A port in front of the centre stack to connect your smartphone and two rear USB ports for charging your devices. Voice recognition is available, and the system displays real-time vehicle status information such as fuel consumption, time, etc. There's also a reverse camera. Quite comprehensive.
In the GLX, in addition to the GL's infotainment features, not only is the size ramped up, but the system also works with the added heads-up display and the included 360-degree monitor with augmented reality to assist you with parking and checking your surroundings. You get two extra speakers in the form of tweeters to heighten the audio quality. Overall, the 9.0-inch screen in our view fills up the trim bezel for the screen better. In both Baleno trims, the system can be operated by either the touch controls on the screen or the controls on the steering wheel.
Overall, the system here is quite easy to use. It's a winner in this segment. After reading this, are you interested in a Baleno? You can search AutoTrader for the latest used and new Baleno offerings and sell your car.
