Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire: The Battle of Two Kings

by Harish Kumar | 17/06/2020
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Both are the king of its segment, a best-selling sedan or a premium hatchback. Read on our comparison between Baleno vs Dzire below before deciding on which car is better to buy.

1. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire: A Brief Intro

Making a decision on which car to buy is really a difficult task, especially in the hotly-crowded market in recent days. It becomes even harder for us when considering two vehicles from the same brand as Maruti Suzuki. Such scenarios happen to a lot of people who can’t decide between a Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire.

maruti baleno vs maruti dzire image

In the current market, the Maruti Baleno and Maruti Dzire are all leading its segments. Although there are some certain things that are different, there are some areas where the Baleno and Dzire shares a similarity still. If you are stuck in deciding which car to buy, let’s IndianAuto helps you with our Baleno vs Dzire comparison below.

2. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Dimensions: Which is bigger?

There’s nothing much to talk about the dimension discrepancy between the Baleno and Dzire as the cars have almost the same sizes. Get this, the Baleno vs Dzire gets the same length of 3995 mm while its width, height and wheelbase don’t stray far from each other.

maruti dzire front three quarters

At 1745 mm wide, the Baleno is 10 mm wider than the Maruti Dzire, which is slightly taller than the hatchback sibling by a small margin of 5 mm. The Baleno is also longer in the wheelbase that measures at 2520 mm whist that of the Dzire is at 2450 mm. With the nature of hatchback and marginally bigger size, the Baleno offers better cabin space than the Dzire sibling.

Dimensions

Maruti Baleno

Maruti Dzire

Length

3995 mm

3995 mm

Width

1745 mm

1735 mm

Height

1510 mm

1515 mm

Wheelbase

2520 mm

2450 mm

Ground Clearance

170 mm

-

Kerb Weight

935 mm

880-915 mm

3. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Design: Which is better looking?

Exterior Comparison

Baleno vs Dzire – which car is better looking? Well, it’s rather a simple pick as you’ve decided you want a sedan or a compact hatchback? Maruti Baleno and Maruti Dzire are no strangers to us. Both cars are a common sight on the Indian roads these days and we’d like to say, both of them attains quite a good look.

maruti baleno front three quarters

However, since the Baleno is retailed through the NEXA channel while the Dzire is sitting at the Arena outlets, it’s reasonable that the Baleno has more cosmetic credentials than the Maruti Dzire sibling.

In its latest-gen avatar, the Maruti Baleno gets a bolder look compared to the compact sedan. It raised the style quotient with a more aggressive front look, coming courtesy of sharper-looking headlamps and grille with 3D graphic design and chrome accents, angular fog lamps housing, blacked-out front bumper and more.

maruti dzire front three quarters

The Maruti Dzire, in a meantime, just gets a reworked front fascia earlier some months back, seeing the infusion of Audi-inspired aperture front grille, added chrome on lower parts of the bumper, L-shaped chrome accents on the fog lamps housing along with smart-looking headlights. These new fitments do add a bit of flair to the Dzire’s visual appeal but the sedan doesn’t lose out on its striking elegance which is rather vague in the sportier Baleno hatchback.

What we’d like to compliment on the Dzire is the precision-cut two-tone alloy wheels that sounds no inferior to the two-tone precision-cut alloys of the Baleno.

Interior Comparison

When the Maruti Dzire comes up with a brighter black-beige dual-tone interior colour scheme, the Maruti Baleno offers a premium all-black cabin theme. From the look of it, the Dzire’s cabin may look airier than that of the hatchback. However, the actual sense of spaciousness is better inside the Baleno’s cabin compared to what you’d get inside the Dzire sedan offering. We also receive more sense of width on the inside of the Baleno, which gives it a good compensation for the feeling of sitting lower to the ground.

maruti baleno interior dashboard layout

Maruti Baleno interior

As for the dashboard layout, the Baleno offers a more distinctive dash while that of the Dzire counterpart is rather simple to look at. The Dzire follows the conventional setup including a touchscreen infotainment system standing out at the centre place of the dashboard with a split AC atop it and switches and buttons below it. The exclusive wood trims with naturally gloss effect are added to the Dzire’s dash and the lower part of the flat-bottom steering to elevate the idea of premium.

maruti dzire facelift interior dashboard

Maruti Dzire dashboard layout

Maruti Baleno gets a unique dashboard layout that features a big infotainment touchscreen flanked by two vertically-placed AC vents at both ends. Touch and buttons are placed smartly below the screen for the convenience of usage. Chrome embellishments can be spot on the edges of the centre console, AC surrounds or on the steering to enhance the Baleno’s premium appeal.

All in all, the Maruti Dzire goes for a more conventional-looking dashboard. However, it doesn’t mean that the sedan loses out to the hatchback in terms of upmarket look and feel.

Having said, if the Baleno adds more youth to its interior styling design with distinct fitments, the Dzire’s cabin is rather simple yet premium with a whole new stroke of elegance.

3. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Features: Which is safer and more convenient?

Comfort Features Comparison

Features on the Dzire vs Baleno are offered as per the sedan and hatchback’s purpose of usage. Both the two are sharing the same SmartPlay Studio infotainment system that’s compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The new 2020 Maruti Dzire is offered with a host of features and latest tech such as tilt steering, steering-mounted control with cruise mode, a coloured MID, manual AC with heater, gear shift indicator (for MT only), automatic climate control (for higher-spec models), height-adjustable driver seat (except base model) among others.

maruti baleno 2020 interior cabin

The currently-on-sale Maruti Baleno comes with some highlighting comfort features like central locking, remote keyless entry, engine start/stop push button with smart key, power front windows, tilt steering, front seat adjustable headrest, auto AC, front & rear accessory socket and many more. From this, the Baleno gets a long list of comfort kits compared to the Dzire that’s understandable for a NEXA car.

Safety Features Comparison

While both the Baleno and Dzire are Heartect-based cars from Maruti Suzuki, the two offers a fair level of safety and security thanks to the list of essentials they have to offer.

maruti dzire heartect platform

As far as the safety and security features go, the Maruti Dzire is equipped with dual airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, reverse parking sensors, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, speed alert, front seatbelt with pre-tensioner and force-limiter, driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder, engine immobilizer, key-left warning lamp and buzzer, door ajar warning lamp as standard on the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Maruti Baleno comes with dual airbags, ABS with EBD and BA (brake assist), front disc brake, three-point seatbelts for all passengers, ISOFIX child seat tether anchorage, reverse parking sensors, engine immobilizer, anti-theft alarm, high speed warning, driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder as standard options.

5. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Engine Specs: Which is better in terms of performance?

Due to Maruti Suzuki’s decision to discontinue all diesel engines, we’re seeing the Baleno and Dzire going petrol-only. Currently, both the sedan and hatchback cars are sharing the same 1.2-litre petrol engine option under the hood, churning out an equal power and torque output. The differentiating factor between the two is that the Baleno endears itself with a Smart Hybrid option that’s given a miss on the Maruti Dzire. Though there are some speculations on the arrival of the Dzire petrol hybrid, there’s still no confirmation of the same.

There’s a slight difference in the automatic transmission choices of the two. While the Maruti Baleno is coupled with an optional CVT, the Dzire is offering an AMT unit.

Engine Specs

Maruti Baleno

Maruti Dzire

Engine Type

1.2-litre petrol engine

1.2-litre petrol with Smart Hybrid

1.2-litre petrol engine

Displacement

1197 cc

1197 cc

1197 cc

Max Power

83 PS

90 PS

83 PS

Max Torque

113 Nm

113 Nm

113 Nm

Transmission

5-speed MT/ CVT

5-speed MT

5-speed MT/ AMT

6. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Top Speed: Which is faster?

Maruti Baleno is slightly faster than the Dzire facelift by a small margin. The Baleno’s top speed is rated at around 180 kmph while that the Dzire is at around 160 kmph. The Baleno can accelerate from 0 – 100 kmph in around 12.36 seconds whilst the Dzire does it in 12.6 seconds.

Specs

Maruti Baleno

Maruti Dzire

Top speed

180 kmph

160 kmph

0 – 100 kmph (sec)

12.36 seconds

12.6 seconds

Note: the figures are for reference and can be different depending on various driving conditions.

7. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Mileage: Which is more fuel-efficient?

As rated by ARAI, the Maruti Baleno scores better in terms of fuel efficiency when compared to the Dzire sibling. The ARAI-certified fuel mileage figure of the Baleno is at 23.87 kmpl (petrol manual) as against 23.26 kmpl of the Dzire (petrol manual).

Specs

Maruti Baleno

Maruti Dzire

Fuel Type

 Petrol

 Petrol

Fuel Tank Capacity

 37 litres

 43 litres

Fuel Mileage (ARAI-rated)

 23.87 kmpl

 24.12 kmpl (petrol AT)

 23.26 kmpl (petrol MT)

8. Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire Road Price: Which is Cheaper?

Though retailing through different channels of dealerships, the existing Maruti Baleno is still standing in the same price range of the 2020 Maruti Dzire. At present, Maruti Baleno is priced at around Rs 5.90 – 9.10 Lakh, making it marginally cheaper than that of the Dzire which is on sale at around Rs 5.94 – 8.90 Lakh (all prices are ex-showroom)

Price

Maruti Baleno

Maruti Dzire

Ex-showroom Price (Delhi)

Rs 5.90 – 9.10 Lakh

Rs 5.94 – 8.90 Lakh

On-road Price (Delhi)

Rs 6.47 – 10.16 Lakh

Rs 6.51 – 9.94 Lakh

9. Maruti Baleno: Other Competitors

The market rivals of Maruti Baleno comprise of Hyundai i20, Tata Altroz, Toyota Glanza and even the Renault Triber. Check out our detailed comparisons between Maruti Baleno vs rivals in the table below.

Other Competitors

Compare with Maruti Baleno

Hyundai i20

Maruti Baleno vs Hyundai i20

Tata Altroz

Maruti Baleno vs Tata Altroz

Toyota Glanza

Maruti Baleno vs Toyota Glanza

Renault Triber

Maruti Baleno vs Renault Triber

10. Maruti Dzire: Other Competitors

Currently, Maruti Dzire is competing aggressively with the likes of Hyundai Aura or the upcoming new-gen Honda City.

Other Competitors

Compare with Maruti Dzire

Hyundai Aura

Maruti Dzire vs Hyundai Aura

Honda City

Maruti Dzire vs Honda City

Honda Amaze

Maruti Dzire vs Honda Amaze

11. Verdict: Which model is worth buying between Maruti Baleno vs Maruti Dzire?

The answer is up to you. It’s based on which type of cars you would like to buy – a sedan or a hatchback? Beauty aside, the Maruti Baleno seems to play a better pricing card than the Dzire, not to consider the wider list of comfort goodies and safety fitments on offer. When you break down the variant-wise pricing of the cars, it’s still the Baleno that’s friendly with the bills. That said, the Baleno sounds like a better package in comparison with the Dzire, but again, as the gap is not too long, it’s totally a matter of choice that whether you want to pick a sedan or a hatchback. Therefore, just test drive both the cars if you are still in hesitation between the Baleno vs Swift Dzire and see which one could suit you better of the two.

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