Suzuki Australia keen for a sportier Baleno
Suzuki's local boss, Andrew Moore, says the company's Australian arm would really like a sportier-looking version of the Boosterjet-powered Baleno hatch.
Moore's statement comes after a new Baleno RS was revealed for the Indian market, sporting a number of styling enhancements over the standard car for a more aggressive look.
Equipment highlights exclusive to the RS include a black mesh grille, more aggressive front and rear bumpers, silver exterior trim highlights, black 16-inch alloy wheels, and a roof spoiler.
Like the Baleno GLX Turbo offered in Australia, the Indian-market Baleno RS comes standard with keyless entry, bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime-running lights, LED tail-lights, 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay, 4.2-inch colour driver's information display, rear-view camera, and climate control.
Under the bonnet of the Baleno RS is the same 1.0-litre Boosterjet three-cylinder turbo, though it develops a slightly lower 75kW of power and 150Nm of torque - 7kW and 10Nm down on the Australian-market version - mated to a five-speed manual transmission (Australia's version is offered solely with a six-speed auto).
Speaking with CarAdvice, Andrew Moore said the company's local arm has been wanting a more aggressively-styled version turbocharged Baleno, and the Indian-market RS - or something like it - would be a good fit.
"We've been requesting a sportier look for our turbo car, so we'll be flagging this as something we'd like in Australia," he said.
Moore added, however, that such a model cannot be confirmed for our market at this point.
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