Hi Joseph , I had one in 2003 mine was a 1998 pre facelift 4door saloon 1.6 GLX-SE in leaf green , it had a factory body kit and bucket seat with A/C and alloys . I did love that car very much . I found the transmission and engine a bit nosey . In other markets you could get a 4x4, and 1.3 engines .The one you drove was in Bordeaux red and Suzuki always have paint like that under the bonnet and boot. Yes more Suzuki please Sir.
I would have liked some air conditioning and alloy wheels, I think. The alloy wheels would have helped it handle a bit better. The gear change was OK, not the best I have ever used.... The body kit would have been interesting. Thank you for watching, sir!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Hi lloyd , I have recent just purchased one of these , completely original leaf green 1998 reg , with the upgraded bucket seats , speed line racing alloys , and body kit. I would also like to righteously brag it’s on 19 thousand miles. It has a lot more character than the one shown!!
Even Suzuki were stuck for something to say about the Baleno in their official UK advert from1998. There's just none of these left so its great to see it reviewed .
@lloydvehicleconsulting I do recall seeing a few years ago in that rather nice shade of dark green, especially the estates. A good, solid, reliable car in all actuality.
Nice video. I have always been fond of small saloons like this and it's competitors like the Mazda 323 and Corolla. Shame that this market segment has evaporated.
Yes, the market segment does not really exist any more. The Mazda3 Saloon is the last one left, I think. It's not the best in its class, but it was still a lot of fun!
As always Sir, a most excellent review, cannot remember the last time i seen a Baleno Saloon, more the estate and hatchback. I think Richard Bullock hit it on the head of you just want a car then a Baleno will fit the bill.
Hi I'm from India I own this car, Till date it never let me down. Indian vxi models comes with Auto AC ,Key Inmobiliser 8 way adjustable seats with lumbar support , all independent suspension with independent lower arms and much more
They were very popular in certain markets, but not really over here. I think we tend to have very different tastes over here, as no one really remembers them at all.
Useless but interesting fact: Monster Tajima rallied a wildly modified wagon version in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and in New Zealand! Did wonders for sales and helped create a 'sports wagon' craze in New Zealand before the arrival of crossovers.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting There was a real craze for small modified wagons in the early 2000s. Not just Balenos but Mitsubishi Liberos and Nissan Avener wagons as well.
Anodyne is a word sometimes aimed at cars in a derogatory fashion by commentators who are well aware that these same vehicles usually turn out to be some of the most reliable, value for money and easy to live with cars on the market. Case in point Toyota Corolla. The Suzuki Beleno is one of those cars that retired owners see as a sound investment of their hard earned pension funds. Similarly working men or women wanting something economical, reliable and practical while being very easy to park in town centres. My next door neighbour still drives his 1997 1.6 3 door Beleno, which he purchased new, both winter and summer. He researched a replacement for his 1974 Ford Escort in 1997 and found the Suzuki Beleno to be the best value package on the market.
The E110 Corolla I filmed in 2021 has been a surprisingly popular video. Those were similarly ridiculed at the time for being extremely boring cars, but have turned out to be some of the best long term purchases ever for a modest budget. The Baleno is similar to one of those, but a much lesser known car with even more of a practical bias over any kind of style or perceived quality.
This is what a car should be, just honest engineering that sells on what it is rather than all this "aspirational" BS that just about every other manufacturer was peddling by the late 1990s. It's also a physical representation of why Japanese manufacturing ultimately withered on the vine - a nation of engineers, not marketers.
Yes, I don't really know if Suzuki knew how to market these over here properly. Certainly compared with a lot of European cars of the time, it just looks a bit uninspiring and some things feel cheap, but the engines would undoubtedly have gone on and on.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Thing is you can say this about so many Japanese vehicles of the era. Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda even the mighty Toyota thought they could just build a competent vehicle with the best quality available at a given price constraint and the punters would come. Nissan failed, Mitsubishi and Mazda bumped along the bottom for years, Toyota failed to live up to promise in Europe. Only when they abandoned their principles and went with the crowd, making compromised but "appealing" cars did things turn around.
@@jasejj , at the time this Baleno was made, there was also the gentleman's agreement in force amongst the Japanese manufacturers which prevented them from taking more than a certain percentage of the UK market. I am not sure that this would have necessarily affected sales of cars like the Baleno, however...
Hello Sir , A very interesting car , I like the chrome around the doors and the door shuts and gaps look very neat ,well made .I like the Suzuki SC100 not any of them @ FOTU this year .
Thank you for this video. These were extremely popular cars in New Zealand back in the late 1990s! Many were rallied (There was a one-make series in the New Zealand Rally Championship and even raced here!). Some still survive here. In the spirit of 1997 and given the current pop culture trend can you please play the Aqua Barbie song on the stereo?
Speaking of things 'plastic' and 'fantastic' I read that the plastic radiator was an Achilles Heel given deterioration over time. Nevertheless these cars had a good shelf life!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting As I recall, this was Suzuki's first attempt at a 'full size' - i.e. comparable to the Escort, the Astra and the Almera - car. Would that be so?
These basically destroyed Suzuki's reputation in the United States. Uncompetitive in its segment and quite problematic. They were fairly popular with rental fleets and when they aged out they usually ended up on Buy Here Pay Here lots and driven onto the ground before they were repossessed or junked.
I suppose that they were a bit like a Daewoo Lanos. Very much one of the cheapest cars available at the time on the market, colossal depreciation, and nobody really cares about them at all.
You know for someone that just wants "an car" I don't think you can go wrong with a Baleno. I have always liked them.
It is indeed very much a car, isn't it?
Hi Joseph , I had one in 2003 mine was a 1998 pre facelift 4door saloon 1.6 GLX-SE in leaf green , it had a factory body kit and bucket seat with A/C and alloys . I did love that car very much . I found the transmission and engine a bit nosey . In other markets you could get a 4x4, and 1.3 engines .The one you drove was in Bordeaux red and Suzuki always have paint like that under the bonnet and boot. Yes more Suzuki please Sir.
I would have liked some air conditioning and alloy wheels, I think. The alloy wheels would have helped it handle a bit better. The gear change was OK, not the best I have ever used.... The body kit would have been interesting. Thank you for watching, sir!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting The Suzuki Liana name stands for " life in a new age "
It does indeed.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Hi lloyd , I have recent just purchased one of these , completely original leaf green 1998 reg , with the upgraded bucket seats , speed line racing alloys , and body kit. I would also like to righteously brag it’s on 19 thousand miles.
It has a lot more character than the one shown!!
@@hlang-03 , does it have revised suspension from standard?
I like the fabric inside the car. It's still in good condition, clean and cheering compared to the black and chrome gloom of most modern cars.
It has had some work done, but it is actually in really good condition for its age.
Even Suzuki were stuck for something to say about the Baleno in their official UK advert from1998. There's just none of these left so its great to see it reviewed .
They are exceptionally rare now. To see one in this sort of condition is extraordinary, isn't it?
@@lloydvehicleconsulting For sure!
Hello Sir, for me its a nineties Acclaim
I think that the Acclaim is better in some ways, to be honest.
Excellent review, MR. Lloyd, haven't seen one in many years.
They aren't exactly common, are they, sir?
@lloydvehicleconsulting
I do recall seeing a few years ago in that rather nice shade of dark green, especially the estates. A good, solid, reliable car in all actuality.
@@paulie-Gualtieri. , yes, generally very reliable, especially the chain-driven 1.8, but extremely rust prone like most similar 1990s cars.
Nice video. I have always been fond of small saloons like this and it's competitors like the Mazda 323 and Corolla. Shame that this market segment has evaporated.
Yes, the market segment does not really exist any more. The Mazda3 Saloon is the last one left, I think. It's not the best in its class, but it was still a lot of fun!
As always Sir, a most excellent review, cannot remember the last time i seen a Baleno Saloon, more the estate and hatchback.
I think Richard Bullock hit it on the head of you just want a car then a Baleno will fit the bill.
It's just about the definition of car, isn't it, Mr Watters? Nothing more to say...
Hi I'm from India I own this car, Till date it never let me down. Indian vxi models comes with Auto AC ,Key Inmobiliser 8 way adjustable seats with lumbar support , all independent suspension with independent lower arms and much more
They were very popular in certain markets, but not really over here. I think we tend to have very different tastes over here, as no one really remembers them at all.
Useless but interesting fact: Monster Tajima rallied a wildly modified wagon version in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and in New Zealand! Did wonders for sales and helped create a 'sports wagon' craze in New Zealand before the arrival of crossovers.
We did not get anything like that at all over here, sir.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting There was a real craze for small modified wagons in the early 2000s. Not just Balenos but Mitsubishi Liberos and Nissan Avener wagons as well.
@@alaricbragg7843 , not so much over here, sir, as far as I understand it.
Anodyne is a word sometimes aimed at cars in a derogatory fashion by commentators who are well aware that these same vehicles usually turn out to be some of the most reliable, value for money and easy to live with cars on the market. Case in point Toyota Corolla.
The Suzuki Beleno is one of those cars that retired owners see as a sound investment of their hard earned pension funds. Similarly working men or women wanting something economical, reliable and practical while being very easy to park in town centres.
My next door neighbour still drives his 1997 1.6 3 door Beleno, which he purchased new, both winter and summer. He researched a replacement for his 1974 Ford Escort in 1997 and found the Suzuki Beleno to be the best value package on the market.
The E110 Corolla I filmed in 2021 has been a surprisingly popular video. Those were similarly ridiculed at the time for being extremely boring cars, but have turned out to be some of the best long term purchases ever for a modest budget. The Baleno is similar to one of those, but a much lesser known car with even more of a practical bias over any kind of style or perceived quality.
This is what a car should be, just honest engineering that sells on what it is rather than all this "aspirational" BS that just about every other manufacturer was peddling by the late 1990s. It's also a physical representation of why Japanese manufacturing ultimately withered on the vine - a nation of engineers, not marketers.
Yes, I don't really know if Suzuki knew how to market these over here properly. Certainly compared with a lot of European cars of the time, it just looks a bit uninspiring and some things feel cheap, but the engines would undoubtedly have gone on and on.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Thing is you can say this about so many Japanese vehicles of the era. Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda even the mighty Toyota thought they could just build a competent vehicle with the best quality available at a given price constraint and the punters would come. Nissan failed, Mitsubishi and Mazda bumped along the bottom for years, Toyota failed to live up to promise in Europe. Only when they abandoned their principles and went with the crowd, making compromised but "appealing" cars did things turn around.
@@jasejj , at the time this Baleno was made, there was also the gentleman's agreement in force amongst the Japanese manufacturers which prevented them from taking more than a certain percentage of the UK market. I am not sure that this would have necessarily affected sales of cars like the Baleno, however...
I used to see an estate version around my area until quite recently.
Yes, I do remember those, even if they were pretty rare back in the day.
Those are my wheel trims off my Baleno! I sold them to the man that took it to FotU!
Thank you very much indeed for watching and commenting!
I test drove a liana about 20 years ago it was like a rowing boat.
I look forward to the pleasure of having one on the channel for review at some point.
Hello Sir , A very interesting car , I like the chrome around the doors and the door shuts and gaps look very neat ,well made .I like the Suzuki SC100 not any of them @ FOTU this year .
Yes, no Whizzkids at Festival of the Unexceptional this year, although they are the sort of car I have seen there before.
Thank you for this video. These were extremely popular cars in New Zealand back in the late 1990s! Many were rallied (There was a one-make series in the New Zealand Rally Championship and even raced here!). Some still survive here. In the spirit of 1997 and given the current pop culture trend can you please play the Aqua Barbie song on the stereo?
Sir, we are not playing any song by Aqua in any channel video...
Speaking of things 'plastic' and 'fantastic' I read that the plastic radiator was an Achilles Heel given deterioration over time. Nevertheless these cars had a good shelf life!
They disappeared over here very fast due to rust, colossal depreciation and absolutely no classic interest really at all.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Once upon a time Ladas and Yugos had no classic interest...
@@lloydvehicleconsulting As I recall, this was Suzuki's first attempt at a 'full size' - i.e. comparable to the Escort, the Astra and the Almera - car. Would that be so?
@@alaricbragg7843 , yes, it was the first one in this class sold in the UK. There had been a Swift Saloon before, but it was a fair bit smaller.
@@alaricbragg7843 , indeed, sir.
Brilliant , you got to review my old car 😊
And we enjoyed it very much indeed!
Nailed it sir , could not have described her any better . No soft soaping . Made me chuckle a few times . Excellent review .
Does what it says on the tin.
That's one way to put it, I suppose! Thank you ever so much indeed for watching and commenting.
These basically destroyed Suzuki's reputation in the United States.
Uncompetitive in its segment and quite problematic.
They were fairly popular with rental fleets and when they aged out they usually ended up on Buy Here Pay Here lots and driven onto the ground before they were repossessed or junked.
I suppose that they were a bit like a Daewoo Lanos. Very much one of the cheapest cars available at the time on the market, colossal depreciation, and nobody really cares about them at all.