The facelifted Suzuki Baleno has touched down in South Africa, heading to dealers just as its Toyota twin – the Starlet – hits the market. And the starting price is slightly lower than before…

Suzuki Auto South Africa has revealed pricing for its facelifted Baleno hatchback range, which grows from three derivatives to four. The announcement comes mere days after the closely related updated Toyota Starlet went on sale locally.

As a reminder, the Starlet (which is known as the Glanza in India) is effectively a rebadged Baleno, and rolls off the same Maruti Suzuki assembly line in India. Since its introduction in SA, the Starlet has outsold the model on which it’s based by quite some margin.

Suzuki will no doubt be hoping to claw back a little segment share with its refreshed Baleno, dropping the range’s starting price some R2 000 despite adding extra standard equipment and a larger engine (the GLX derivatives, meanwhile, are R5 000 and R10 000 more expensive than before, respectively). That drops the starting price to R225 900, or a mere R300 below that of its twin (for the record, the five-strong Starlet range runs from R226 200 to R313 300).

Like the Starlet, the Baleno upgrades from the old naturally aspirated 1.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine to a 1.5-litre unit that does duty in the likes of the Vitara Brezza and Ertiga. This K15B powerplant generates 77 kW and 138 Nm (respective increases of 9 kW and 8 Nm), delivered to the front axle via either a five-speed manual gearbox (rated at 5.4 L/100 km) or a four-speed automatic transmission (sipping at a claimed 5.7 L/100 km).

As before, the Baleno range includes two trim levels (as opposed to the Starlet’s three) – GL and GLX – though the aforementioned automatic cog-swapper is now also available in conjunction with the entry-level grade.

A look at the refreshed Suzuki Baleno’s specifications

Suzuki Auto SA says it has added “even more” equipment to both the GL and GLX trim levels. The GL, for example, gains a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a reversing camera (with rear parking sensors), a trio of USB ports, automatic climate control (with rear air vents), cruise control, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and LED front foglamps.

The GLX spec sheet, meanwhile, includes a digital head-up display, full 360-degree view camera (featuring four external cameras), a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic LED projector headlamps, LED daytime running lights, a 2-inch full-colour vehicle information display, keyless entry (with push-button start), an electrochromatic rearview mirror and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Suzuki Auto SA says it will release more details at the media launch at the end of the first week of June 2022.

How much does the facelifted Suzuki Baleno cost in South Africa?

Baleno 1.5 GL – R225 900

Baleno 1.5 GL AT – R245 900

Baleno 1.5 GLX – R275 900

Baleno 1.5 GLX AT – R295 900

The refreshed Baleno ships standard with Suzuki’s 5-year/200 000 km “promotional” warranty as well as a 4-year/60 000 km service plan (with intervals of 15 000 km) and an anti-corrosion warranty of 6 years (unlimited kilometres).