Maruti Baleno RS Discontinued Ahead of BS 6 Emission Norms

• Baleno RS is the high-performance version of Baleno hatchback.
• Maruti Baleno RS didn't meet the expectations of the company in India.
• Baleno RS was powered by a 1.0L turbo Boosterjet engine, imported from Japan.

Maruti Suzuki has discontinued the Baleno RS in the Indian market with no plans to upgrade it to the BS 6 emission norms, which come into effect from April 1, 2020.

It is being learned that the company consciously took this decision owing to the poor demand, though a few unsold units can be still availed at dealerships. For those asking, Maruti Baleno RS is the high-performance variant of Baleno hatch and it was launched in 2017 followed by a facelift a couple of years later.

Maruti Suzuki had high hopes from the Baleno RS but it never really took off due to the high pricing. The buyers in India never really connected with it due to the extra premium it commanded over the standard hatchback. Maruti Baleno RS came with a sticker price of Rs 8.69 Lakhs (Ex. Showroom, Delhi) when it was firstly introduced in 2017. However, the company launched the Baleno RS Facelift even higher at Rs 8.76 Lakhs but soon slashed the price to Rs 7.89 Lakhs in a bid to clear the existing inventory since it had already zeroed down on its decision to phase it out of the Indian market.

Mechanically, the Baleno RS was powered by a 1.0L K10C Boosterjet petrol engine. The 3-cylinder direct-injection turbocharged engine, imported from Japan, generated maximum power output of 100bhp at 5500rpm and peak torque performance of 150Nm between 1700-4500rpm. It also had a decent fuel economy of 21.10kmpl (ARAI Certified). Maruti Baleno RS had a rival in form of Volkswagen Polo GT TSI in the country. Though, the powertrain-transmission that Maruti branded as 'high-performance' with India-spec Baleno RS is offered on the regular variants of the Baleno in several global markets.