2001 Suzuki Baleno GSR review from UK and Ireland

No problems as yet for the first 1000 miles.

Attractive, soft, yet sporty exterior styling. Comes complete with a big rear spoiler with brake light and 15" alloy wheels.

Interior has too much dull grey plastic, but this is made up by the excellent Ricardo style sports seats which hold you in tight. A light blue cloth also makes the interior more pleasing to the eye.

It has a very nice smooth gear box, with sensitive pedals, but maybe the steering wheel is too large, although I might be used to my old Punto's smaller wheel.

The turning circle is tiny with nice light power steering which make it great for parking.

Visibility is good forward with a large windscreen, but it's quite poor looking to the back quarters and rear. This is probably due to the full height front seats and small rear window.

I got the car with a very adequate Clarion stereo, which provides more than ample bass and volume.

The ride is smooth, particularly over bumps and small pot holes, but does not feel sporty as the GSR badge denotes. Roll around corners seems too high and the car rocks too heavily for my taste when changing gear, braking and accelerating. This would be an area I would definitely upgrade with springs and shocks soon.

Performance is good and is similar to my old Punto Sporting in acceleration, 0 - 62mph in 10 seconds, and has a excellent cruise speed of 100mph at a mere 4,600rpm and then goes on to approx 118mph.

But beware! It is a thirsty engine. The 1.8L 16 valve will only give you about 30mpg. So a lot of high revving won't last you very long although it does come with a large 51 (11.2 gallon) litre tank.