1998 Suzuki Baleno GS from UK and Ireland - Comments

Water leak through the passenger side door seal - fixed under warranty.

Poorly fitted passenger airbag - replaced under warranty.

This car offers the performance and equipment of a VW Polo 16V for less than the price of a base model Nissan Micra. Why it is continually snubbed by the motoring press is beyond me - in my opinion it's a second-hand bargain.

The engine is a bit coarse when driven hard, but gives decent performance (0-60 in about 10 seconds, top speed an indicated 115mph) with great economy (43mpg with ease), and offers relaxed cruising: 100mph equates to 4500rpm, 1000rpm lower than in the Polo 16V.

Service intervals are annoyingly short though, at 6000 miles, and Suzuki servicing is not cheap. Reliability has been typically Japanese - excellent once the initial teething troubles (water leak/airbag fitment) were sorted.

I am getting a bit of transmission whine in first and second gears though, which, given some other reviewers' comments about early gearbox failure, is a bit worrying.

Handling is reasonable - I fitted an OMP strut brace to stiffen things up at the front, although whether it makes much difference is probably a matter of personal opinion. The overall bias is heavily towards understeer, which is either worrying or enjoyable, depending on how you feel about lift-off oversteer. Either way, it is at least predictable.

Ride quality is average, but the steering is sharp, quick and very light (and the turning circle is tiny, making for easy parking). A good set of lowering springs and shocks would improve things: the springs on their own would be a cheaper option (Spax do a kit for £130), but would probably kill the standard shocks.

The interior is again reasonable - lots of cheap grey plastic, which shows scuffs and scrapes quite easily, and some fairly unimaginative design. But at least everything is laid out logically, the dials aren't obscured by the wheel as in some cars I've owned, and you can reach all the switches without being a contortionist, which is pretty much all you need.

Seats are good and firm, with plenty of lateral support (as the GS is the only hatchback model the UK gets, 'sports' seats are fitted as standard). Rear-seat passengers don't fare so well, though; they'll have plenty of headroom, but nowhere to put their legs. In this respect, the hatchback is virtually a 2+2.

The omission of a sunroof as a standard feature was an odd decision though, considering the rest of the equipment that the GS offers, and typically, the first owner of my car was a bit of a tightwad, and didn't shell out for a sunroof or air-con.

The Clarion stereo is rubbish - especially with just the original front speakers - replace them as soon as you can.

Another minor gripe is that the fuel gauge is hopelessly innacurate, resting on empty when there's at least another gallon still to go. It's more reliable to just reset the trip milometer every tankful, and remember you can do over 400 miles on one tank.

Stuff for the future - boost the performance a little by fitting a performance air-filter, drilling the air box, and having the engine chipped. I also want to fit clear side repeaters and larger alloy wheels (the 14" TSW Stealths don't fill the arches enough).

Overall? Good all-round bargain package, and with the standard body kit and spoiler pack, it even looks good. Would I buy another one? Maybe a GS-R next time: with a 120BHP 1.8L engine in the same light-weight body it should be even more fun.

I've got to reconsider the 'cheap' part of this heading - a 48K mile service has just cost me £250 (just for routine bits, no 'extras'), a new headlamp has set me back £130 (you can't buy the glass on its own, even though it seems to be removable), and I've been quoted £60 each for the gas struts which should hold the boot open, but which have failed on my car. Thanks, but I'd rather hold the boot open myself. The Suzuki dealer who serviced the car reckons the transmission whine is worn bearings, which could cost me £300. Not impressive on a car which has had main dealer servicing every 6000 miles.

Suzuki Baleno 13cc 1998 model, nice ride and very good fuel economy. My problem is the the car lacks power, took it in to be rectified and was returned the same way.

Is there any way the timing can be advanced? There is no distributor only the pickup coil. I would appreciate from anyone any help to give the car a little more power, Some hills where the Nissan March can climb in 3rd gear the Baleno calls for the 1st gear.

Good car had mine (GS 98 S reg) for about 2 years now. No problems with the car and it's not even had a full dealer service history. Bad thing is that it's darn hard to find any mods for the Baleno, any suggestions would be nice...

The past month's experience has made me revise my view of the Baleno completely. The gearbox bearings were replaced last April at a cost of £500. On the 3rd of Jan this year, the main shaft failed, destroying the gearbox completely. Quote for a new one? £1400. Second hand they're £400, plus £200 for fitting. They're also rarer than hen's teeth - if a lot of people are after them, a lot of gearboxes must be failing (this is fairly uncommon car in the UK).

Additionally, the engine seems to be drinking oil at an alarming rate.

To repeat my earlier comment, all this is on a car that is serviced every 6000 miles (6 months in my case).

When the bearings failed, the dealer commented that this was uncommon on a Baleno, but not unusual for a Vitara - as far as I am concerned, it should be unheard of on a 3 year old, 40K mile vehicle. Judging by other owner's comments, Suzuki have got some serious problems with transmission design. Even the gearbox in the Liana I was given as a courtesy car felt notchy and obstructive.

I won't be buying another Suzuki - no matter how cheap they are initially.

I've owned a Suzuki Baleno now for just over two years. I have one of the very few Y reg models. I've been quite pleased with it. I've added silver skirts (front, back and sides) on a blue car. Added 16" Oz wheels and lowered the car 60mm. I am going to be added a performance exhaust so as I'm getting some rattle from exhaust due to a cracked outer skin near the converter. Despite having next to no leg room in the back and a large steering wheel I'm happy that I've bought a Baleno and I surprised that there aren't more on the road!

I've recently bought a 1600GS Baleno for what I thought was the bargain price of £1800.The looks of the car attracted me to it. The exhaust backbox is rusted and the brake pads need changing apart from that a great car and far more reliable than the peugoet 206 I had before it! It's an extremely underestimated car!

I recently borrowed a Suzuki Baleno & to my astonishment discovered that the drivers door fouls the front edge of the rear passenger door at a certain position.

If the rear passenger door was opened about 100mm & the driver door was moved (either open or closed) the rear edge of the drivers door contacted the front edge of the passenger door.

The car is a 2002 1800 model & has never been involved in any accidents & all the panels would appear to fit perfectly.

I find it difficult to believe that this is a fault common on this model.

I previously drove a Honda Civic and this was 20 years old with 105,000 miles on the clock. Sadly corrosion set in. So I decided to buy a Suzuki Baleno 1590cc GS model R reg. So far the car has been a pleasure to drive. A little bit stiff sometimes going from 1st gear to 2nd. Light steering, good simple instruments. Handles well and seats are comfortable. Sun roof is an added extra and would be great for touring. So far the car has been fine with 86,000 miles on the clock, but will have to see what happens with next service. I am not sure whether to have the Suzuki serviced by a Suzuki dealer or small local garage, but so far I have enjoyed driving the GS.

I've had my S Reg Baleno since 2001 and have never brought it into a garage for servicing. The car has been so very reliable. At the last mot I was just told that I need new brake pads and disks, also like another owner I also need to look into replacing the exhuast back-box as it's starting to flake, but apart from that the car's been great!

I have a Suziki Baleno 1.8 R reg which runs perfectly well for the past 8 months until recently. The problem started by encountering occasional over/uncontrollable revs whilst driving or even minor stops.

As a follow on, the vehicle changed from that to frequently cutting out when there is no force on the accelerator. This cutting out problem seems to be getting worst with time and over three days of it occurring it just takes the engine getting warm for this to take effect.

At each minor stop the engine has to be started before moving off - an unbearable situation. The garage was unable to find specific reason (s) for this problem and instead refers to the dealer intervention, which we all know is "strains the pocket".

Can anyone shed further light on this issue and possible solution for speedy recovery?

Overall the vehicle is perfect, but this is a major hurdle to conquer!

Thanks.

I have a 99 baleno manual hatch with 150,000 kms and have had the gearbox replaced 3 TIMES!!! what a nightmare design. suzuki dropped the ball with the gearbox in my opinion. we keep getting second hand ones, but they keep failing. I have never had a gearbox fail on any other car I have ever owned.

I own a 1998 baleno gs I am on my second gear box and now the grating sound has returned what a nightmare.

Same here about the gear box... I love the car 1999 1.6 T... But the gear box is made out of paper : (

On suzuki baleno car where is front wheel bearing.

I have a 2001 baleno saloon, with 100,000 kms and have had the gearbox replaced 3 times.