1996 Suzuki Baleno GTX Hatch from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Basically nothing went wrong in the one year I owned the car, although at times the engine seemed to nearly drop out when idling, particularly if coasting with clutch in or after pulling up suddenly.

Also I think the gearbox may be a weakness at around 60-70 thousand k's, as when I went to sell the car to a dealer, an inspection revealed leaks "from one end of the gearbox to the other." It was going to require major work to fix (or so they said)

I love this car. It was a nice sporty looking hatch, but not too overdone, with after-market 16" alloys & 205/45R16 tyres and the tame factory body kit (rear spoiler, skirts, front and rear under spoilers) doing the trick.

The seats were sporty yet comfy enough, but not on the really long trips. Very reliable and never looked like needing attention, though as I say it may have run into big problems had I kept it much longer.

I should have replaced the shocks to get a better ride which was a little rough, but I don't mind that in small cars.

The clutch was very nice and responsive with a very short shift esp. for a non-specialized sports car. 1st gear has impressive torque and acceleration was great, though gear changes a little jerky, but this you expect when moving fast through the gears.

Red line/cut-out at approx 7'200, but I wouldn't recommend making a habit of this. The engine makes a lovely whining sound as it climbs through 4,5,6 K, gaining power all the way and never sounding out of breath or wanting to give it up... attacks the red line and I swear it wants to break through it, but of course the cut-out is in place.

Lastly, some great features were the anti-lock brakes, twin airbags, power windows, steering, mirrors, a very easy car to get about town in, with great rear visibility and small in size... yet the 1.8 Double Overhead Cam injection engine gives the car more punch and HP than other similar hatches, example: mirage, starlet (non-turbo), charade, etc. which generally have 1.3 or 1.5 engines at best.

Methinks that the buying dealer was making up stories about the gearbox to drop the price he paid. When you buy a car, it's the greatest thing on wheels. Take it back two hours later and it's the worst, so they can't give you anything! My brother and I have had zero gearbox issues/comments with ours - mine is a 1995, his is a 2000 model.