Baleno-Based Toyota Glanza: 5 Things You Should Know

• The Glanza will be the first car to come out of the Toyota-Suzuki agreement.

• While the Glanza will be manufactured by Maruti, it will be sold and serviced by Toyota.

• Will only be offered with a petrol engine; likely to get 5-speed manual and CVT options.

• Could be priced at a premium over the Baleno; launch expected in early June 2019.

• Toyota could offer a better standard warranty package over the Maruti Suzuki Baleno.

Last year, Toyota and Suzuki signed an agreement to cross-badge models and plug gaps in their respective portfolios. The upcoming Toyota Glanza is the first outcome of the partnership. Set to hit showroom floors soon, the Glanza is Toyota’s version of the Baleno, and the first of many models that will be shared between the two Japanese carmakers in India. Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming premium hatchback from Toyota:

1) Will look similar to the Baleno: Toyota recently released a teaser of the Glanza, which has all but confirmed that the Glanza’s design will be largely similar to the Baleno. Distinctions are expected to be made by tweaking the grille and bumpers. Toyota could also tweak the headlamps and taillights, but that seems to be the extent of changes. The alloy wheels on offer will be identical too, apart from the Toyota’s logo replacing Suzuki’s in the centre. Expect a similar story on the inside too, with the Glanza looking pretty much similar to the Baleno.

Pictured: CarDekho's rendering 

2) Won’t get a diesel engine: With various car manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, deciding to ditch diesel powertrains in view of new BS 6 emission norms that are set to come into place starting April 2020, Toyota is unlikely to offer the Glanza with a diesel powertrain. The Glanza is expected to be offered with the Baleno’s newest 1.2-litre DualJet Dual VVT petrol engine with mild hybrid tech. It will get  a CVT option besides a standard manual. If it gets the new DualJet petrol engine with CVT, it would be exclusive to the Glanza since the DualJet-powered Baleno is only available with a manual.

3) Bookings, launch and variants: The bookings for the Glanza are expected to open in the first week of June, ideally around the same time the hatchback is launched in India. Expect it to be launched in the first or second week of June. Toyota will offer it in a couple of variants. While the Baleno’s top-spec Alpha would presumably be there, the base-spec variant for Glanza could either be the Baleno’s mid-spec Delta or the penultimate Zeta. The Glaza is unlikely to be available in the base-spec Sigma variant of the Baleno.  

4) Equipment list and prices: The equipment list of the Glanza is expected to be similar to respective variants of the Baleno. Safety features like dual-front airbags, ABS with EBD, front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters as well as reminders, ISOFIX child seat anchors, rear parking sensors, high speed waring will be offered as standard, just like in the Baleno.

The Baleno’s mid-spec Delta variant, for example, offers several premium features like LED projector headlamps with LED guide lights and auto climate control. The top-spec Alpha, on the other hand, comes fully loaded with goodies like a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, UV-cut glasses, DRLs, rear view camera, and more. Hence, expect the Glanze to be a feature-rich offering just like the Baleno. 

That said, Glanza is most likely to attract a slight premium over the respective Baleno variant. Available in Delta and Zeta with a manual transmission, the Baleno DualJet Dual VVT is priced at Rs 7.25 lakh and 7.86 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). 

One of the reasons for the premium positioning could be the mild-hybrid CVT powertrain, which is expected in the Glanza but isn’t available with the Baleno. Moreover, we expect Toyota to offer a better standard warranty than Maruti to justify the expected premium price. Maruti offers the Baleno with a 2-year/40,000km warranty while Toyota offers its cars like the Yaris and Etios Liva with a 3-year/1,00,000km warranty. The Glanza should come with an identical standard warranty like its siblings.

5) First result of Toyota-Suzuki partnership: The Glanza is the first product to come out of the Toyota-Suzuki partnership and it won’t be the last. Also in the pipeline are rebadged versions of the Vitara Brezza, Ciaz and Ertiga. Like the Glanza, expect all these ‘borrowed’ models to feature a few design distinctions to tell them apart. The Glanza will be manufactured at Maruti’s manufacturing plant, but will be sold and serviced at Toyota dealerships.

In essence, the Glanza will be a Maruti at heart and it wouldn’t be wise to expect that it will feel like a Toyota inside-out. However, being sold and serviced from Toyota showrooms and service centres, and receiving a better standard warranty would certainly give it some of the hallmarks of a Toyota. So, do you think the Glanza will have enough to justify a Toyota badge?

Source: cardekho.com