Life with a Suzuki Baleno | Running costs

Our three-month extended test with the Suzuki Baleno is drawing to an end.

During our tenure with the humble Japanese hatchback, it has made a positive impression as a sensible, affordable daily commuter.

In previous missives, we addressed its fuel economy, bounty of standard kit that proves useful in everyday life and more recently, what the pre-owned Baleno market looks like – as well as throwing the spotlight on demo deals ahead of a May price increase.

This month, we thought it prudent to take stock of the overall running costs involved with the model.

Let us start with the basic instalment. After a recent adjustment, the new list price on the 1.5 GLX manual model we are testing is R307,900. R8,000 more than before. The least expensive Baleno is still the 1.5 GL, for R255,900.

Say you financed the GLX over 54 months, with a 10% deposit (R30,790); secured an interest rate of prime +1 (12.75%) and decided against a balloon payment. You would be looking at a monthly installment of R6,770.

A full tank of fuel? At the current inland price for 95 unleaded (R25.15), you would pay R930.55 to replenish the 37l tank of the Baleno. Expect a driving range of around 685km, going by the claimed consumption of 5.4l/100km. Now for insurance. Of course, this is going to differ between individuals. I opted for quotations on Hippo using my own parameters – being 31 years of age, having had a driver’s licence since 2011, an insurance history over seven years and no claims in the past three years.

Based on the vehicle being parked in an access-controlled complex, in my area, west of Johannesburg, the least expensive premium quoted was R998 per month (R6,500 excess – King Price) and the most expensive was R2,794 (R6,000 excess – Absa).

Basically, with the repayment, insurance premium and one tank of fuel a month, you could pay R8,698.55 to have a Baleno 1.5 GLX manual in your life.

Time to talk about basic upkeep. The Baleno rolls on 195/55/16 tyres; our unit came fitted from the factory with the Goodyear Triplemax 2 brand of rubber.

Using the Tyremart online quotation generator, there were no units of the Goodyear Triplemax 2 hoops in stock. However, we received a quote of R7,954 for a set of Bridgestone Turanza 005 tyres. On the medium end, a set of Firestone F100 tyres came in at R6,558.28, while the cheapest was a set of Royal Black Royal Mile tyres for R4,245.24 – all prices exclude fitment.

On the servicing front, the Baleno is sold with a four-year/60,000km plan. The first service out-of-plan is an oil and filter change. We called a Suzuki dealership who quoted us R2,200 for that. The next service at 90,000km (15,000km intervals) would be a major one, with oil, filters, coolant, gearbox oil, spark plugs and a cambelt change – you could pay around R5,500. A set of front pads, discs and shoes for the rear drums might set you back R8,556.47.

The activity was a good reminder that you should always do your sums and research when it comes to decisions around car ownership.