Suzuki Baleno Is the Most Spacious Supermini of 2016, UK Review Finds

The space offered by this thing is impressive, but it has been achieved through engineering trickery. For example, the legroom is created by making the seats thinner. A large trunk is also useful. But there's no getting away from the fact that it's cheaply made.

Counting the pennies when buying a car is a horrible thing, we know. But even if the Baleno isn't dirt-cheap, it makes up for this by being fun to drive and punchy.

Suzuki has kind of lost its touch since they made the Swift. But a new type of engine fixes everything. We are talking about the 1-liter BoostJet, a 3-cylinder with 110 horsepower and a turbo. All our jitters were unfounded, as it's just as fun as the Vitara S.

When fitted with a manual, it delivers 170 Nm (125 pound-feet) of torque to the front wheels, while the automatic option means that the BoostJet is only allowed to produce 118 lb-ft (160 Nm).

Let's detail the other powertrain this review talks about, which is the 1.2-liter DualJet with SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki). This mild hybrid is down on power and fun, yet Suzuki says it will “reach a top class CO2 emissions figure of 94 g/km plus achieve a fuel consumption figure of 70.6 mpg on the EC combined cycle.”

Regarding price, the Baleno stickers for £12,999, but can go as high as £15,349. That doesn't sound lie a very intelligent strategy, as the Vauxhall Astra, which is an award-winning compact, is available from £15,445.