SUZUKI BALENOTiming chain or Belt?

The Suzuki Baleno is a compact car (B/C segment in Europe) manufactured by the Japanese Suzuki marque. The Baleno had its first generation as a C-segment compact car in 1994. It was later replaced by the Suzuki Aerio. Years later, in 2016, Suzuki brought out this name again for the second-generation Baleno, now converted into a B-segment subcompact utility vehicle.

The first-generation Suzuki Baleno was also known as the Suzuki Steem, especially in North America and the Philippines. It had several versions, most notably the hatchback version, the sedan model, the GTX sedan version and the wagon variant. The other name by which the long boot variant is known is Suzuki Cultus Sedan.

This car was notable for being a simple vehicle. The first versions were powered by 1.3 to 1.5-litre 16-valve petrol engines. In Europe it was marketed with a Peugeot diesel engine, specifically the 8-valve XUD9 SOHC engine.

As a curiosity, the Suzuki Esteem was chosen as Jimmy McGill’s car in the TV series Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad. Since then, the car has gained some popularity, becoming an icon in pop culture.

Starting in 2015, Suzuki launched the second-generation Baleno. In this case, it was a B-segment vehicle that took over from the Swift in several markets. There are two generations of this car to date.