LONG-TERM UPDATE 4 | Our Suzuki Baleno is a proper teetotaller

You know you're officially in the stride of adulthood when tomato prices have an effect on your blood pressure.

The other day at my local shopping chain I was stunned to see a single 1kg bag of the fleshy red vegetables caressing the R40 mark. My arteries relaxed and vessels pumped with happy endorphins when I saw the same quantity for about half the price at another wholesaler a little further from my place of residence.

My younger self would have never fathomed 31-year-old me expressing this level of fervour over a mere salad ingredient. It's the little things that delight one more and more through the passages of time, so I've been told.

Living with a car as sensible and parsimonious as the Suzuki Baleno 1.5 GLX certainly frees up a lot of mental capacity — and wherewithal — to enjoy life's other realities. Like buying tomatoes.

With a relatively small fuel tank, complemented by a frugal power source, the Baleno is a car that doesn't cause much ire at the petrol pumps.

Over the last 1,803km of largely urban driving conditions, our tester has settled into an average consumption figure of 5.9l/100km — quite excellent when you consider the manufacturer claims 5.4l/100km.

Let it also be noted my driving style has not been overtly conservative. Obviously I have not been reckless with the throttle, but nor have I been pedantic about hypermiling practices. The air-conditioner is usually on, too.

Oftentimes we scribes love extolling the virtues of turbocharging. But the 1.5-litre unit makes a good case for the simplicity, responsiveness and fuel-sipping propensities of a normally-aspirated petrol motor.

Sure, its 77kW/138Nm output might seem anemic on paper. But in the real world, the zingy four-cylinder hustles the 980kg body along just fine. Its five-speed manual makes for a suitable pairing — and our sentiments would probably not have been this cheerful were it the four-speed automatic under scrutiny.

Given our current average consumption and the 37l tank size, expect a driving range of 627km. At the per litre inland price for 95-unleaded, you would be looking at R930 to top off the tank from empty.

Yesterday I opted to reset the consumption readout ahead of a 40km jaunt down the N1, with stop-go settings about 5km away from my final stop. By the time I arrived, the display showed 4.6l/100km. My speed hovered around 100km/h and again the air-conditioner was running. In theory, if you took it nice and easy on the open road you could eke out 800km from a tank.

While we are praising the economy of the Baleno, we should talk about other matters related to the greater economy. In May, Suzuki's line-up saw price increases, an unavoidable pressure for all car manufacturers and importers in the country.

In the middle of April, you would have laid R299,900 for the 1.5 GLX manual which we are testing. Today, the model is listed at R307,900.

A bit less money for tomatoes, but still not a terrible deal.

LONG-TERM UPDATE 4 | 2024 Suzuki Baleno 1.5 GLX manual

• ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 2,005km
• CURRENT ODOMETER: 3,808km
• PRAISES: Delivers well on the frugality front.
• GRIPES: Futile to complain about it but inflation affects everything from new car prices to groceries.