FRONX and Centre

The Maruti Suzuki Fronx may be a master stroke by the leading Indian car-maker. Take the popular Baleno, resuscitate the old RS turbo-engine, strap on some go-harder parts, and place it in one of the most bustling segments. We get "Fronxed" in Goa

- Jim Gorde

GOOGLE THROWS UP A VERY INTERESTING search result from drlogy.com. "Fronx" is a boy dog name. And it gets more interesting. It has a destiny number of "5", a "heart's desire" number of "6" and a personality number of "8". I don't know what those mean, but it certainly felt like an attempt to pique my interest.

Now that we've got the front of the Bronx-like name out of the way, the Fronx is a very attractive car to look at. It has a four-doorcoupé-SUV-like vibe that seems somewhat shrunken but remains just as attractive. The Baleno that it is based on is a pretty car too. It has more than a few modern touches and piercing LED daytime lamps that make it stand out of the crowd. What Maruti Suzuki have done is build further on a winning formula.

The Fronx is indeed a great looking car. In fact, I always maintained that the Baleno (the new hatchback, not the old 1.6 sedan) is a looker and a nice car to be in. Great cabin and features. Not so great to drive, on account of the steering feel and responsiveness being akin to that of a tranquillised horse. Yet the new Fronx builds on that with a refreshing take on the compact car-what the company refers to as "the shape of new", which sounds a lot like an overplayed pop song from that red-headed bloke, but I digress.

The Fronx is a sub-four-metre offering-yes, the car may be new but it must conform to seemingly pointless norms which attempt to define the "small car"-at 3.995 millimetres long. That makes it five millimetres longer than the Baleno. It's also 10 mm wider per side, at 1,765 mm wide, and 50 mm higher, on account of the 20-mm higher ground clearance, the higher profile tyres (195/60 on 16-inch rims), and the roof-rails. It's also a little heavier.