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2016 Suzuki Baleno is the 'ultimate' hatchback [w/video]

Suzuki unveiled its iK-2 concept at this year's Geneva Motor Show to imagine an inexpensive, compact hatchback for the future. Now just a few months later the Japanese brand has brought that shape to production largely unaltered with the Baleno. The company claims that it's trying to create the ultimate small car, and European customers get to find out in spring 2016. The Baleno doesn't break new ground in five-door hatch styling, but it's an unpretentious and handsome take on the traditional two-box look. The front end flows in an arc up to the windshield, and from the A-pillar back, the design sports a chunky, utilitarian shape. The interior looks somewhat staid with a lot of black plastic and cloth, but silver trim mixes up the monotony. Underneath the new look, Suzuki is making some big improvements. The Baleno rides on a new platform with less weight and more rigidity. The powertrain range also includes the brand's latest 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 110 horsepower and 125 pound-feet, and it can be hooked up to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic. There's also a 1.2-liter four-cylinder with 89 hp and 89 lb-ft available with the same five-speed or a CVT. In addition, the mill is offered with as a mild hybrid with an Integrated Starter Generator. Suzuki says this option boosts acceleration at low speeds but doesn't specify how much extra power there is. Check out the company's promo video below to see the Baleno in motion. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. INTRODUCING THE BALENO Sep 15, 2015 When Suzuki set out to create a hatchback like none before, it first established a key guideline—hold back on nothing. The result is the Suzuki Baleno, a harmonious combination of styling that flows, superb performance achieved through ground-breaking technologies, and smart packaging. To create a new, bar-raising hatchback that is fun to drive and engineered to meet today's consumers' needs, Suzuki wanted to take the compact car to the ultimate level. Baleno chief engineer Kunihiko Ito explains: "We set our sights on developing the ideal hatchback, one that makes no compromises, giving it an elegant, sophisticated and grown-up character.

Motorcyclist lucky to escape with life after 100-mph crash

A motorcyclist tried to run from the California Highway Patrol in San Diego in the wee hours of February 9, but things didn't quite work out as he planned. In fact, the fleeing rider is lucky to be alive after colliding with a Kia at over 100 miles per hour during, ending, rather abruptly, the pursuit. The video on The San Diego Union-Tribune below shows the collision, but you might need to watch it a few times to see what happens. The bike shoots by in a flash, and then there are suddenly sparks when the cycle hits the rear of the car. Watch the left side of shot to see the rider standing by the median after the crash. Police quickly arrive to the scene to apprehend him. The guy is wearing a helmet but understandably appears to be in pain after the high-speed accident. The crash ripped the front end off the rider's Suzuki, but the Kia's driver wasn't harmed – though clearly shaken. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, police took the motorcycle rider to the hospital to treat undisclosed injuries. What's Now: A motorcyclist going at least 100 mph slammed into the back of a car on I-805 early this morning. Remarkably, he was left standing on his own two feet before being arrested. Story: sdut.us/1TaOjDM Posted by The San Diego Union-Tribune on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 Related Video:

Suzuki Jimny is the classic Defender homage Land Rover should be building

Lake District, U.K. – The Land Rover Defender is to Brits what the F-150 is to Americans. Or rather it was, before it got too expensive and the farmers all switched to Japanese pick-ups. The Defender was effectively put out to pasture, relegated to being a lifestyle trinket. And Land Rover's endless prevarication over replacing the Defender can be partly attributed to this dilemma: Should it be in the original's mold, a fix-it-with-hammers rugged utility vehicle? Or should it concede that market and instead become a premium premium-priced Mercedes G-Class rival? Meanwhile, while Land Rover had dithered, others have capitalized – not least Suzuki's Jimny, which nails the seemingly conflicting demands of the new Defender's brief in one cute, pint-sized package So too is the Jimny priced at a level buyers in markets where it is offered can chalk up as a discretionary purchase. Dating back to the early 1970s, the Jimny has a heritage of its own to draw upon. But this lo-fi remix of traditional 4x4 tech and functionally slick styling has scored a bullseye for both utility users and the hipster brigade, both of whom place great value in authenticity. True, U.S. buyers won't have the option of the Jimny as they will the Defender, no matter how many emails Suzuki receives. But it's interesting to explore how it pulls the rug from underneath Land Rover, right here on the British stalwart's home soil. To demonstrate this we've travelled to the Lake District, a picturesque region on England's northwest coast with classic countryside vistas. Outside of the U.K., mountains topping out a little over 3,000 feet sound little to write home about – but, like the Jimny, modest size and ruggedness aren't mutually exclusive and there are trails here to test any street-spec off-roader. Competing pressures for access and a popular backlash against mechanized vehicles in the countryside mean tight controls for recreational drivers though, with many once-popular trails now closed to traffic. Those that remain accessible carry severe restrictions, our chosen route over Gatescarth Pass rarely opened to traffic and, when it is, limited to 4x4s with wheelbases of 100 inches or less. A Wrangler would just scrape through but these remain a rare sight in the U.K., and the limit is arguably skewed to favor the home team: the 90-inch, short-wheelbase Defenders that remain a staple for the quaintly English pursuit of 'green-laning'.