The Baleno small car was Suzuki’s biggest passenger car to date in Australia, sitting above the Swift/Cino light car that it partially replaced. Conventionally engineered and styled, the front-wheel drive Baleno initially arrived in two body shapes – a three-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. A 73kW 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve engine powered the GA/GL and sporty GS hatch and GA/GL and GLX sedan, as well as the spacious GLX wagon from October ’96. For greater performance, an 89kW 1.8-litre version powered GTX versions from March ’96. A four-speed automatic was optional on all models except for the GTX hatch and sedan. Power steering, cloth trim and a radio cassette player was standard while a GTX’s driver’s airbag and anti-lock brakes were optional on all bar the base GA/GL.