The is a
subcompact car that was produced by
Suzuki in Japan between 1995 and 2002, with South Asian production continuing until 2007. The Cultus Crescent was sold as such in Japan until May 1998, when it was renamed Suzuki Cultus due to the sales discontinuation of the previous
Cultus Cultus may refer to:
*Cult (religious practice)
* ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies
* Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington
* Cultus Lake (disambiguation)
*Cultus River, a river in Oregon
*Suzuki Cultus
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car ...
in the Japanese market. The Cultus Crescent was also marketed as the Suzuki Esteem in North America, Philippines and Thailand, and as the Suzuki Baleno throughout Asia, Australasia, Europe, and Latin America. In India where it was manufactured by
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki India Limited, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is an Indian automobile manufacturer, based in New Delhi. It was founded in 1981 and owned by the Government of India until 2003, when it was sold to the Japanese automaker ...
, the Cultus Crescent was sold as the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. In the Philippines, the facelift model was marketed as the Chevrolet Cassia.
History
File:Suzuki Baleno.jpg, Suzuki Baleno hatchback with alternative grille (pre-facelift, Italy)
File:Suzuki Baleno front 20080220.jpg, Suzuki Baleno hatchback (Germany)
File:Suzuki Baleno rear 20080220.jpg, Suzuki Baleno hatchback (Germany)
Suzuki Baleno sedan (rear).jpg, Suzuki Baleno sedan (Indonesia)
File:Suzuki Baleno 1.6 GLX-SE Wagon 1998 (rear) (cropped).jpg, Suzuki Baleno wagon (Chile)
The Cultus Crescent was introduced in Japan in January 1995
and then to the global market in the first half of 1995. It was Suzuki's first attempt in the competitive compact segment. As a North American replacement for the
Suzuki Cultus (Swift) sedan (the three-door hatchback remained after it was redesigned in 1995), it was built on a slightly stretched
Cultus Cultus may refer to:
*Cult (religious practice)
* ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies
* Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington
* Cultus Lake (disambiguation)
*Cultus River, a river in Oregon
*Suzuki Cultus
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car ...
platform for improved cabin room, but otherwise sharing most of internal components with the smaller model—and marketed as a distinct model.
The Cultus Crescent was initially available as a three-door
hatchback and four-door
sedan, with the
SOHC belt driven 16-valve G-family engines, in 1.3- and 1.5-liter form, with power ranging from . The 1.3-liter was only offered in the hatch while a 1.5-liter was only fitted to the sedan. Eventually,
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...
was offered with the 1.6-liter variant in February 1996, basically the same engine as found in the
Suzuki Escudo
The Suzuki Vitara is a series of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs produced by Suzuki in five generations since 1988. The second, third-generation and 2022 models are known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, with the fourth generation eschewing the "Grand" ...
, with power raised to . At the same time, 1.8-liter
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
chain driven 16-valve
J18A engine with appeared,
the lineup was also extended with the wagon body style, called Cultus Crescent Wagon GT.
[ This was Suzuki's first station wagon (excluding kei cars), also with the same 1.6-liter, which also received the optional four-wheel drive in the wagon.
In Europe, the 1.5-liter engine was not available for sale. The 1.8-liter engines was exclusively fitted to GTX sport model and was rated at ( EEC).] A commercial van with higher roof was also available in several European countries.
Cultus Crescent also assembled in Colombia at GM Colmotores
General Motors Colmotores S.A. is a Colombian automobile manufacturer based in Bogotá and has been the local subsidiary of General Motors since 1979. Established in 1957 as "Fábrica Colombiana de Automotores S.A." (shortened "Colmotores)", they b ...
in 1995, marketed as Chevrolet Esteem and only available as sedan with 1.3-and 1.6-liter engines. Suzuki also produced this car locally in Indonesia, which was launched in July 1996 as replacement of previous Cultus sedan (marketed as Esteem there) and sold as Suzuki Baleno and only available as sedan with 1.6-liter engine and 5-speed manual transmission. The Suzuki Esteem was introduced in the Philippines in 1996 and sold until 2000, and was only available as a wagon. Suzuki then dropped the "Esteem" name in favour of Chevrolet, who had just been returning in the Philippine-market to have at least one sedan model to compete with other popular Japanese-made sedans.
Facelift
File:99-00 Suzuki Esteem sedan.jpg, Suzuki Esteem sedan (first facelift, US)
File:99-02 Suzuki Esteem wagon rear.jpg, Suzuki Esteem wagon (first facelift, US), with North American specification tail lights.
File:2000 Suzuki Baleno (SY416) GL hatchback (2011-12-06).jpg, Suzuki Baleno hatchback (first facelift, Australia)
File:Suzuki Baleno 1.6 Wagon 2003 (36182573346).jpg, Suzuki Baleno wagon (second facelift, Chile)
File:Suzuki Cultus 002 (cropped).JPG, Suzuki Cultus sedan (Japan), dropped the "Crescent" suffix in 1998.
File:Suzuki Cultus 004 (cropped).JPG, Suzuki Cultus Wagon (Japan)
File:Balint255.jpg, Suzuki Baleno interior (facelift; Pakistan)
Suzuki restyled the Cultus Crescent and renamed it Cultus (for the Japanese market only) in mid-1998. In this year, both India and Pakistan started producing Baleno in their countries. Unique for Pakistan, Baleno was produced with pre-facelift front end (but facelifted in 2002[), only available as a sedan and powered with 1.3- and 1.6-liter petrol engines. While in India, the wagon body style also produced there and marketed as Baleno Altura] and also the only country that produced Cultus wagon outside Japan. In North America, the changeover took place with the 1999 model year. The engine lineup was expanded to include Suzuki's J18A chain-driven DOHC engine that was fitted to the sedan and wagon. The Esteem 1.8-liter wagon completely replaced the Esteem 1.6, but in most markets the 1.8 sedan became the sports model. In some European markets, the 1.8-liter was installed in the hatchback and sold as the limited edition Baleno GSR.[ ''Automobil Revue 2002'', p. 551] Europe also gained a turbodiesel
The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output ...
version, with a SOHC belt driven 8-valve XUD9 engine supplied by Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
.[
In 1999, Indonesian market Baleno received new 1.5-liter petrol engine, replacing the old 1.6-liter engine, as the country imposed higher tax for cars with engine above 1.5-liter starting in late 1990s.] 4-speed automatic transmission was later added in 2000.[
In the Philippines, the facelift model was introduced in 2000 as the Chevrolet Cassia. Suzuki chose to drop the Esteem in the market in favor of Chevrolet Philippines, who have been re-introduced at that time to have an entry-level sedan competing against other Japanese-made sedans. Chevrolet's first sedan to be offered in the country for a new decade was not a market success. The 1.6-liter SOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder which made was the only engine choice offered and had fewer features than the rest of its rivals. Its main competitors were the Ford Lynx, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, ]Nissan Sentra
The Nissan Sentra is a series of automobiles manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 1982. Since 1999, the Sentra has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. Until 2006, Sentra was a reba ...
, and the Mitsubishi Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer is an automobile produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors since 1973.
The Lancer has been marketed as the Colt Lancer, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hin ...
. Due to poor sales, production ended in 2002, just 2 years after it was introduced. After its discontinuation, the car was replaced by the Chevrolet Optra.
A minor facelift appeared in 2001, with only changes on the front grille. For Indonesian market, this facelift was appeared with new white coloured rear blinkers and later arrived in India around 2006.
The Cultus was replaced in most markets by the new Aerio/Liana, which was launched in 2001. In Japan, the sedan was discontinued in November 2001, although the wagon remained until August 2002. The entire range was pulled from the market in Europe and North America in 2002, after one year of overlapping with the Aerio/Liana. The car remained available in many developing countries, including India and Southeast Asia, where it was sold until 2007, when production stopped at the Maruti factory, with the assembly line giving way to the SX4 sedan.
In popular culture
A yellow Suzuki Esteem (with one red door) is used as Jimmy McGill
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character ...
's car in the AMC TV show ''Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'' for most of the show.
Motorsport
Suzuki Baleno regularly finished in the top five spots of A6 class, mostly in Rally New Zealand
The Rally New Zealand is an annual rally race in New Zealand. It was first included as a round of the World Rally Championship in 1977. The race is famous for its fast flowing gravel roads which carry the competitors through forests and alongside ...
from 1997 to 2001. The Baleno also received a cult following in India among rally enthusiasts.[
In 2000, Suzuki entered a heavy modified Suzuki Cultus sedan for competing in ]Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...
. It featured two turbocharged J20A inline-four engines, with a combined power output of with of torque. Driven by the last year's runner up, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, it failed to finish the race due an accident that wrecked the car.
References
External links
*
Suzuki Baleno XG, XT and Swift
''All About Cars'', 2016
{{Suzuki timeline (North America) 1985 to date
Compact cars
Euro NCAP small family cars
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Sedans
Cultus Crescent
Cars introduced in 1995
Vehicles with CVT transmission