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-litre form, with power ranging from 85 to 97 PS (84 to 96 hp; 63 to 71 kW).

Eventually, four-wheel drive was offered with the 1.6-litre variant in February 1996,[3] basically the same engine as found in the Suzuki Escudo, with power raised to 115 PS (113 hp; 85 kW).

The 1.8-litre engines was exclusively fitted to GTX sport model and was rated at 121 PS (119 hp; 89 kW) (EEC).

[1] Cultus Crescent also assembled in Colombia at GM Colmotores in 1995, marketed as Chevrolet Esteem and only available as sedan with 1.3-and 1.6-litre engines.

[6][7] Unique for Pakistan, Baleno was produced with pre-facelift front end (but facelifted in 2002[6]), only available as a sedan and powered with 1.3- and 1.6-litre petrol engines.

[11] Europe also gained a turbodiesel version, with a SOHC belt driven 8-valve 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) XUD9 engine supplied by Peugeot.

The 1.6-litre SOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder which made 97 PS (96 hp; 71 kW) 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, and the Mitsubishi Lancer.

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.

[21] Driven by the last year's runner up, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, it failed to finish the race due an accident that wrecked the car.