5 Reasons Why You Will Want The Maruti Ignis

The India-spec Maruti Ignis has finally been unveiled and will be launching in India on January 13, 2017. As expected, it has all the ingredients to become a star in the hatchback segment. The unorthodox-looking hatchback has brought a lot of fresh features which its rivals lack, and with prices expected to start from Rs 5 lakh for the petrol, the Ignis is looking like a serious threat to Mahindra's micro-SUV – the KUV100. One of the best parts of the Ignis is that the bits of the interior are not borrowed from some other Maruti car, like a lot of other offerings in the carmaker's portfolio. Bookings for the Ignis will start from January 2017. So, let's dive straight into the top five reasons that will make you want the Ignis. 

1. Looks – The Micro-SUV

While it is hard for some people (who have barely any interest in cars) to identify different cars, the Ignis will stand out and be identifiable even for them since it looks like no other in the market today. The tall, upright stance and the boxy shape with the thick C-pillar will instantly catch your eye. Look closer, and you will find subtle design highlights inspired by past popular cars like the clamshell-shaped bonnet with fender garnish, partial floating roof with the blacked-out A-pillar and the slits on the C-pillar. Also, the Ignis comes with 15-inch alloy wheels which are painted black in the top trim. Another interesting bit about the looks is that, like the Vitara Brezza, the Ignis will also have dual exterior paint options in the form of blue paint with white or black roof and a red exterior with a black roof. I-Create packages are also in the offing. 

At the front, the single-frame grille dominates the look with embedded LED headlamps – yes, LED headlamps, which are unheard of in this as well as in the two segments above the car. Surrounding these headlamps are 'U' shaped LED daytime running lights which bring out the character of the car. The rear of the Ignis is quite simple. It has a large rear windscreen with a muscular bumper and split tail lamps. They are angular and not curvy like the ones on the Swift and the Baleno. The boot space is a decent 270 litres, which can be increased further with the 60:40 split option for the rear seats. The car has a ground clearance of 180mm.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

Inside, you have a fresh, clutter-free cabin with a lot of good-looking bits, like the floating display, capsule-like console for the air con switches, a new steering wheel and the instrument cluster. The interiors are dressed in a two-tone theme with exterior paint accents on the door handles and gear lever housing.

2. Automatic Transmission – Petrol And Diesel

The market has seen a steep drift from customers avoiding automatic transmissions to them preferring them over the manual. Technology has also played a huge part in making this happen since the new AMT transmissions are reliable and fuel efficient, not to mention a blessing in the ever-growing traffic. The Ignis will offer AMT transmission in both its petrol and diesel variants, giving customers a wider mechanical range to choose from.

3. Features – Floating Display, LED Headlamps And What Not!

The Ignis comes loaded with features. The all-new cabin has a seven-inch touchscreen floating display, which features the Suzuki SmartPlay infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink. The car also comes with climate control, steering-mounted controls, navigation, turn indicators on ORVMs, rear defogger, wiper and washer, height-adjustable driver seat and electronically controlled ORVMs. Where it misses out is the reversing camera, but it does get rear parking sensors.

4. Safety – 3 Stars In Euro-NCAP Crash Test (Euro-Spec)

The Ignis comes with dual front airbags, ABS and ISOFIX as standard safety equipment on its feature list. The presence of these features as standard right from the base trim shows that Maruti has indeed made efforts to make the car safe. 

5. New Lightweight Platform

The Ignis has been developed over a completely new platform. This makes it much lighter than the Swift and Dzire. Also, since this structure is also more rigid, the car will perform better, and in case you get too excited, absorb impacts better. And of course, making a car lighter increases its fuel efficiency. 

As for the rivals, not only will the Ignis rival the Mahindra KUV100, it could also very well eat into the market of its siblings, the Maruti Swift and the Baleno. Though a little costlier than the Swift, the Ignis packs a lot of features and has the fresh look to attract customers. And since it offers almost the same features as the Baleno at a lesser price, customers could opt for the more economical offering. Not to forget the premium experience of the Nexa retail chain, which could be the deciding factor for a few. 

So, do you like the Ignis yet? Stay tuned for a detailed review soon on Zigwheels.