Maruti Suzuki Ignis Long Term Report: March 2017

Look at me!

Stuck in traffic the other day, I noticed a pretty girl in a car looking at me. Turns out she wasn’t looking at me, but was rather checking out the quirky Ignis I was in (I have to agree with her, the Ignis is far better looking – Ed). Yeah, whatever.

But that’s the thing with the Ignis, it looks like nothing else on the road. It catches just about anybody’s attention. I got a thumbs up from a guy in a WagonR and even an elderly gentleman in an Audi A8 L just couldn’t help looking at the contrast black wheels, roof and mirror casings on our bright blue Ignis.

This is exactly what Maruti Suzuki had set out to do with this car using words such as ‘funky’ while marketing it. They even launched the car at an Axwell concert. This car was designed to appeal to the youth with its quirky styling, flared wheel arches and tall stance. And considering the mantra of no compromise for today’s youth, top-end variants come packed with a host of equipment. And this product packaging has driven Maruti to launch the Ignis through its Nexa premium dealership network to let buyers know that they are not just buying any odd hatchback, but one that stands out amongst its competition.

Our long-term Ignis is not the top-end variant as the Alpha petrol trim does not come with an automatic transmission. Therefore, it does not come with a reverse camera, satellite navigation or voice activated commands for the stereo. Still, it’s not exactly a tool shed in here as you do get rear parking sensors and a double-DIN stereo with Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports and much more. Unlike Maruti’s of yore, thankfully, this car also comes with rear defogger and wash wipe in this second from top Zeta variant. Although it’s worth mentioning that the Baleno now gets these essential features from the second from base Delta variant and we wish the Ignis did too.

This petrol automatic Ignis comes with the company’s 82bhp 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which is responsive but needs more low-end end grunt when you go heavy on the throttle. The AMT auto ‘box needs to upshift faster as well. But that’s just the enthusiast in me talking. While driving the car normally there is enough power and the AMT unit is a real boon in traffic. While driving it like an everyday car the fuel efficiency display is currently indicating 18.4 km/l. That’s extremely good for any petrol hatchback, let alone one with a bigger 1.2-litre engine! However, you will have to wait for our next issue for me to tell you the real tank to tank efficiency.

For now, I’m going to crank up that decent stereo and enjoy the attention!