The Ignis will be available in four trims
It will be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.3-litre diesel engine
It will have AMT gearbox as an option as well
Maruti Suzuki has been on a roll. It’s almost like the run its Korean counterpart was having until last year - where every product launched was a blockbuster. Now it may be premature to call the Ignis one yet - and indeed it will remain a niche product when compared to the likes of the Swift or Baleno. But what the Ignis does is it gives us Maruti’s best small car yet. Read on to find out why I say this.
The Ignis replaces the Ritz in Maruti Suzuki’s lineup. And like that car ( and its junior avatar - the WagonR) the Ignis is indeed a tallboy. It was misconstrued to have been a subcompact SUV when it first broke cover as the iM4 concept at Geneva in 2015, and has now come to market as the ’premium urban crossover’. But let me assure you it is a hatchback - and a well-designed one at that. Like the Ritz, the Ignis is not roomy in real terms and yet gives you a great sense of space. The cabin is smartly designed and very upmarket compared to that previous model’s - and even compared to the Baleno in many ways. I keep bringing the Baleno into the equation since both cars will sell side-by-side out of the Nexa network.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis Rear Design
On the outside the Ignis is well proportioned, and extremely distinct. There is simply no other car on the market that looks remotely like the Ignis does! It’s quirky, and slightly weird - and I like that! The front grille with its integrated headlamp clusters is well finished, and forms the signature of the face, and indeed the overall design. The metal sculpting on the sides is modern and emphasizes the car’s upright stance. This is further enhanced by the clamshell-style raised hood. The C-pillar is very sharply angled - and the tailgate turns down sharply to a straight slab of metal to give you a very distinct look and shape at the back. The C-pillar also houses Suzuki’s very retro ’progressive triad’ embossed into the metal. While it harks back to the company’s successful SC 100 from the 80’s and the Fronte Coupe before that, it is quite obviously a way to reduce the impact of the rather wide mass of metal in an otherwise slim design. The taillights are too flat and 2-dimensional and are he only sore point in what’s otherwise a very well executed design. Shut lines and overall quality is also the best yet from a locally made Maruti in my opinion.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis Side Profile
The car comes with two engine options - 1.2 petrol ( Max Power: 81 bhp, Peak Torque: 113 Nm, Claimed Mileage: 20.89 kmpl) and 1.3 diesel ( Max Power: 73 bhp, Peak Torque: 190 Nm, Claimed Mileage: 26.8 kmpl) . Yes they indeed are the same engines we have seen in multiple Maruti Suzuki products now, though tuned slightly differently. Both engines have the option a 5-Speed manual or AGS ( or auto gear shift - what Maruti calls its AMT/automated manual transmission system) . Now that is pretty smart on Maruti’s part. The Ignis is being positioned premium and yet by putting in an AMT, it allows the company to not just keep prices attractive but also gain a healthy margin on the product. It will also have another effect - that of making the AMT itself more acceptable, and not the resort of just the budget cars. Hence it will also make an AMT more attractive in the eyes of the consumer I think.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis gets both petrol and diesel engines
Maruti Suzuki Ignis Specification
Ignis Engines 1.2-litre Petrol 1.3-litre Engine
Displacement 1197cc 1248cc
Max Power 81 bhp 73 bhp
Max Torque 113 Nm 190 Nm
Transmission 5-speed Manual/AMT 5-speed Manual/AMT
Claimed Efficiency 20.89 kmpl 26.8 kmpl
I drove the diesel first - in both its manual and AMT avatars. The car is zippy, and has a generous amount of torque available to you. I spoke with CV Raman - the man in charge of Maruti’s Engineering and R& D - and he told me that while peak torque may k