Updated
Set to be launched today (and driven by us soon — so keep an eye out for our review next week), the Ignis has been a tease. It was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo last year, and MSIL took one whole year to realise the concept. Thankfully it will finally be out now, and as the official specifications and variant details suggest, it will be worth the time you, as a prospective Ignis buyer, have spent waiting.
Let’s start with the variants:
The brochure mentions that there will be a total of four trims levels while a basic taxi variant for fleet use is also being speculated. Said four trims, in line with other Nexa products, will be called: Sigma, Delta, Zeta, and Alpha.
The Alpha trim will be fully loaded, with features like projector headlamps, alloy wheels, DRLs, and even puddle lamps. There will also be accent lighting for the instrument binnacle, an eight-inch Smart Play touchscreen infotainment unit (with reverse parking camera), automatic climate control, and height adjustment for the driver’s seat, over other features available in the rest of the range.
There will be a total of six paint choices, out of which three will also be available in dual-tone scheme (only on Alpha and Zeta). Certain colours like Pearl Arctic White and Silky Silver will be available for all versions, but others will be variant-specific. There will be three choices for interior accents, too, namely Tinsel Blue, Titanium, and Uptown Red.
Safety
And while the feature list doesn’t look too bad, even for the basic Sigma trim, it’s the safety front where the Ignis excels. On paper, at least. All four variants will get dual airbags (driver and passenger frontal units) and ABS with EBD as part of the standard equipment.
In addition there are ISOFIX points standard on all variants, too. Apart from that, the company also lists pedestrian protection, seatbelt pre-tensioners, and crash safety against front, side, and front offset collisions.
Dimensions
Positioned as a micro crossover (and largely challenging the Mahindra KUV100), the Ignis measures 3700 mm in length, 1690 mm in width (with body kit, as MSIL mentions), and 1595 mm in height.
We’ll see how it fares against the KUV once it’s out, but to give you an idea, the Mahindra measures 3675 mm in length, 1715 mm in width, and 1655 mm in height. Footprint aside, where the Ignis is likely to trump the KUV is the interior space, thanks in part to the longer wheelbase of 2435 mm, in comparison to the latter’s 2385 mm. Same can be said about the ground clearance — with Ignis rated at 180 mm off the ground versus the KUV100’s 170 mm — and a more cavernous boot — 260-litre boot of the Ignis is claimed to offer 17 litres of luggage space more than that of the KUV100.
Power- and drive-train
Like in case of other Maruti Suzuki products in the segment, the Ignis will be offered with two engine choices: a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol and a 1.3-litre, Fiat-sourced diesel. The final specs, according to the company website, mention 61 bhp and 11.5 kgm for the petrol unit, and 74 bhp and 19.37 kgm for the diesel.
Both engines will get a 5-speed gearbox as standard, and an optional AMT, should you want fewer pedals and the increased convenience of an automatic gearbox. It must be noted that the base Sigma variant will only be available with a petrol engine, while the AMT gearbox (irrespective of the engine) will be available only in the mid-range Delta and Zeta trims.
Remember the happy-go-lucky kid in the Maruti advert of the yore who kept driving his scaled down 800 over anything and everything? His excuse was, in Punjabi, that his dinky car never ran dry. And the Ignis’s claimed efficiency might make you come up with similar excuses, as the petrol is rated to return 20.89 kpl while the diesel a solid 26.80 kpl.
Other mechanical bits
The front-wheel drive car will be offered with 175/65 R15 tyres and disc brakes up front, drums at the rear. Maruti Suzuki has effectively used the lightweight tech on the Ignis, too, with the vehicle weighing 825 – 860 kilos (petrol) and 940 – 960 (diesel). So expect a slightly better straight-line performance than the Baleno — there’s about a 20-kilo weight-saving!
Price
Prices for the Ignis petrol (Sigma) start at Rs 4.59 lakh onwards, and the least expensive diesel (Delta) is available for Rs 6.39 lakh.
Brochure
You can download the brochure by clicking the link: Maruti Suzuki Ignis brochure
