Hi folks! As a newbie, this post is my first detailed car post as a Team-Bhpian. I hope I don't make any mistakes.
I was eagerly waiting for the Ignis since I am looking for an automatic city car for the daily office commute. After being put off by the Baleno's wait list and low slung seating and attracted by the tall stance of the Ignis, this was my second visit to Nexa to check out the "over-priced" and "glamourized Wagon R". I guess as a "millenial" it became a moral responsibility for me to check this car in person after MS went on harping about how it is made just for me. I live in a tier-two city and the Nexa showroom wasn't that crowded today since most people in my city are not very aware of the Ignis launch (not a lot of people watch VH1 and other "millenial channels" here since I heard that MS has flooded the airtime with commercials over there). Only the manual Zeta variants with dual tone shades were available on display.
I am guilty of visiting the showroom with a prejudiced and biased mind after all the negative feedback I read here about the pricing and some other factors. A personal visit to the showroom has more or less changed my opinion. The following are some brief general observations I made about the car during the visit:
Pros:
- The car has a personality that I have not seen in most new cars lately. The design is quirky and many may hate it but for a car of its size it has a road presence that cannot be seen in the pictures. However, it is nowhere close to a MINI even in those dual tone shades.
- The paint quality is very good. The tinsel blue and uptown red on display had one of the best paint jobs I have seen on this side of 10 lakhs.
- The build quality is not VW level but is a significant improvement from the Baleno I feel. Most panel gaps looked consistent and I did not get that tin can feel that I often get with my 2 year old WagonR VXi.
- The front seats are very comfortable and it is easy to find a good driving position with the tilt steering.
- ABS + Dual Airbags standard on all variants.
- The car seems to be adequately tyred and I feel that the wheel well does not have that awkward gap with puny tyres. Thank you Maruti Suzuki for not making adequate size tyres a top variant luxury.
- The interior quality, although not a Hyundai, is better than any Maruti I have been in. (I am yet to check out the S-Cross from inside)
- Adjustable head restraints both front and rear.
- Bluetooth and audio settings on steering right from the Delta variant. I hate how many brands including Maruti made this feature limited to top variants initially.
- Generous ground clearance of 180 mm for Indian roads. However, the suspension travel was suspiciously long when I saw visitors sit in the car.
- The new steering wheel feels much better to hold than your usual Maruti Suzuki steering.
- Maruti Suzuki A.S.S. + tried and tested engine with no known reliability issues.
Based on the above Pros, I think it would be very unfair to call this car a glamourized WagonR. This comes from a WagonR VXi owner.
Now for the
Cons:- No CVT but AMT and that too on the Delta and Zeta only.
- I managed to like the entertainment system in the Delta and Zeta after some time in the car but the AC unit is just plain ugly and looks out of place. The only positive about it is that the knobs are well built when I compare them to my WagonR's AC knobs. Not a big fan of chrome but I think a little chrome on this ugly AC unit would have made things a little better.
- The variant feature list is absurd. I would have happily traded the alloys on the Zeta with the touchscreen unit and the height adjuster in the Alpha. (But I guess people would not buy the Alpha then)
- No underbody protection.
- Same engine and almost similar in weight to the Baleno but fuel efficeincy is lesser. Aerodynamics?
- The Alpha variant and the diesels are overpriced. The petrol price is fair when I compare it to the Grand i10.
- Front door shuts with a light thud but the rear door is as light as any other Maruti. (Is it only me?)
- Power window controls on driver door are the same as any other Maruti. In fact, the door panels are all unmistakeably Maruti.
- The controversial rear.
- The ivory white portion of the interior is fresh but is destined to be a dirt magnet.
- Rear headroom and shoulder room is a little tight for taller people/wider people.
Here are some photos from the visit
The front is aggresive and looks pretty good in my opinion. Notice how some of the slats in the front grille are filled and some are left open for air flow to the engine bay
The front seats have good ingress/egress. Although you do sit into the car and do not walk in like we do with our WagonR. This factor is very important to me since my father is not comfortable driving cars that have bad ingress/egress
The engine start switch on the Zeta. The trip and info buttons are on the outside and next to it, I am guessing, is a switch to adjust the brightness of the MID. Even the sales rep was clueless about whether the switch marked "P" was to activate the rear parking sensors. Notice the textured white interior. It will be a pain to clean.
The gearbox area looks funky in that tinsel blue avatar along with the two cup holders. I like this part. Ignore that ugly AC unit.
The footwell is big enough with space to rest your left foot.
The entertainment unit in Zeta and Delta kind of grows onto you after a while but I doubt if the AC control unit will.
Stubby roof antennae at the rear and added rear spoiler.
Notice how 2 reverse parking sensors are placed on the black insert and 2 are on the extreme corners. Does this help in improving sensor accuracy? The exhaust pipe juts out awkardly.
That is my father (6'0") on the rear seat with the front seat pushed back to my driving position (I am 5'10"). Leg room is decent but he complained about the head room.
The boot space is good at 260 ltrs but the loading lip is pretty high. Notice the in-built handle on the boot door.
I had a good feeling about this car when I left. The sales rep has promised to call me the first thing when he has an AMT car available for test drive (in approx. 10 days) and I shall take things forward from there if the AMT does not disappoint heavily. I have been informed that the waiting period for the petrol is hovering at the 5 week mark.