Re: The Maruti-Suzuki Ignis My Dad and I test drove the Ignis today. I think it is the perfect little car in many ways.
Plus Points:
Great height and commanding view of the road.
Nice high seating position with very comfy seats.
Decent horn, not one of those "dying goat" type horns
Plenty of headroom for a tall person.
Excellent Ingress and Egress.
Nice peppy little engine.
AMT works brilliantly.
Lovely turning radius.
Good looking black Alloy wheels.
Ride quality is excellent on tarmac as well as on a hard, bumpy dirt track which the Nexa chap insisted we drive on, to see how it feels! Truly the ride was excellent irrespective of the surface.
Nice looking car. Two tone paint etc, makes for a happy looking presence!
I believe this can be the perfect little car for the city (mainly) with the occasional highway drive. It definitely feels peppier and more settled than the I20 for sure. Feels like a more powerful engine overall, in terms of performance.
Saying that, it could also be that there was no real load in the car with only the three of us, my Dad, me and the Nexa person sitting in the car when we drove it.
The price is very good at 8 odd lacs for the Zeta AMT on road. Not bad at all, in my book.
Minus Points:
Yes, the steering feels so light, like "air", that it is almost as if there is no steering at all. Very very dicey if one is used to a well weighted steering like I am in my Yeti. However, this can be lived with since the point of comparison is the I20, whose steering is also very light and doesn't feel very connected with anything.
AMT is not available in the Top Spec Alpha version which I think is really silly.
The tyres are of 175 size on 15 inch alloys. These definitely can do with a larger size or two, maybe 195 size or perhaps even 205 size which will fill the wheel arches nicely.
A very high luggage loading lip means it will be a bit of a pain to heft suitcases into the car - like the Swift, in some sense.
No armrest for the front though there are a number of cubby holes.
The space at the rear with a tall person in the driving seat, is pretty tight. Saying that, even the I20 has the same issue of space in the rear though it is slightly bigger than the Ignis.
Disadvantage is that in the Ignis, unlike the I20, one cannot fold and roll over the seats to create a flat luggage bay. It is more like the Swift in terms of luggage capacity.
And yes, the I20 is a segment higher than the Ignis overall. No doubt about that!
The Ignis doesn't have a nice infotainment system in the Zeta variant and nor does it have climate control and reverse camera/ sensors etc, all of which the I20 has.
The Zeta doesn't have even the driver side seat height adjustment so it is no point in expecting it to have passenger side seat height adjustment!
The places where the Ignis stands out against the I20 - and Im only comparing these because I was seriously thinking of replacing the I20 with the Ignis for my parents.
1. Engine is far peppier and doesn't wheeze while overtaking.
2. AMT transmission which is absolutely lovely for the city.
3. Height of the vehicle overall and great views around
4. Ease of Ingress/ Egress
5. Top class ride quality with great suspension.
6. Quirky looks
In all other respects the I20 is a better package.
While my Dad really liked the Ignis in many ways, he is still comparing the features there are in the I20 vis a vis the Ignis and that may very well be the tipping point for him.
Now if these Maruti fellows would give us the Ignis in its top spec Alpha variant and add in the CVT AT Transmission or even the AMT in that variant, plus all the other frills and bells and whistles of the Alpha version and even price it at 9 lacs on road, it will be a worthwhile buy. If such a variant were available, I would buy it and I would only make one change - upsize the tyres immediately.
Else it is a really lovely little car! |