My Maruti Ignis MT comes home; Purchase, drives & ownership review

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to manoeuvre in traffic, something impossible in my Ciaz or Mahindra.

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Why Herbie, it was the name of the first English movie my parents saw, my mother doesn’t remember the story but name has stuck in her memory and the day she saw the car she called it Herbie

Prelude & My father’s automotive journey

My father survived the partition, he was 5 when horrors of partition came knocking at the family doorstep in Lahore, it was a torrid time as my grand mother used to recite, she with her two sons braved the horrors making it to Amritsar and then later Delhi as waiting for her husband (my grand-dad) turned to be futile, once in Delhi the lady who once had three servants at disposal did all she could with a sewing machine at the refugee camp. Her sons (my father and his elder brother) did all they could supporting with attending school run in camps, an elderly tutor saw some spark in the kids and took them under his tutelage, he supported their education and also got them to meet one of school trustees Mr. Harichand Gupta who ran a sweet shop amongst other businesses in Rajendra Nagar, benevolent Mr. Gupta got the family from camp to spare accommodation he kept as a go down, my father and uncle showed amazing academic spark which even Mr Gupta recognized so he offered them a job at his sweet shop post school hours. Both the kids did amazingly well academically and later professionally.

Amby Years (1988—2013)!!! Unbelievable!!

What my father took from his childhood experiences to the book apart from hard work and discipline was liking for Mr. Gupta’s youngest daughter (eventually our mother) and his Ambassador car, when financially independent and after some years on a Lambretta scooter he got his first Ambassador in same color as one Mr. Gupta had, those times in the car were enjoyed by my elder siblings, by the time I came in the world and gained knowledge to understand what a car means we had third iteration of the Ambassador. As years passed we continued having the same brand but different iterations till Mr. Birla shut shop on the vehicle which apart from gobbling entire family was nothing but bundle of trouble, even the local mechanic advised to burn it down so my father scouted every single mechanic in Delhi to help us when the car ran in rough weathers which it did a lot of times.

Till 2013 we had an Amby, it almost cost my brother his final CA exams, my sister her bar exams and me my first posting, father insisted he’d drop me to the station and if it weren’t for Mr. Khanna our neighbor on his M80 who saw us stranded roadside, I would have missed my train!!!

I have a few good memories if the Amby, we had an annual run to the Jwalaji temple and I would always fight with my elder brother to sit in the window side of the front seat. I was never school dropped or picked, but on occasions father went to drop granny or someone to Chandigarh station I would hop along, on return journey I did fall asleep on my fathers lap as back then there were no bucket seats affront. Majority of Amby’s were diesel cars so they had a push button for start and a heater for winters, my job was to push the button and check the heater. I also made some pocket money cleaning the car later. The last iteration was Ambassador grand, on its last day I was around so took my parents out for dinner, the dinner was excellent but the car had to be towed back as it had bouts of indigestion!!!

PS – I knew a colonel whose pride was his Ambassador, so mighty was the pride that from year of purchase through years of ownership, finally till date of sale the plastics on seats were intact!!!

Tata Estate (1993-1996)

We had a joint family till end of 1996 so there were always two cars at disposal, the ambassador omnipresent so burden on other one was up to my uncle, he too being a product of the partition didn’t do things in normal way. In 1993 Tata Estate came home, and it were at my brother’s wedding I remember the car came to its glory , he was very clear that post marriage he would drive home in any vehicle but not the ambassador so Tata Estate was assigned the responsibility, that particular day it rained nuts, the situation went from bad to worse and my brother and his newly wed wife didn’t reach home before wee hours of the morning next day!!

Till date I chide him on this but by far and large his authority on ‘Comfort’ is unparallel as he compares everything with the backseat of the Tata Estate!!! All the sofa’s and beds in my house have his stamp of approval!!

Again had a few fond memories of the Estate, we had become a huge joint family of 9, we cousins bonded well, my bother then had become a CA and had a valid driving license so he would take us around for long drives, he also smoked back then so it was all us younger lot to clean the car seat of smell and get paid for the duty. My sister who learned to drive on the Estate made me come with her on her driving ventures, her driving then and now remains horrible but again I got paid for not opening my mouth on the small dents she would get scrapping other vehicles regularly.

The Estate was huge and gobbled stuff with no sweat, it had power windows a noble concept back then and also prone to issues, it had a rear wiper which we all felt was something alien, there were rear AC vents which was pretty much alien till then

PS- The car was an emperor in the milieu of Indian automotive congregation, It had many first of things but was horrible when came to parking in tight spots, my elder siblings got their driving license in the Estate and I remember they saying they failed every test but could park it in a tight spot which mightily impressed the RTO guys!!!

Maruti Esteem (1996-2004)

This car I enjoyed as in these times I was married too, my wife for one has this amazing ability then and now to doze off to sleep the moment she steps in the car, she also has this habit of listening to classical music when she’s driving and that puts me to sleep instantaneously, Esteems comfortable seats and decent music system helped us both!!!

Mahindra Scorpio (2004 – 2024)

My father would when possible visit me at my postings, he took great pride sitting front seat of the official Jeep, he would tromp around proudly as if telling the world, he was the only reason for my being in uniform. My last active posting in Leh I had him visiting to see the beauty of the place as his health still supported the trip, he took very little notice of the place but sitting afront in the official Jeep (Safari) was busy saluting in reciprocation.
But coming to the topic, I assume it were during these times he fell for the concept of having a SUV, those times choices were limited to Tata Sumo and Mahindra Scorpio, others being too rustic or too expensive, so in 2004 we had the first family Scorpio, by 2024 we had 4 different iterations of it. My father took great care of them and never allowed any of his kids to drive the SUV, I always found him in a great mood driving the Scorpio, I don’t think any of the cars ever gave him trouble as well. It was quite something to have a Scorpio and an Ambassador parked together, it was like having two kittens at home, one played naughty and other played innocent.

Post COVID he greatly reduced travel and self-driving, Solan the city had become a mess with traffic and unruly parking, maneuvering the SUV was now a headache, so we decided to part with it, I had an extra car at my disposal which I urged him to use but his generation considered that a hand out so declined.

PS – every time I was to fly back post holidays my father in his Scorpio would be at doorstep, I would tell him my official transport was available but he insisted dropping me himself, even if I was to leave in wee hours my father turned up. Those times my mind would be occupied with posting related activities but today as a parent I do understand how tough it would have been for him, maybe he knew there was a chance of me not returning back in form I was leaving and if that be he wanted my last journey to be with him around.

I don’t have much information on the Scorpio years as I wasn’t around. My time was spent more in the woods hunting mischief mongers.

Herbie Comes Home

Last month finally considering various parameters my parents moved from Solan to Panchkula, here my brother stays so do my maternal aunts and their extended families (many of them are doctors so that’s added bonus). Once he settled in the new dwelling and absorbed the surroundings he began pestering to purchase a new vehicle, my brother has a Kia Carnival which he offered whenever needed but father despised owing to its size albeit ingress, egress and creature comforts of the Carnival are unmatchable.
Normally the youngest child is more spoilt and least patient but in our case it’s the other way around, thanks to decades of hunting in the woods I had developed immense patience (somedays I even live through and entire event of classical music without batting an eyelid). So the duty of helping my father over test driving options fell on me, I assumed this would be a challenge but was rather surprised when he said he’d made his mind to get the Maruti Ignis.

Why Ignis I asked, we can scout options I said, but father was done discussing, he had travelled in some acquaintances Ignis and found the car to be perfect proportions to his asking, I reminded him compared the Scorpio he was accustomed to for decades this would be very different but that didn’t dither him, I also reminded that Ignis being what it is wasn’t much on back seat comfort as now he would be driven around but that didn’t dither him as well, he had made up his mind and wanted me to help with paper work only, he had even made up his mind on the color (white) & the variant (Zeta)
Nexa Experience

To my disbelief my father had even zeroed down the showroom, Modern Auto Nexa Showroom was place he had shortlisted, I for one found the experience very good, years ago I was on the committee on Gypsy modification for our suitability and found Maruti engineers rather lacking and disoriented compared to Tata and Mahindra, not saying that’s a yardstick but I thought Maruti was just passing of tis vehicles without much thinking.

The Nexa guys were well informed, I had many queries on servicing, immaterial to general understanding that Maruti’s service is well stretched the fact the car should go regularly for servicing would be unusual. My father has very little patience for all these supporting issues, he was more like a small child in a toy shop, kept fiddling with instruments and adjusting the seats, the Nexa guys didn’t mind it so bode well.

Now came issue of MT v/s AMT, I tried hard to drive the point on AMT being more convenient etc but fell on deaf ears, he was bent towards MT and MT it was, I wanted to bargain on accessories which Maruti skimps a lot on but again father was all ok with nothing, finally I asked him to check other cars till we negotiated on price “I am a CA, now you will teach me Finance” the real mean streak of the man came in full shining as he hard bargained on every cost element with the sales guy, they offered us good discount which I assume was “Good Riddance” than benevolence!!

Herbie as she is

Ignis is unmistakably a very tiny car, it doesn’t have much in terms of creature comforts as well, the drivers seat is passable as decent for city rides and running local errands, the back seat is stiff and not to liking for a comfortable long drive, the boot again is tiny and nothing much there, I found the over all layout of the dash convincing, unlike new cars with too much laid out Ignis layout is simple and functional. The build quality is passable like any other Maruti car, even my Ciaz the eldest and longest sibling doesn’t have much in terms of build quality (An anecdote to that effect later)

However one weekend I found myself in Panchkula in the driving seat on a day marred with insane traffic, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to maneuver in bottle neck traffic, something impossible in my Ciaz or Mahindra Jeep, Ignis was in its own element, not once did I feel I could have been in a better car to manage the day, truly in city drives it’s the best car I have driven till date.

Anecdote on Maruti built quality
Captain Arindam was my neighbor who every night post dinner lit a cigarette (we stayed on 5th floor), spoke on worldly stuff and sang praises like a canary on his new Maruti Omni and the Crystal Ash Tray he’d bought while returning from a foreign posting, his time to smoke and my time to return from night run coincided so many a times Arindam found me the perfect guinea pig for a listener, one day while imparting worldly knowledge his hand struck the ash tray which went crashing down on his Maruti Omni, we rushed down to see if the crystal ash tray had met its sad demise but lo and behold it sat there on the hood of the Omni like a grumpy kid, the impact was such that it had put a crater size dent on the hood of the Omni, had it dropped from a floor above it would have cut the hood open with a hole.

Arindam’s face was same my kittens have when they see me opening new packet of wet food but it turning out to be chicken instead of tuna fish!!

Herbie goes Shimla

Every year me and my brother do a sojourn to Shimla. I was once very badly wounded and my brother that very moment was having a drink at a resort in Shimla with his buddies, my news disturbed him so much he says that if I were to walk out healthy, every year he would take me that day to Shimla and drink the same alcohol he was drinking when he got the news, the levels to which humans stoop for drinking found a new definition that day but the ritual has continued for years.

So, this year when that golden day arrived we found wanting on vehicles, his and mine regular cars were busy so we asked dad if we could borrow the Ignis, the old man agreed but with condition that I drive on way back as he didn’t trust a drunkard with the wheel. That was acceptable but eventually he called every hour asking how we were, where we’d reached and most importantly how was his car, normally my father calls me only when a hurricane hits the town types!!!

The drive from Panchkula to Shimla on days years ago was eventful experience, today it’s a nightmare, I wonder why tourism in India has gotten this bad and unruly but maybe it’s the new acquired wealth which has created a generation that takes almost everything for granted.

Am I the only one to say Kia Seltos and Sonet now rule the Indian roads, its impossible to miss them as they are about everywhere, I like the Carnival, its something very different to what we have around but wonder what does Seltos and Sonet offer that Tata’s and Mahindra’s are lacking, I haven’t driven them so can’t comment but their sizeable numbers mean that something about them must be really appealing.

Driving the Ignis was fun, it has an responsive steering, a decent music system and decent ergonomics which help driving it around, the driver’s seat though isn’t at par with the Ciaz or Tigor I have, the gear throw is fun, it doesn’t burn much fuel too and has ability to handle bit of bad patches in a decent manner, at a particular angle it looks decent too. I tried sleeping in the rear seat for some time my bother struck the wheel but the suspension set up is stiff, I was bouncing around almost all the time.

I think Ignis is a fun to drive compact city slicker, like the RE Hunter my sister rides, its not really for the long runs.

Herbie goes golfing

I found my self on a golf course with retired admiralty one fine Sunday, we had a good game and as we were leaving admiralty requested me to drop him home as his vehicle had gone to run some errand, one never says no in such instances and for my breed no is not even an option so that got me and admiralty playing our own kabuki dance on how to place our golfing gear in the Ignis (had borrowed for a day), we danced around for some time till things got settled. Once we set in motion even he was pleasantly surprised how easy maneuvering the Ignis in city traffic was, for a man who had helmed mighty warships this was like playing a video game so he ordered me to get moving and allowing him to drive. I for one assumed since he’s maneuvered mighty war ships he’d show grace and panache but the man was an absolute monster. I asked him where did he learn to drive like a maniac and he’d say he played a lot of video games to kill mundane time on board!!!

Not to mention years on Sea he couldn’t venture his head out and shout at captains of other ships he made the most of his discomfort yelling at people who crossed us while driving!!

Herbie goes camping

My father takes my daughter and my niece to annual camp at Gilbert Trail, even at his age he is more active than his grand kids, they spend a weekend together, not sure what topics are discussed between the milieu but the tradition has been on for decades. With the Scorpio it was only left to my father to do all the driving, with the Ignis now there were three and as the superstition goes ‘that if three soldiers lit their cigarettes from the same match, one of the three would be killed or that the man who was third on the match would be shot’, well not literally but in this case they had it all coming, for one my father in his wisdom got nitrogen filled in all the 4 tyres but not in the spare wheel, then he threw away the manual scissor jack kit and ordered a hydraulic one, this made sense but the travel happened before it could arrive and the folks left with their own providence, murphy’s law came calling, one of the tyres got punctured, folks got stranded, fanatic calls were made, worried wife blamed me, worried sister in law blamed my brother, worried mother blamed my father!! Once the circle of complaints were over with I called a known resource who had a tyre dealership not that far from the location they were stuck and got things sorted, now father blamed for me being a stupid as the guy refilled the tyres with air!!!

I assume rest of the trip was routine as no more calls came along, Herbie did just fine

Herbie goes to the temple

My mother insists a visit to Jwalaji temple annually for generic well being of the family, near and dear ones. we adhere as almighty has indeed been kind to us collectively, as its a family affair we hire a tempo traveler but this time father insisted he'd drive with mother and the two grandkids, rest of us could come their own way, I wasn't much game to drive so brothers Carnival came in handy, now this isn't a writeup on the carnival but i find that vehicle to be a gem of one, its as big as an apartment in Mumbai and it comes with amazing creature comforts, this time i found myself fast asleep in not time and gave a tough competition to my wife who has a Nobel in 'Sleeping from moment you sit in a car'

The journey is over 200kms majority of which is on decent tarmac. My parents made it faster then us as my father is man with heavy foot, albeit an octogenarian now he finds age just another number once behind the wheels. Seeing him drive like a lunatic sitting in comfort on the Carnival was absolutely enjoyable, he was stopped twice by dutybound traffic cops, of course we kids have to pay the fine, the old man gets miser on such matters, his car was captured twice on speed camera's newly installed, I guess he even inaugurated one of them as the picture quality was at par with wedding photos

We requested him to go slow on return but that fell on deaf ears, his craze to beat the pedal continued, however almighty didn't falter on blessings we didn't cough more dove on fines

I think Ignis is a bit underrated car, it handled really well inspite the least amount of confidence I had on the driver behind the wheels

An Anecdote to part with

The Carnival has pampered my bother to no ends and he wouldn’t stop complaining how tiny the Ignis was or its lacking of ventilated seats blah blah blah, as I thanked almighty for giving me providence to take whatever his rants were in from my left ear and let it pass from my right an anecdote came calling

Once we had it all coming held up in NE rain forests. I was hit when a blank passed through my ear and cut a piece of it, the boys got confused if they should continue, go searching for the body part which flew away or just tie some bandage and get moving, finally a bandage was done and the medic said “its good now you will hear less but its bad as now you will talk more’”, withering in immense pain I had a laugh, once all done I was hurled in a vehicle with blood streaming down and driven at lightening speed to the hospital, their the needful was done and I was marched out with some more bandages etc only to see the driver of the vehicle fuming all red “Saab, aapko goli laagti to main saamajhleta paar ek kaan ka chota sa tukda kya gaaya aapne puri seat khoon se gaandi kaardi” I laughed again

As long as we sat all intact in the Ignis, everything was fine!!

I liked the car, its a good city slicker, trust was a good read, didn't ponder into tech details as I am not game for that stuff

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