I used to search out the funniest joke to be “the Suzuki Ignis is an SUV”. If this tallboy hatchback is an SUV, then so is my eating desk!
Scratch just a little nearer, nevertheless, and also you’ll discover the Ignis has as a lot proper to the SUV title as one thing like a Kia Stonic or a Mazda CX-3.
Surprisingly, it has a claimed 180mm of floor clearance, greater than one thing like a Kia Stonic (165mm) and even the previous Ignis of the 2000s which arguably had extra of an SUV look to it.
The titchy Ignis affords stunning house for its minuscule footprint, so not less than the “U” in that more and more meaningless acronym is mirrored.
The Ignis truly holds the title of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV. But it surely’s fairly a bit smaller than the following most cost-effective, the Hyundai Venue, and is due to this fact extra of a rival for one thing like a Kia Picanto. That makes the Ignis’s worth proposition seem just a little shakier, and that’s particularly so for the flagship GLX we’ve got on take a look at.
The Ignis has been round since 2016 in its present technology however its styling nonetheless appears to be like recent and funky. The Ignis’s design pays homage to 1970s Suzukis just like the Cervo and Fronte, to nice success.
It’s arduous to type a tall field, however Suzuki’s designers have nailed it.
When Suzuki faucets into that retro vein, prefer it has performed with the most recent Jimny and the Japanese-market Lapin and Alto, it produces memorable designs. Extra overtly Europe-focused fashions just like the Swift and S-Cross, in distinction, look very conservative.
How a lot does the Suzuki Ignis GLX value?
The Ignis vary opens at $23,490 drive-away for the GL guide, with an computerized transmission a $1000 possibility.
The auto-only GLX we examined is priced from $26,490 drive-away, with premium paint – like our tester’s distinctive Khaki Pearl Metallic – an additional $595.
That’s a steep worth for one thing this small with these outputs, and Suzuki has even launched a dearer Shadow variant for $27,990 drive-away. Successfully a sticker pack, the Shadow makes the GLX seem like higher worth, however then you definitely put the mid-spec Suzuki up in opposition to equally priced vehicles and that feeling rapidly dissipates.
It’s scarcely bigger than a Kia Picanto, which tops out at $22,890 drive-away. It’s additionally smaller in nearly each dimension than an MG 3, which tops out at $20,990 drive-away. However Suzuki calls the Ignis an SUV, so let’s put it up in opposition to some SUVs.
A Kia Stonic Sport auto prices $26,790 earlier than on-roads or $28,490 drive-away, whereas a base Hyundai Venue auto is $23,900 earlier than on-roads or $27,190 drive-away primarily based on a Sydney postcode. The even bigger Mitsubishi ASX GS auto rings up at $26,240 listing, and is presently being supplied for $27,990 drive-away in NSW.
Sure, the Ignis undercuts Australia’s best-selling gentle SUV, with the Mazda CX-Three Neo Sport auto priced at $25,510 earlier than on-roads or $29,389 drive-away in Sydney. However maybe the best menace to the Ignis, to not point out these different funds SUVs, comes from China.
An MG ZS Excite is simply $23,990 drive-away, whereas the more energizing ZST Core – with a full suite of lively security gear that the Suzuki can’t match – is a pointy $26,990 drive-away. It’s now surprise, then, why the MG ZS household is Australia’s best-selling small SUV.
After its launch, the Ignis’ worth remained regular after which shot up through the COVID period. The GLX as soon as retailed for $18,990 earlier than on-road prices, a worth level that feels far more acceptable.
Our Offered Value Report information exhibits this isn’t a automobile that’s being closely discounted, both.
Suzuki isn’t alone in growing costs, and lots of producers have cited growing materials and delivery prices as the rationale for his or her hikes – even the cut-price Chinese language have upped theirs.
However for the Ignis GLX’s worth to have climbed by nearly 30 per cent – outpacing inflation – in such a price-sensitive phase is disheartening.
What’s the Suzuki Ignis GLX like on the within?
It may not be a kei automotive, however the Ignis is likely one of the smallest automobiles on sale in Australia.
You’d be forgiven, then, for pondering it will be a decent squeeze inside. And but Suzuki, a kei automotive specialist in Japan, seems to have used a few of these learnings to eke out the utmost inside room attainable from the Ignis’ titchy footprint.
The boxy physique affords very good headroom each entrance and rear, the place two grownup males had been capable of sit behind two different grownup males, throughout 175 to 185cm in peak, with ample leg room and knee room.
The GLX seats solely two within the rear, in contrast to the bottom GL, however given how slender the Ignis is we wouldn’t need to attempt to squeeze somebody right into a centre seat.
The rear doorways open 90 levels, making ingress simple for occupants within the again. The raked C-pillar remedy does eat into their view however that is nonetheless fairly an ethereal cabin with a reasonably large window on the rear.
You received’t discover a lot in the way in which of facilities within the rear although – there aren’t any air vents or USB shops.
The rear seats don’t fold flat, however you’ll be able to increase the 264L of bags house to 516L with them dropped. That determine is measured to the window line, whereas Suzuki quotes a determine of 1104L measured to the roof.
The belt line is barely excessive however I might nonetheless relaxation my arm on the door card up entrance, although it’s a lot too slim for it to be snug – once more, Suzuki has tried to squeeze out each final little bit of house it might.
You peer out over a stubby bonnet and grip a leather-wrapped steering wheel, about the one delicate floor within the inside apart from the cloth-upholstered seats.
The Ignis’ inside is clearly constructed to a worth, however Suzuki has tried to provide it some type because it did with the outside.
There are spherical air vents, an inset piece of distinction white trim operating throughout the sprint, and a rounded local weather management unit that appears like a nerve gasoline canister out of a film.
The inside is awash in arduous, scratchy plastics, and the fabric on the doorways had already attracted scuffs.
The dashboard can be such low cost plastic it truly bows down whenever you press it – one thing we’ve additionally noticed within the Hyundai Venue – and you may shake the binnacle cowl, which makes it really feel as if you might rip it off with out breaking a sweat. The headliner additionally seems like cardboard.
Nevertheless, the quirky styling particulars cease it from trying low cost and cheerless. There have been additionally no untoward rattles or squeaks, suggesting fairly sturdy building.
Regardless of this being the top-spec Ignis, there’s no centre console bin with a padded lid appropriate to be used as an armrest. There’s additionally no correct lifeless pedal for the driving force.
Much more puzzling is the raft of button blanks discovered all through the cabin. We counted over half a dozen, together with one on the steering wheel. That is puzzling for a top-of-the-line automobile.
The material seats have a fabric that seems hard-wearing, although the development of the pews themselves is doubtful – they really feel low cost and skinny, once more possible a conceit to maximise cabin house, whilst you can really feel the inner steel body in case you press them from behind.
Although it lacks a centre console bin, storage is in any other case fairly good. The bottle holders within the doorways can match even bigger bottles, akin to your typical health club shaker cup, whereas there’s a shelf on the base of the centre stack giant sufficient to suit a cellphone.
There may be additionally a pair of cupholders for front-seat occupants and one additional again for the rear occupants, in addition to a well sized glove compartment with a shelf.
A pair of dials sit to the left of a easy instrument cluster display, which may be adjusted both utilizing buttons on the dashboard or on the steering wheel. The cluster is neat and legible.
Our tester was fitted with an aftermarket 9.0-inch display, a part of a program employed by Suzuki Australia to get as many automobiles in Australia as attainable at a time when provide shortages had been biting and shares of the manufacturing facility 7.0-inch display had been restricted.
This program has now come to a detailed, which is nice information for patrons. Regardless of the bigger measurement, the 9.0-inch unit goes with out embedded satellite tv for pc navigation. With its poor decision, it feels such as you’re taking a look at it by way of polarised sun shades and general it appears to be like like an affordable pill you purchase to your youngsters and don’t care in the event that they break. It’s laggy, too.
One optimistic of this unit is the surprisingly respectable decision of the reversing digital camera show.
What’s beneath the bonnet?
Powering the Ignis vary is a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder producing 66kW of energy and 120Nm of torque.
That is despatched to the entrance wheels solely by way of a alternative of a five-speed guide or a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) within the GL, although the GLX is CVT-only.
That’s down on rivals just like the Venue (90kW/151Nm) and CX-3 (110kW/195Nm), although the gulf between the Ignis and the Stonic isn’t as vast (74kW/133Nm).
The Ignis additionally edges out these different gentle SUVs in gas economic system. Over a mixture of inner-city, suburban and freeway driving, we averaged 5.7L/100km. Over the course of every week, we noticed 6L/100km. The official mixed cycle declare is 4.9L/100km.
How does the Suzuki Ignis GLX drive?
On paper, the thought of a small naturally-aspirated engine mated with a CVT sounds totally underwhelming. However the Ignis weighs simply 865kg, so it feels gentle on its ft.
The Ignis’ atmo 1.2-litre is keen, and the CVT helps it really feel fairly zippy round city. You possibly can dart between lanes with out it at all times feeling like a white-knuckle, foot-to-the-floor expertise. This would possibly simply be the best utility for a CVT.
Thoughts you, it takes round 12 seconds to rise up to 100km/h from a standstill, and from a standing begin it definitely feels that fast – or, moderately, not so fast. With 4 adults on board, the Ignis’s little engine feels strained.
The engine has a little bit of a raspy sound, however there’s not an excessive amount of in the way in which of annoying rev flaring from the CVT. Talking of the transmission, there’s no guide shift mode however there’s a Low mode which you’ll unintentionally knock the automotive into whenever you’re simply attempting to push the shifter into Drive.
As soon as at freeway speeds, the Ignis performs competently till you encounter a powerful crosswind, when it begins to really feel just a little battered. On the open highway, the cabin additionally will get fairly boomy and doesn’t appear significantly properly insulated. The Ignis’s engine plods alongside at 2000rpm at 100km/h with out an excessive amount of criticism, thoughts you.
The bottom clearance could greatest another gentle SUVs on paper, however the Ignis feels overwhelmed by some automotive parks and virtually bottomed out at one T-junction with a gutter. It did really feel okay over some unsealed roads, although.
Like most SUVs at this finish of the promote it’s solely obtainable with front-wheel drive in Australia, however it may be had with Suzuki’s AllGrip all-wheel drive system abroad.
The experience high quality is usually good, avoiding feeling too unsettled. Thoughts you, it does get disturbed by some floor modifications, however then it is a very small automotive with a brief wheelbase.
It’s not fairly as gratifying as a Swift within the corners, because it feels a bit top-heavy. The brake pedal feels a bit spongy, too.
In case you’re popping out of an older automobile, you’re not going to be intimidated an excessive amount of by the Ignis. There’s no lane-keep help tugging on the wheel, nor ahead collision warning to warn you to an imminent collision.
The old-school really feel extends to the steering, which feels heavier than that in a Kia Picanto or Rio, and doesn’t appear to loosen up at low speeds. It’s not arduous to drive, thoughts you – it’s not such as you’re driving an previous Swift Cino with out energy steering, if that’s what you’re pondering. The elevated seating place additionally makes you are feeling much less uncovered.
It does really feel refreshing driving one thing so easy, although we’d nonetheless moderately have extra normal security expertise than a back-to-basics driving expertise.
The old-school really feel extends to the instrument cluster, which frustratingly goes with out a digital speedometer. The devices are neat and legible, nevertheless.
The Ignis is scarcely bigger than a Picanto, so parking is a doddle. I felt like a real Melbourne hipster snagging a tiny spot proper in entrance of a espresso store the place we had been shopping for beans. You’ll haven’t any downside parking this anyplace.
What do you get?
We miss out on numerous options supplied in markets like Europe, akin to autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, paddle shifters, a 48V mild-hybrid system, and all-wheel drive.
The Ignis GLX swaps the bottom GL’s 15-inch metal wheels and halogen headlights for 16-inch alloys and computerized LED headlights, and features a few further audio system for its sound system (for a complete of six).
You do, nevertheless, lose a fifth seat: the GLX is strictly a four-seater, and the rear seats due to this fact fold 50/50 as a substitute of 60/40. The rear seats additionally slide and recline.
It additionally comes normal with the next gear:
- Privateness glass
- 6-speaker sound system
- Single-zone local weather management
- Keyless entry and begin
That’s over and above what the bottom GL affords:
- Area saver spare wheel
- Entrance fog lights
- Roof rails
- 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
- USB connectivity
- Bluetooth
- Cruise management
- Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
- Material upholstery
Is the Suzuki Ignis GLX secure?
As talked about, there’s no autonomous emergency braking – one thing supplied on each Picanto, Venue, Stonic, ASX and CX-3 – and nothing in the way in which of lively security expertise.
AEB will likely be mandated for all newly launched fashions in Australia from March 2023 and all fashions on sale in Australia from March 2025.
The Ignis stays untested by ANCAP, although the European-market mannequin obtained a three-star security ranking in 2016 which has since expired.
In Euro NCAP testing, the Ignis scored 79 per cent for grownup occupant safety, 79 per cent for little one occupant safety, 67 per cent for pedestrian detection and 25 per cent for security help.
Customary security options embrace:
- Entrance, front-side and curtain airbags
- Brake help system (BAS)
- Hill-hold help
- Reversing digital camera
How a lot does the Suzuki Ignis GLX value to run?
The Ignis is roofed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee with 5 years of capped-price servicing.
The service intervals are each 12 months or 15,000km, whichever happens first, and are capped on the following:
That works out to be $1955 over the course of 5 years or 75,000km, making it one of many pricier vehicles at this finish of the market to service.
For context, it prices greater than a Kia Picanto 1.2L ($1925) or Hyundai Venue ($1575) to service if barely lower than a Kia Stonic 1.4L ($1979).
CarExpert’s Tackle the Suzuki Ignis GLX
It’s a tricky tablet to swallow for this as soon as sub-$20,000 automobile to be priced the way in which it’s right this moment.
The Ignis’s styling isn’t any much less funky nor its packaging no much less spectacular than when it first launched round seven years in the past. And naturally, Suzuki isn’t the one model to have elevated costs.
However so much can change over this time past a advisable retail worth. The extent of ordinary security gear on even probably the most inexpensive vehicles in Australia has risen for probably the most half, MG Three and Ignis apart.
The shortage of even autonomous emergency braking is deeply disappointing when it’s obtainable abroad, and contemplating only a few hundred {dollars} extra will get you a MG ZST or Mazda 2 with a full suite of security tech. The Ignis’s powertrain is keen, however a worth within the mid-$20okay vary for one thing with an atmo 1.2-litre can be a tricky promote.
In case you don’t need the final phrase in efficiency or security, the Ignis has loads of allure. It’s a genuinely distinctive little tallboy hatch – ah, sorry, SUV.
MORE: Everything Suzuki Ignis
Execs
- Most cabin house, minimal footprint
- Funky styling
- Keen, thrifty powertrain
Cons
- Value has climbed significantly
- No lively security tech or ANCAP ranking
- Service pricing on the upper aspect
Prime Line Specs
- Energy: 66kW
- Gasoline Kind: Premium Unleaded Petrol
- Financial system: 4.9L/100km
- CO2 Emissions: 114g/km
- ANCAP Security Ranking: Untested
