Driven: Suzuki Ignis 1.2 GLX
Suzuki has built an impressive reputation in South Africa for selling good cars at an even better price. However, they’ve only recently added a fun and edgy dynamic to their personality and we got to drive one of the cars that started it all – the Suzuki Ignis.
Design
The design of the Suzuki Ignis is undoubtedly one of its highlights. Whether you love it or hate it, the Ignis oozes personality and managed to creep its way into my heart after driving it for only a few minutes. The cute face of the Ignis is made up of a neat chrome-accented grille nestled between a pair of daytime running LED headlights, which are included in the GLX model along with wheel arch extensions, halogen fog lamps, roof rails and electrically folding mirrors. The Ignis also offers good value from its standard equipment, such as body coloured front and rear bumpers and door handles, and electrically adjustable body coloured side mirrors. The GLX model is equipped with 15-inch alloy wheels and is also available in six exterior colours, with two of those colours available with a contrasting roof.
The urban hatchback is 3700mm long, 1690mm wide and 1595mm tall. I am 1.9-meters tall, so I was rather apprehensive about how comfortable it would be to drive the Ignis. I hopped in, adjusted my seat and steering and I was good to go. The small appearance of the car really disguises the amount of space that’s available inside. I managed to fit four adults into the Ignis, including myself, with no hassle. Just like the exterior, the interior offers just as many colour combinations to express your individuality while also offering a generous amount of standard kit. Power steering, electric windows, central locking and air conditioning are all standard on the Ignis, while the GLX adds a multifunction steering wheel, keyless entry and start, rear view camera, a chrome gear knob and rear parking sensors to this list.
The layout of the interior is functional, but retains a bit of playful nature. The standard infotainment interface includes CD, MP3, USB and Bluetooth support but for a bit more you could spec your Ignis with a touchscreen display that also includes smartphone link, providing access to smartphone apps like Apple CarPlay.
Performance
The Suzuki Ignis 1.2 GLX is powered by a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 61kW of power and 113Nm of torque. This allows the Ignis to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 11.6-seconds before reaching its top speed of 168km/h. Power is sent through a 5-speed manual gearbox before reaching the front wheels. The Ignis is not quick, but what it lacks in performance, it makes up for in efficiency. Weighing in at just 850kg, the Ignis is super-light, and this means that it doesn’t need to burn a lot of petrol to get it moving. Suzuki claims that the Ignis will do 5.1-litres/100km and I actually got very close to that figure during my test period – 5.2-litres/100km. The Ignis proved to be a fun drive but there were situations where I felt the steering to be too light, prompting me to correct the wheel a few more times than I would have liked to. The clutch pedal was also a bit tricky to figure out. I did find the brakes to be very good, and the small turning circle was an added bonus.
Pricing
Suzuki Ignis 1.2 5MT GLX – R177,900
