Maruti Ignis Long Term Review – First Report

Maruti Ignis Long Term Review

The design of the Ignis is definitely out of the box having a funky styling

I love the idea of using a small car for my daily travel because honestly there’s just too much traffic in Mumbai and it makes less sense to lug around a large car everywhere. While I have been using the Hyundai Elantra CRDI AT for my day-to-day trips, decided to try out the Ignis diesel MT for a while to see whether it is something that can be termed as a near-perfect city car. While I like small cars, I also like having a good equipment list and with automakers launching loaded variants of their small cars, it isn’t surprising to see hatchbacks with features that were once found in only C-segment sedans.

The minimal side body cladding and the flared wheel arches give the Ignis a crossover appeal

So one fine day, arrived a blue Maruti Ignis Alpha 1.3 MT with black alloys, roof and ORVMs. A lot of people find the Ignis’ styling quirky or ugly-looking but I personally really like the design and find it quite funky. Maruti offers tons of customisation options for the roof graphics, alloy wheels, ORVMs, interiors, etc. and I like the way our test car is specced. It doesn’t look over-the-top and still has a sporty essence to it. Visually, the Ignis is quite small in size, especially from the rear quarter angle.

The cabin is well-designed and looks fresh but isn’t roomy

I have driven the Ignis multiple times in the past and knew what to expect inside. Since ours is the Alpha trim, it comes loaded with all the features like automatic climate control, touchscreen SmartPlay infotainment system which gets Apple CarPlay, Voice Commands, etc. Overall, I’m impressed with the equipment list. The cabin itself is quite small and isn’t that spacious. The front seats are large but I found the cushioning to be very soft and this tends to get slightly uncomfortable over long drives. I have sat in the rear seat only once and there’s a reason why I didn’t get in back there again – decent space but limited comfort.