Car Review: Suzuki Ignis

The oddest little thing on, or off, the road

There isn’t anything that looks like this Ignis on the road today

I am such a sad old thing that faced with the distinctive styling of the latest generation Suzuki Ignis my mind will race back through four decades of car designs to recognise the styling cues. In this case it’s that kicked-up line on the rear windows, the three deep grooves on the upper back wings, plus the chunky rear lights. All were first seen on the now almost forgotten (except by the likes of me) Suzuki SC100, nicknamed and marketed as the Suzuki “Whizzkid” coupe of about 1979.

That was a mental sort of machine, tiny and with the engine slung round the back. It was cute and cool. Suzuki’s stylists obviously also have long memories, and are enjoying an unusually ardent love affair with retro. As Japanese as manga anyway (although they assemble the model in India as well as Japan).

The Ignis is also a cute and cool car, and as lively to pilot as any other Suzuki, even the Whizzkid. Like Honda, and maybe because of its origins in motorbikes, Suzuki likes to make high revving motors that invite you to have a little bit of fun even on the dreariest of journeys. Well apart from the diesels that turn up in their bigger 4x4s.

Every generation of the Suzuki Swift Sport, for example, is a minor performance classic and this new Ignis has the same sort of spirit. I wish more people would consider acquiring a Suzuki, a brand that has managed to sustain its reputation for reliability and quality when so many much bigger, grander names in the business have seen theirs tarnished.

The spec

Price: £11,964 (range starts at £9,999)
Engine capacity: 1.2-litre petrol, 4 cyl; 5-speed gearbox
Power output (PS @ rpm): 90@6,000
Top speed (mph): 106
0-62 mph (seconds): 12.2
Fuel economy (mpg): 61.4
CO2 emissions (g/km): 104

The other half of the secret of the driveability of the Ignis is that it is lightweight. It’s a case of plastics rather than carbon fibre or aluminium replacing heavier steel, of course, but no matter. It’s only 810kg, very trim by modern standards.

The downside is that this lightness, the slabby sides and tall posture make it a bit more vulnerable than most to side winds on a blustery day. So you have to concentrate a little more at sped, but that’s all.

The Ignis is a cute and cool car, and as lively to pilot as any other Suzuki

I also have some high hopes for the car’s durability. The engine is reassuringly straightforward in design, in contrast to some turbo- and super-charged, or both, competitors where repairs and maintenance could become expensive. I noted that there are manual wind-up windows in the back, another plus, and the soft suspension and good ground clearance will also keep you in comfort and out of trouble for the life of the vehicle.

The Ignis also comes as a permanent four-wheel drive model, and would suit those who have to navigate narrow country lanes very well. In both two- and four- wheel drive versions there’s a an automatic option, and the front-drive only type can also be specified in “mild hybrid” form, with a small lithium-ion battery supplanting the petrol (only) engine when required.

There isn’t anything that looks like the Ignis on the road today, few cars match it for its conventional and reliable mechanical set-up, and none, at this size, its all-terrain capability (apart from Suzuki’s own niche min-jeep, the Jimny). As I say, Suzuki’s tend to be overlooked, and they have often been lumbered with painfully dull styling. Not this one, though. This one is a bit of a whizzkid.