Mileage: 6,510
Economy: 54.5mpg
You might think that running the smallest car on our test fleet could be a challenge with a family of four – including two teenage sons – but that’s really not the case. While our appetite for long weekends away and the occasional need to do some heavy lifting sounds like it would catch out our little Suzuki Ignis, it has more than managed all that we’ve thrown at it.
My family loves the quirky city car’s red paint, black grille and chrome details. It may divide opinion, but the Ignis is characterful and the boxy shape means there’s more space than you might think inside.
The Suzuki has also enabled me to start teaching my eldest son George to drive in a car with sensible power and acceleration. You can read George’s opinion in the panel (right), but from a (slightly nervous) father’s point of view, it is keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground. The 1.2-litre petrol is powerful enough to navigate city traffic, but still appropriate for George to learn with.
The Ignis comes with autonomous emergency braking, which warns of an impending collision and applies the brakes if the driver doesn’t respond quickly enough. I’ve tried similar systems on Suzukis I’ve run in the past and found them a little over-sensitive and irritating on the Vitara and Baleno, but the Japanese company seems to have fixed that with the Ignis.
In addition, the car features six airbags (should the worst happen) and even the satellite navigation map has a speed sign symbol that turns red should George stray over the limit while out on a lesson.
Despite all the clever gadgets which are included as standard, the Suzuki is also reassuringly simple to learn to drive in. It has a proper ‘pull-up’ handbrake, which is great for hill starts and at junctions, especially as we live at the top of a hill.
Visibility when driving is also excellent, mostly due to the boxy shape of the cabin and the upright windscreen. A nice large rear view mirror and a parking camera make reversing especially easy.
I underestimated the car’s practicality at first, but after finding that a dining table wouldn’t fit through the tailgate of a supposedly larger car on our fleet, I was forced to use the Suzuki. The table slid straight into the Ignis due to the remarkably high roofline and wide hatch. We’ve never had any real problem fitting luggage for four people into the car for weekends away, including tents and associated gear for a camping adventure in Wales this year.
Those trips on motorways have also aided the fuel figures: we have managed 54.5mpg so far after just over 3,250 miles.
Suzuki Ignis: first report
Mileage: 4,980
Economy: 48.2mpg
Having previously run a VW Passat Estate and had a brief stint in a Citroen C4 Picasso, I thought it might be fun to downsize. But switching to the Suzuki Ignis isn’t all about me seeing if I can live without the big load capacities to which I’ve become accustomed. It also gives me the perfect opportunity to teach my 17-year-old son George to drive in a more sensibly sized car.
Over the coming months George will also be reporting on how he finds his driving experience in the pocket-sized Suzuki – just not for a little while yet. He needs to complete 10 lessons before he’s allowed behind the wheel of the Ignis.
I was as excited as him about trying the car. I’m a big fan of the exterior styling, as the wraparound front lights and chrome grille look sporty, while the high roofline and angled C-pillars remind me of those Penny Racer toys from the eighties.
Our 1.2 DualJet SHVS mild hybrid four-wheel-drive model gets 16-inch black alloys, silver roof rails and black privacy glass, all of which make it look even more pumped up. I like the red paint, too, although I’ve seen a few examples in white that look even better. Love it or loathe it, the Ignis has real character.
While the styling is an acquired taste, it’s not until you get inside this exceptionally clever little car that you realise why it’s designed the way it is. Impressive practicality tempers the scaled-down SUV styling, with every inch of room used. Four adults can fit inside with ease, and even tall occupants get plenty of leg and headroom. The expected pay-off would be a tiny boot, but I can fit four large shopping bags in the 204-litre load bay – although the rear diff on this 4WD model does reduce the capacity by 56 litres. If that’s not enough space, the split rear bench can be individually adjusted to slide back and forth.
Despite having had the car for only a short period, my wife Dawn and I have already put nearly 2,000 miles on the clock, with plenty of day trips and a couple of long weekends away. Packing has never been a problem, while George and his younger brother Harry have plenty of rear room and have remarked on how they’ve felt more cramped in bigger cars. As usual Suzuki has included loads of tech as standard, so the boys are happy playing music through the Bluetooth audio system, while charging their phones via the twin USB sockets.
However, it’s not all smooth running for the Ignis. Some of the trim feels fairly cheap, which is perhaps to be expected when this top-spec SZ5 4WD ‘hybrid’ costs only £14,249.
Another downside is the rough ride. The boys sit almost over the back wheels, and the car is uncomfortably bumpy in town. In fact, despite that SUV stance, speed bumps must be carefully negotiated. In contrast, motorway travel is a much smoother affair, with the car returning 48.2mpg over mixed conditions.
I’ve found my first few months with the youthful Ignis a lot of fun. Now I’m looking forward to hearing George’s opinion.
*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.
- Model: Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Dualjet SHVS SZ5 ALLGRIP
- On fleet since: April 2017
- Engine: 1.2-litre 4cyl petrol
- Power: 89bhp
- CO2/tax: 106g/km/£140
- Options: Fervent Red paint (£0)
- Insurance*: Group: 18 Quote: £540
- Mileage/mpg: 6,510/54.5mpg
- Any problems?: None so far
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