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2017 Suzuki Ignis SZ5 Review – Suzuki’s Party Piece

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At Motor Verso we’ve been driving the newest Suzuki Ignis SZ5. Here’s what we think about the car after weekly of testing!

What’s The 2017 Suzuki Ignis SZ5 ABOUT?

Suzuki will always be a quietly innovative company – working away in the backdrop on new technology and suddenly surprising us with it on a fresh model. The Ignis is another of their surprise projects.

Our test car may be the top-spec SZ5 trim. Together with the standard features that i will detail later, in addition, it has automatic air-con, LED headlights, cruise control and Dual Camera Brake Support.

To begin with, the looks – and, well, consider it! It’s a city car, but with the styling characteristics of a crossover. So, chunky arches, tall dimensions, roof rails, raised ride height etc. For me personally, I’m quite literally split down the center. Starting at the front end end I’m pleased with it.

The Ignis comes with an extremely bold design featuring huge headlight clusters, which are surrounded by leading grille that spans the entire width of the automobile. Below that are front fog lights and less grille section, however the standout feature is that main grille, rendering it appear to be this car is wearing a significant amount of makeup.

Along the sides is where you could start to start to see the odd dimensions of the car. It’s all straight lines and incredibly much a ‘box with wheels’ approach.

Towards the trunk is where I’m not keen. From the trunk you can really start to see the tall, narrow dimensions and getting the wheels sticking out close to the bottom doesn’t compliment it an excessive amount of. The high ride height means you can observe almost all of the rear tyres too, even though this might assist in an off-road situation, on the highway it isn’t my favourite angle.

At the trunk you’ll also find 3 slits in the trunk quarter panel – Suzuki enthusiasts will recognise these as just a little tribute to the 1970’s Suzuki WhizzKid. That car was seriously quirky, to help you see where in fact the Ignis gets it’s charm from.

However, each one of these bold lines and boxy dimensions imply that in a crowd, the Ignis does indeed stand out. This is a real head turner as I then found out when driving it through town – people do stop and appearance! And for that, I could respect the funky looks of the Ignis.

Beneath the bonnet, oddly you merely have one selection of engine. The Ignis has a 1.2-litre 4-cylinder Dualjet petrol unit, pushing out 90hp and offering CO2 emissions of 104g/km. You’ll also get 61 MPG from it. Getting the Ignis with only 1 engine choice is a strange move, but Suzuki have a few aces up their sleeves.

In the SZ5 trim, Suzuki provide Ignis with a hybrid system. Clever, right? Suzuki call it the SHVS mild hybrid system. The acronym means Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki. This is of ‘mild-hybrid’ is that it isn’t a complete hybrid system. You can’t plug the Ignis right into a charger, and you can’t run it on electricity alone.

It works utilizing a small 48 volt system that assists the engine with acceleration and recovering energy from engine braking and coasting. The machine is linked to the engine, so will not drive the wheels. It doesn’t improve performance figures either, nonetheless it does lower the emissions, smart Suzuki.

The other ace, is that the SZ5 Ignis can be available with Suzuki’s ALLGRIP 4WD system, which ours is. The only other car in this class compared to that may be the Fiat Panda. Is it possible to feel the 4WD when driving the automobile? No, but at least we realize what this is increasing against.

In SZ5 trim the Ignis brings the price to £14,700, which for a top-spec, 4WD, roomy hybrid car, is value anyway. For a lesser spec you’ll be looking at prices beginning with only £10,200.

How Does It Drive?

By looking at the Suzuki Ignis you ought to be able to tell that is no performance machine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. Where it certainly shines is on a couple of scales. The Ignis only weighs 870kg, so despite having that 4WD system this is a seriously lightweight car. And driving the automobile, you can feel it – when accelerating, the automobile stays level and can carry you from 0-60 in 11.4 seconds. So yeah it’s not fast.

Another small niggle for me personally may be the driving position. Because of the crossover styling, the Ignis offers you a higher driving position which is okay in town, this means you have significantly more of a vantage point over other city car drivers. However, I finished up having the seat only possible quite often. But I’m used to being in a smaller, lower car.

Among the first things you see when taking the Ignis out onto country lanes, may be the numbness of the steering. Through the wheel you can’t feel any bumps or vibrations and feedback from leading wheels feels somewhat muted generally. It also doesn’t appear to have any weight to it and doesn’t make an effort to fight to it’s original position when cornering. The easiest method to describe it might be like a gaming. I was a bit disappointed focusing on how good the Suzuki Swift is from when driving.

Despite this, it can have some fun in it. Because of it being so lightweight, it darts around bends easily. Couple this with a nifty little throw in the shifter and everything accumulates nicely.

From the lanes though, around is where in fact the Ignis reaches home. Those big square windows and skinny A-Pillars mean visibility forwards also to the side is great – however the car does suffer at the trunk with blind spots where that quarter panel slopes on both sides. To counter that though, you have the reversing camera.

Moving through town, what you’ll notice rapidly may be the amount of lock you have in leading wheels. It looks like you’re turning the wheel forever before wheels lock, it truly is best for manoeuvring in and out of tight spots. The Ignis boasts an extraordinary turning circle of only 9.4m.

When you’re rolling along, there is truly a fair little bit of tech in the Ignis assisting you out. You’ve got systems like keyless entry and begin, tyre pressure moniters, ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), Hill Holding and Dual Camera Brake Support.

That last feature utilises two cameras mounted near the top of the windscreen to warn the driver of a possible oncoming collision. It’ll warn you via notifications on the instrument cluster and a buzzer, and if it detects an elevated risk of collision, it’ll automatically apply the brakes for you personally. The Ignis really wants to keep you safe.

What’s It Like Inside?

Stepping in to the Suzuki Ignis, the very first thing you notice may be the two-tone dash. This will most likely split opinion, but I that can compare with it. This, combined with the orange accents, funky door handles and a variety of different shapes really provides interior some character.

Looking more closely you’ll see that those 3 slits from the trunk quarter-panel make another appearance on the transmission tunnel and both USB sockets. These ended up being very helpful and I am very impressed that they come as standard in the Ignis.

In the boot, the Ignis offers you 260 litres to play with. But, this is often raised because of some rather clever back seats. They are able to both be slid back and forward independently, providing you the decision of boot space, or passenger space with respect to the situation. Both rear seats fold forwards, and will be reclined. So with everything folded away and the Ignis packed to the roof, you have over 1,000 litres of luggage space. Again, very clever from Suzuki.

Being so boxy provides Suzuki Ignis a clear advantage over its rivals regarding passenger space. In advance both driver and passenger have plenty of leg and headroom and in the trunk, because of those sliding seats and straight roof, the Ignis can simply carry two adults with plenty of leg room and what feels as though infinite headroom.

Where in fact the Ignis falls short inside is that infotainment system. As you can plainly see it’s actually an aftermarket Pioneer system and for me personally, really doesn’t fit the automobile. It almost reminds me of something you’d find in a modified car back 2003. It’s not difficult to use and it can feature phone connectivity such as for example Apple Carplay and Android Auto, nonetheless it was a bit slow and jerky. I’d have preferred Suzuki’s own system, that you’d find in the S-Cross or Swift. This might put in a bit on the high cost but it will probably be worth it.

Overall although interior is a nice, comfortable and bright spot to be.

THE KNOWLEDGE

The Ignis certainly does offer an interesting experience. Completely from that quirky styling compared to that innovative mild-hybrid system. It has a lot of tricks up its sleeve and I believe it will surprise lots of people.

Verdict

As the Suzuki Ignis could be disappointed a bit by it’s driving characteristics, it a lot more than makes up for this in practicality, economy and general spirit. The automobile packs a whole lot of character and I could happily recommend this brilliantly boxy car to anyone who wants something that’s a bit beyond your box.

Video Review

2017 Suzuki Ignis SZ5