Rob Maetzig
The Suzuki Ignis is back – but instead of being the conventional micro hatchback of old, now it is a hip little crossover with retro styling. files.
The people at Suzuki New Zealand are describing the new Ignis as a super compact SUV. So does that mean the new model is super? Or compact?
Maybe both. What they are actually saying is that this vehicle is the smallest SUV around. In fact the Suzuki NZ people are claiming that the little 3.7m-long, 1.2-litre Ignis stands alone in a brand-new category within the SUV segment – which they have entitled Light SUV.
And that tells the story of what the Ignis is all about. Instead of it being just another small hatchback like the previous Ignis sold in New Zealand, this time around it presents as the most diminutive crossover on the Kiwi new vehicle market. Much smaller than the likes of the Mazda CX-3, Mitsubishi ASX or its sibling the Suzuki Vitara, but still fitting into the SUV genre all the same.
How? Well, it might be frontwheel drive rather than all-wheel drive (although Suzuki NZ is in discussion with Japan to get an AWD version), but it does have a 180mm ground clearance, and high seating hip points for good visibility. So even though it is only little, it’s an SUV, OK?
And it is an interesting one, too. One reason is that its body design is quite retrospective, particularly around the rear where the bodywork features three strakes that are reminder of the well-known little Suzuki Fronte of the 1970s that had cooling vents for its rear-mounted two-stroke engine.
Ignis also boasts a cute looking front end with headlights harking back to another well-known Suzuki from the past, the firstgeneration Cervo. Blacked-out A and B pillars are inherited from the Swift, while a clamshellshaped bonnet and guard garnish reference the original 1988 Vitara.
The interior is just as interesting. It features a lot of white thanks to a two-tone colour scheme, and this can be personalised with blue, grey, orange or red colour accents on the lower centre console, door