By 2022, India is set to be the most populous nation in the world. With close to 60% of the population below the age 35 years, India is on track to become the youngest nation in the world. Firms in the Indian market are keeping a watchful eye, particularly on the millennial generation. Generation Y as they are more popularly known, refer to the people who are born between 1980s to the early 2000s. Currently India has about 356 million people who are in the age bracket 20-35 years. All the players in the Indian automobile market are just waiting in the wings to capitalize on this segment. Maruti Suzuki has been a pioneer in the Indian market since a long time and is amongst the very few brands in the Indian market who know exactly what the Indian customers want and they seem to get their products spot on most of the times!
The Ignis, Maruti Suzuki’s latest offering
for India is one of the most anticipated cars of 2017. Car manufacturers the
world over are very keenly following the trend of crossovers or crossover
inspired styling. A crossover with respect to cars is a car platform made by
combining the features of an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) with the features of a
passenger vehicle. Being a hatchback crossover, the Ignis has an upright stance and looks all set to take on all the Indian
roads can throw at it! The first impression of the Ignis it seems the design team at Maruti, has taken the Wagon-R back to the drawing board and
made a more modern avatar of it. Though it may resemble the Wagon-R…….it is huge leap in design from
Maruti Suzuki. The front grille is bold and the neatly integrated LED headlamp
with DRLs encompassing them is a beautiful piece of car design. The cladding at
the front bumper, fenders and on the sides gives the car an SUV like look. The
slightly slanted roofline of the car integrated with the boot looks a bit
unorthodox to be honest especially for the Indian market. Nevertheless, it
gives the car a good character. The design of the Ignis is quite revolutionary for Indian customers in this
particular segment as they are quite used to more traditionally designed cars. The
Ignis is a real good blend of retro
and modern car design. The Maruti Suzuki Ignis
ticks all the correct boxes to be a real head turner. Also a unique and
neat touch is the 3 inclined lines in descending order at the C-pillar, giving
the Ignis a distinctive identity. Step
inside and one is welcomed by the Ignis nameplate,
giving the car a premium touch. The cabin is modern and quite spacious, like all
Maruti cars the Ignis is very practical.
The Ignis is loaded with tech and
features such as Apple CarPlay, Android
Auto, MirrorLink system etc. The new sporty steering wheel, switch controls for
the AC, infotainment touchscreen are just a few elements which make the cabin
feel a funky and nice place to be. The car is clearly designed keeping the
millennial in mind. Maruti has been quite generous with the space in the
backseat, the bench seat will allow for 3 passengers to sit comfortably. The
boot is decent as well, allowing for good vertical luggage storage. The black
alloy wheels also give a nice appeal to the car. The Igins is powered by the 1.2L K Series petrol unit and the Fiat
sourced 1.3L Multijet diesel engine. These 2 units have been very reliable and
are widely used across the Maruti range. Maruti could possibly introduce a 1.0L
Boosterjet petrol engine for the Ignis.
The transmission options will be a manual and an AMT (Automated Manual
Technology) for both petrol as well as diesel. There are options to customize
the interiors with an option of coloured door handles and different material
for surrounding the AC vents.
Having
a wide price range starting from Rs.4.59 lac – Rs.7 lac, Maruti has priced the Ignis very aggressively. With the
Mahindra KUV 100 and the Hyundai Grand i10 the closest competition the Ignis looks all set to take the market
by storm! The Ignis is just one of
those cars which either you love or you hate but you can definitely not ignore.
It will take some time for the Indian car buyer to warm up to the revolutionary
Ignis, but eventually it will be
successful. With the introduction of the Ignis,
Maruti has set the tone for the new age of cars for the urban modern
Indian. We are extremely excited by the Maruti Suzuki Ignis are you?
