[Vid6639]

There is something wrong with the japanese and korean manufacturers off late. They are getting the specs of variants all wrong. The market is shifting to automatics and the manufacturers are reluctant in offering top end models with AT in lower segment but in higher segment it's the opposite. This is plain stupid.

It's like telling the buyer, you can't afford top end with all features + AT so we aren't even going to give it to you.

What's even more stupid is that they are doing this with premium Nexa offering and that too with an AMT. The AMT is only 55K more than MT and that's nothing short of stupidity if they think a buyer can't shell out 55K more for an AMT Alpha spec.

I can understand the Baleno as the CVT is an additional 1.2 lakhs over the MT but not having the AMT ignis in Alpha trim is inexplicable.

[shankar.balan]

My Dad and I test drove the Ignis today. I think it is the perfect little car in many ways.

Plus Points:
Great height and commanding view of the road.
Nice high seating position with very comfy seats.
Decent horn, not one of those "dying goat" type horns
Plenty of headroom for a tall person.
Excellent Ingress and Egress.
Nice peppy little engine.
AMT works brilliantly.
Lovely turning radius.
Good looking black Alloy wheels.
Ride quality is excellent on tarmac as well as on a hard, bumpy dirt track which the Nexa chap insisted we drive on, to see how it feels! Truly the ride was excellent irrespective of the surface.
Nice looking car. Two tone paint etc, makes for a happy looking presence!

I believe this can be the perfect little car for the city (mainly) with the occasional highway drive. It definitely feels peppier and more settled than the I20 for sure. Feels like a more powerful engine overall, in terms of performance.
Saying that, it could also be that there was no real load in the car with only the three of us, my Dad, me and the Nexa person sitting in the car when we drove it.
The price is very good at 8 odd lacs for the Zeta AMT on road. Not bad at all, in my book.

Minus Points:
Yes, the steering feels so light, like "air", that it is almost as if there is no steering at all. Very very dicey if one is used to a well weighted steering like I am in my Yeti. However, this can be lived with since the point of comparison is the I20, whose steering is also very light and doesn't feel very connected with anything.
AMT is not available in the Top Spec Alpha version which I think is really silly.
The tyres are of 175 size on 15 inch alloys. These definitely can do with a larger size or two, maybe 195 size or perhaps even 205 size which will fill the wheel arches nicely.
A very high luggage loading lip means it will be a bit of a pain to heft suitcases into the car - like the Swift, in some sense.
No armrest for the front though there are a number of cubby holes.
The space at the rear with a tall person in the driving seat, is pretty tight. Saying that, even the I20 has the same issue of space in the rear though it is slightly bigger than the Ignis.
Disadvantage is that in the Ignis, unlike the I20, one cannot fold and roll over the seats to create a flat luggage bay. It is more like the Swift in terms of luggage capacity.
And yes, the I20 is a segment higher than the Ignis overall. No doubt about that!
The Ignis doesn't have a nice infotainment system in the Zeta variant and nor does it have climate control and reverse camera/ sensors etc, all of which the I20 has.
The Zeta doesn't have even the driver side seat height adjustment so it is no point in expecting it to have passenger side seat height adjustment!

The places where the Ignis stands out against the I20 - and Im only comparing these because I was seriously thinking of replacing the I20 with the Ignis for my parents.

1. Engine is far peppier and doesn't wheeze while overtaking.
2. AMT transmission which is absolutely lovely for the city.
3. Height of the vehicle overall and great views around
4. Ease of Ingress/ Egress
5. Top class ride quality with great suspension.
6. Quirky looks

In all other respects the I20 is a better package.

While my Dad really liked the Ignis in many ways, he is still comparing the features there are in the I20 vis a vis the Ignis and that may very well be the tipping point for him.

Now if these Maruti fellows would give us the Ignis in its top spec Alpha variant and add in the CVT AT Transmission or even the AMT in that variant, plus all the other frills and bells and whistles of the Alpha version and even price it at 9 lacs on road, it will be a worthwhile buy. If such a variant were available, I would buy it and I would only make one change - upsize the tyres immediately.

Else it is a really lovely little car!

[rahul412]

Originally Posted by Seahorse

Congrats bro, I am going to get my Zeta AMT in Single Tone colour in next week hopefully. Whether basic accessories package from Nexa mandatory? It seems too costly though. I am planning for black side mouldings and roof spoiler in same color.

No its not mandatory, if you insist they will remove it. However I still went ahead and took it. Quality seemed decent enough with mats having the word Ignis printed on them. Side moulding is very costly @4.6k.

Do check the tyre pressure immediately after taking delivery. In my car it was around 45, filled the tyres with Nitrogen with company recommended 36(front) and 32(rear). Ride has become even more smooth and planted now.

[KD007]

Did a short quick test drive of zeta amt petrol. My wife who drove initially spoke about ride quality as in road humps, bumps and unevenness being felt inside the cabin. I felt it in the back seat too. Did anyone else feel it too?
Loved the power and amt mating in the short drive.
Exterior will grow upon you specially the blue white dual tone.
Interiors I didn't like it much though don't hate it too.

[desideep]

Originally Posted by rahul412

Thank you so much. Yes its red n black dual tone manual, I dont like automatic as I feel its a lazy man's stuff (no offence intended).

Light I can understand but its devoid of any weight whatsoever, you can drive it with your little finger.

I got the side moulding installed for 4.5k (expensive I know but couldn't resist). I also opted for basic accessories package for 6.9k and I was given doormats, numberplate base, mobile charger, boot mat, steering cover and couple of cushions (again slightly expensive but ok).

Display meter showing a mileage of 16kmpl (too early to measure I know).

Attaching couple of pics (pardon the poor quality).

Hi Rahul, congrats for the new car.
by any chance is this back side of Dwarka Nexa? are you in Dwarka?

[rahul412]

Originally Posted by desideep

Hi Rahul, congrats for the new car.
by any chance is this back side of Dwarka Nexa? are you in Dwarka?

Thanks and yes you got this absolutely right, this is indeed the back side of Dwarka Nexa and yes I am from dwarka as well (guess you too are).

[shibujp]

Got a chance to walk around the Ignis in person. TD car was not available though.

I like what I saw and experienced. Design wise I think it is a youthful design and has the capability to go where the Swift did. It is not a extremely spacious car but I did not feel a lack of space either. The leg room is pretty impressive. The shoulder room makes it best for 2 people at the rear but yes you can fit in three at a stretch. Even with the drivers seat adjusted to my height (5'11'') I had great leg room, more than my old Swift by a large extent.

On the rear seats, one thing that I did not appreciate is that the seat is not profiled and is a flat slab. I dislike the Baleno in this respect as well. Well, it certainly aids packing in bodies though.

I saw the Zeta variant as they did not have an Alpha variant available. Based on images posted earlier I had concerns about the finish of the central infotainment panel and the AC controls. Yes they look much better and sophisticated in the Alpha but are fine in look and finish. I am especially looking forward to see the toggle controls in the Alpha.


I am in the group that love the side profile on the Ignis.


The rear is where the wheel arch looks excessively fat. Makes the tyres look puny. I really liked the quality of the black cladding though. Has a small appendage that seems to be some kind of mud protection.

The rear hatch is so much better shaped in terms of ease of loading luggage compared to the Baleno.


Opening the bonnet I noticed that the exhaust manifold was very poorly finished compared to the rest of the engine.

Here is the on road price list of the Ignis in Trivandrum. 7.9 Lakhs for the Dual Tone manual Alpha. While the Baleno Alpha looks much more VFM at 8.5 Lakhs OTR my take is that both target different categories of buyers and given the fact that there are a lot of firsts like LED headlamps, great AVN, good interiors and decent boot space I feel the pricing is spot on. If space is priority the Baleno should be a much better buy.




Drive on,
Shibu.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

My Dad and I test drove the Ignis today. I think it is the perfect little car in many ways.

....

Pardon my ignorance, but are you referring here to the Petrol or Diesel?

How would you compare the driveablity of AMT on the petrol and diesel (if you have driven both) ?

[roushan84]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Pardon my ignorance, but are you referring here to the Petrol or Diesel?

How would you compare the driveablity of AMT on the petrol and diesel (if you have driven both) ?

With 8 lac OTR, my bet is that he is talking about Diesel

By the way, I would love to hear comparison between petrol and diesel AMT. Having taken a TD of Petrol AMT where head bob was quite apparent when driven heavy foot, It would be interesting to see it on Diesel. Specially on 1,2 and 3 gears.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by roushan84

With 8 lac OTR, my bet is that he is talking about Diesel

8L otr is actually for the petrol Zeta AMT. The diesel AMT is well over 9 on road.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

8L otr is actually for the petrol Zeta AMT. The diesel AMT is well over 9 on road.

Ohh Dear!! 9L+ for this car? That's i20 territory! Guess we need to start a new thread on "which is the most overpriced car sold (successfully) in India"

Govt should impose higher tax on people buying this car

[roushan84]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

8L otr is actually for the petrol Zeta AMT. The diesel AMT is well over 9 on road.

Which city are you talking about?

At Gurgaon, I was quoted 8.60lac OTR for Zeta AMT and 7.30lac for Delta AMT.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Pardon my ignorance, but are you referring here to the Petrol or Diesel?



How would you compare the driveablity of AMT on the petrol and diesel (if you have driven both) ?

We are looking only at the Petrol variant for my folks.
We test drove the petrol Zeta AMT.

[Dr.Naren]

I drove Ignis 1.2 Petrol Alpha today. Dealer has finally started providing TD from today at Mangalore. Diesel TD car was still not available.

Interiors of Alpha looks way better than lower variants, thanks to cockpit inspired design. I immediately fell in love with that unique Auto AC console. Car is very spacious inside and seats are comfortable. Front seats are bucket type and has good support.

Engine note was same as my Baleno petrol. I felt the accelerator pedal to be slightly "heavier". It was not smooth like my Baleno. Clutch was on lighter side and felt very good to drive in city. This is a perfect premium city car. Performance felt marginally better than my Baleno 1.2 petrol, thanks to lighter weight. Stability was also suprsingly good for such a light weight car. When I braked at 90 KMPH, tyres did screech.

Baleno is very well priced and even lower variants are pretty well loaded. This makes Ignis look over priced. Even top end Alpha misses out on leather steering cover, telescopic steering and front arm rest. Ignis should have been priced at least 50k lesser. Few variants ( mostly Alpha) are available for immediate delivery. So, what's the hype about so many bookings and long waiting period? I was thinking if I should replace my Grand I10 with Ignis. Now, I know the answer. I prefer New Figo diesel as a better option

[rahul412]

Originally Posted by KD007

Did a short quick test drive of zeta amt petrol. My wife who drove initially spoke about ride quality as in road humps, bumps and unevenness being felt inside the cabin. I felt it in the back seat too. Did anyone else feel it too?
Loved the power and amt mating in the short drive.
Exterior will grow upon you specially the blue white dual tone.
Interiors I didn't like it much though don't hate it too.

Regarding ride quality am sure the Tyre pressure in the test drive vehicle must be 45-56 PSI. I had felt the same too after taking delivery of my car,brought it down to co. recommended 36 and 32 & ride immediately became planted & balanced. I am actually now loving the ride quality as I never expected it to be so smooth and stable.