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Got it done from Car Reflections, Bhosari. Google Maps location below.

https://goo.gl/maps/JjudFtERRMxuP8Ly7

Hi there everyone. Sorry for not being proactive on this thread, blame it on my workload.
As I have mentioned earlier, i am in the market for our second car, mainly a city car and occasional highway runs. Ignis was our first choice since last year. Spoiled by the launch of Jimny, i got distracted. Now I have come back to my senses and decided need to buy a hatchback and narrowed it down to Ignis and Tiago. Spent hours and many test drives deciding between the two. Loved the road manners of the tiago and its ride quality is unparalleled. But finally decided to go with the Ignis, because the engine+gearbox combo is insanely good, better looking than tiago and peace of mind on owning a Maruti.

Now I had decided on going ahead with the booking, visit Nexa to talk to the SA, and I see a Baleno Delta on the showroom floor. Enquired, and I was shocked with the price difference in Bangalore. Here the Ignis Zeta MT is 8.76L on-road. While Baleno Delta MT is just below 9L. both have around 20K discounts. Now I'm completely confused and I require your expert help.

1) Baleno seems like a significant upgrade, interior and exterior when compared to ignis. Feels like night and day.
2) Ride quality was better(for me) in the Baleno, felt plusher in bad roads, while Ignis was not so great.
3) Some features are missing in the delta Variant in Baleno compared to the zeta in Ignis and I'm ok with it.
4) The price difference is very less, baffled by the fact that the Ignis has gotten so expensive in less than 6 months.
5) The self centring steering issue is not present in the Baleno, while noticeable in Ignis (still not as bad as in a Celerio)

Request the ignis owners to help me here on the following points
1) I know that Ignis might be the better city car amongst the two, but will it be that much better compared to a Baleno?
2) Will there be a significant change in fuel efficiency between the two? The SA says the Baleno is almost and sometimes more efficient than the Ignis as it has the dualjet engine. Is this true? We already have a crossover with bad FE, so good FE is a must.
3) I'm planning not to buy extended warranty for either cars, Is this a good idea? Reason being we had three Maruti suzuki cars for around 15 yrs and none of them had any major issues.
3) Considering the price difference, is Baleno a better offering compared to an Ignis?

I will be posting the same in the Baleno thread, sorry for the cross-posting, because I'm extremely confused and I need all the help.

I'm literally spending sleepless nights and need to book a car immediately. All suggestions are welcome.

We bought a Ignis Zeta variant a few months back, around 7.5lac on road mumbai.
Primary requirements were to be used as a city car mainly for parents , so ease of getting in and out for senior citizens was a important criteria.
Apart from the above, higher ground clearance is the only criteria where i believe ignis is better then the Baleno.

Fuel efficiency of both the vehicles is almost same, ignis gives me as low as 8-9kmpl in B2B traffic and seen upto 23kmpl on highway cruising.

Ride quality is definitely stiffer in ignis, more prominent particularly at the rear, baleno is better in this regards i believe.

Interiors and overall comfort baleno definetly better then ignis, for the price difference you mentioned its a nobrainer baleno.

Having said that, Ignis is still a great city vehicle, fast and nimble in the city traffic, good all round visibility, great sounding engine and i personally feel it looks cute.

1) I know that Ignis might be the better city car amongst the two, but will it be that much better compared to a Baleno?

The older K12B is more fun to drive than the K12N of the Baleno, there is no doubt about that. You can yourself test drive both cars back to back to understand the performance difference. The K12N is more tuned towards Fuel efficiency.

2) Will there be a significant change in fuel efficiency between the two? The SA says the Baleno is almost and sometimes more efficient than the Ignis as it has the dualjet engine. Is this true? We already have a crossover with bad FE, so good FE is a must.

Both should offer similar Fuel efficiency figures. K12N has also better engine NVH than the K12B of the Ignis, and its eerly silent. The Ignis sounds a bit sporty at high RPMs.

3) I'm planning not to buy extended warranty for either cars, Is this a good idea? Reason being we had three Maruti suzuki cars for around 15 yrs and none of them had any major issues.

Its almost always best to buy Extended Warranty, whether you are buying a Maruti or a Skoda.

3) Considering the price difference, is Baleno a better offering compared to an Ignis?

Let me make it simple. As the *only* car in the house and a family car, the Baleno makes much more sense, with more space, better ride quality etc. However, if this is your second car OR you need a car with high ground clearence and ease of ingress and egress, the Ignis is a better choice owning to its better performance, better ground clearence, and being much more nimble and easy to manoever in crowded city traffic, while missing out on space, ride quality and "snob" value of the Baleno.

In the end, we are comparing a B segment hatchback with a premium hatchback, so the final decision should be based on the requirements for specific use case and the consideration of "needs" and "wants".

I am using ignis for the past five years. It's a perfect companion on city roads. Its good gc and nimble nature, driveability, small footprint, and good visibility make it perfect on city roads. However, if the requirement is for family and prominently for back seat usage and boot space, Baleno is a better option. I am using both cars and prefer the ignis more, as it's fun and engaging to drive. My ignis has completed 70k kilometers now and it was a great journey

Back in 2018, when I was hunting a car to replace my aging Santro Xing (I was 3rd owner), I instantly fell in love with the Ignis after a short spin in a friend's car. I did discuss this with my dad and he was pushing me for a slightly bigger car. Finally when we visited the Nexa dealer, we sat in a Baleno delta that was on display, to get an idea of the ergonomics. The moment I sat on the driver's seat I realised the dashboard is placed way to high inspite of me being 5'11". This would give me trouble while driving in bumper to bumper traffic and while parking in tight spots. Even the SA highlighted the exact 2 points and told me that Ignis would be a better choice due to a slightly commanding seating position. At this point, even my dad said let's book the Ignis. If these 2 issues don't bother you, then you can go ahead with Baleno. But yes, for majorly city use the practicality of the Ignis is just too good.

As for the steering issue, even I faced it but it was automatically resolved after the 2nd service although it autocorrects only upto 75-80%. Hope this helps to solve your dilemma.

We own a 2017 Baleno Delta and last year bought Ignis Sigma. I have used both cars for my errands and Delhi-Noida commute as well.
1) Ignis is a better city car but not by a huge margin, Baleno is much better in seating comfort, noise insulation, cabin space etc. Meanwhile, Ignis has better pickup and better seating position.
2) As per my observation, they have given pretty much the same efficiency. Ignis is lighter and thus has more pickup, it is fun to drive and you loose fuel efficiency whenever you floor the pedal. I can't say about dual jet Baleno but I don't think it'll be a stark difference. Given that Baleno is heavier, it won't return that higher efficiency to affect your buying decision.
3) Ignis at 9L isn't worth it, better get Baleno Delta as it's your only car at home.
P.S we didn't get extended warranty for both of our cars either.

Thanks for sharing your experience. we had a Santro xing for 16 years and have a jazz manual now. as a person who has driven both of them and the baleno and has plans to buy the ignis amt, I was wondering how similar is the suspension of xing and the ignis? the santro as far as i remember was very bouncy in the back and speed breakers always threw people in the backseat. my test drive with ignis kind of reminded me that. Ignis was also bouncy in the back. speed breakers made it worse. this is make or break to buy ignis for me. can you please share your experience on that part.

The suspension in the ignis is stiff. The front suspension is comfortable. But rear is just too stiff. You have to navigate speed breakers with caution. While suspension will not bottom out, the rear passengers gets tossed around if you go fast over a speed breaker. I have not driven baleno much. But the suspension is the swift is much more comfortable over speed breakers.

This gives Ignis very good highway manners at ~100kmph speed. In general the Ignis is more of a drivers car when compared to the swift/baleno. The front seats are really good in terms of space, comfort, seating position, visibility and even touch points. But rear seat is small, narrow, and bouncy.

I purchased a BS6 Ignis Zeta AMT in Bangalore for 8.5L in October 2022 with ZERO discounts and insurance taken from showroom.

October 2022 bangalore ex showroom Prices of Baleno and Ignis were as below:
Ignis Zeta MT : 6,47,000
Ignis Zeta AMT : 6,97,000

Baleno Delta MT : 7,33,000
Baleno Delta AMT : 7,83,000

Difference between Baleno delta and Ignis Delta was 90K in October 2022. Ignis MT had cash discounts, while Ignis AMT and Baleno did not have cash discounts.

In February 2023, Ignis price was increased by 27K across the range for RDE compliance, and added ESP and Hill Hold assist.

Fast forward May 2023, here is how ex-showroom prices are:
Ignis Zeta MT : 6,96,000
Ignis Zeta AMT : 7,51,000

Baleno Delta MT : 7,45,000
Baleno Delta AMT : 8,00,000

Difference between Baleno delta and Ignis Zeta is down to 49,000 from 90,000 in 8 months. But now Ignis AMT offers discounts.
Ignis prices has gone up by 49,000 despite it not getting the updated engine.

Factoring in all this I conclude
1) Ignis is lesser VFM now that before.
2) Ignis vs Baleno on road price difference should be more than 50,000 with equal discounts, not ~30,000 as you stated. Please checks the accessories, insurance and Suzuki connect prices. Something is not adding up.
3) Baleno is definitely more VFM among the two considering the added space, comfort, climate control, Projector head lamps, updated engine(dualjet, dual vvt) and much more. Maybe even safety(Ignis has 1 star gncap rating like swift, the current gen Baleno is untested)

Here are the reasons why I purchased Ignis Zeta instead of Baleno Delta:

1) This car was for my wife, who is a beginner. This car will be the second car in the family, so space was not a requirement.
2) My wife instantly liked the car upon test drive. She still loves it to bits and can't understand why anybody buys any other hatchback!
3) Compact size, higher seating position and front visibility is great for tight parking. She is able to perfectly judge the car's front and side extremity. Rear visibility is poor in both cars.
4) Engine while older tech is noticeably peppier till around 3500 rpm than Baleno.
5) Body cladding. Has saved the car 3 visits to the body shop in last 10 months.


In the ignis AMT, I get 15-25 kmpl inside Bangalore city with my very light right foot. My wife gets 8-15 kmpl. Out in the highway both of us easily get 20kmpl+.

I sold my 2006 Esteem in 2022. It was bullet proof. That said, cars are much more complex these days and most parts cost 2x compared to older gen cars. So I would recommend you to get the warranty just for peace of mind.

About self centering steering, I found it satisfactory. Tiago(or even Nano twist) is better in that regard, and Celerio is worse. I found the Ignis steering's self centering to be very natural. In fact my wife complains that my Duster's steering(hydraulic power steering) does not self center sufficiently!

Go for the Ignis if you want compact and easy to maneuver car. Its a great in the urban jungle. Baleno is a much better all rounder and much better VFM.

Looks like we can try Maruti Service center to retrofit parts from post 2020 models to fix the steering self centering problem.

https://www.autocarindia.com/advice/...-fix-it-423802

Interesting option, will check when next service is due.

Apologies for the late post on this thread. It seems AntPaul has pretty much summed up everything in his post. However I'd like to add my experience. I found overall ride quality and handling to be slightly better than the Santro Xing I had. Although my car's front suspension needed work as per the feedback from the FNG guy. This was the final nail in the coffin which led me to the decision of selling the Santro as spending that much on such an old car didn't make sense to me. Almost the entire 2017, the car gave me too much trouble.

As for the bouncy ride quality, upgrading the tyres should solve the problem to some extent. There's an entire thread on this which should be helpful. The stock Ecopias on Ignis are just pathetic. Horrible tyres+Stiff suspension = ride quality gone for a toss. You can try upgrading to Yokohama Earth 1/Continental UC6/Bridgestone Sturdo (recent launch).

As for the FE, don't expect too much in the city. Mine barely manages 12-12.5 that too if always driven with a light foot. Start driving it enthusiastically/in lots of bumper to bumper traffic and it drops to as low as 9-10. Although on the highway I have got really good figures since I have frequently done Pune - Mumbai and back. Maintaining a speed of 90-100 on the expressway easily returns 20-22 kmpl.

15-25 that too in Bangalore traffic :Shockked:. You must be joking. Did you calculate the FE using tank to tank method?

Thank you so much for the reply. you have indeed cleared a lot for me. i was wondering what would you do with the new tyres should you decide to change them right out of the showroom. who would buy them and for how much.

There, you said it yourself in the 1st sentence itself. Baleno is a better car than Ignis, period. As a fellow Baleno Sigma (base) owner since the last 3 years, I can safely say you should proceed with the Baleno.

I recently got 19kmpl on my regular Meerut-Delhi run and always get more than 15kmpl even in total city driving.

There is no need to invest in extended warranty with a Maruti.

Don't get confused and proceed. Cheers...