Maruti’s Ignis Hatchback Debuts At Rs 4.59 Lakh
The car will cost between Rs 4.59 lakh and Rs 7.80 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.
India's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. launched the Ignis hatchback, with prices starting at Rs 4.59 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.
The Ignis will be Maruti Suzuki's third offering from the NEXA range, which is the automaker's premium sales channel, with the first two being the Brezza compact SUV and the Baleno hatchback.
The Ignis with its compact SUV-like looks, will compete directly against Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s KUV100 hatchback. It will also face competition from other existing players in the market like Hyundai's Grand i10, Volkswagen's Polo, Honda Jazz and Brio, Tata Motors' Tiago and Maruti Suzuki's own Swift and Baleno.
Ignis is based on a new platform, which Maruti Suzuki claims makes the vehicle lighter, safer and more fuel efficient.
Under the hood, the Ignis houses a 1.2 litre K-series petrol and 1.3 litre DDiS diesel engines. The petrol motor returns a peak power output of 83 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 113 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm, while the diesel head delivers 75 bhp or peak power at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm.
Both, the petrol as well as the diesel fuel options get a choice of an automated manual transmission (AMT). While it does get AMT as an option, what it doesn’t get it a diesel engine with a micro hybrid converter, as is present in the company’s Ciaz and Ertiga models.
In terms of features, the Ignis gets LED projector headlamps with daytime running lights, a Smartplay infotainment system, climate control and a rear parking camera in its top trim.
The top-of-the-line variant of the Ignis is priced at Rs 7.80 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.
Like Maruti Suzuki’s Brezza, the Ignis too will have an option for dual tone body colours, wherein the roof of the car will have a different colour than the body. The car is available in six base colours.
Ignis, which has already received 6,000 bookings, will be manufactured at the automaker’s plant in Gurgaon, said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kenichi Ayukawa.
The Maruti Suzuki Ignis was first showcased at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. Customers in India got their first glimpse of the newly launched car at the 2016 Auto Expo. The car already available in Japan, and had made its European debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.
Speaking about the automaker’s upcoming Gujarat plant, Ayukawa said the first assembly line was scheduled to commence production in February, and by March 2018, the unit was expected to start churning out 2,50,000 vehicles per year. Maruti Suzuki presently has a manufacturing capacity of 15 lakh units per year at its Gurgaon and Manesar plants put together.
After Gujarat begins production, Ayukawa said Maruti Suzuki would have some breathing space in terms of capacity utilisation. The automaker’s plants are presently working at over their total installed capacity, with most of its models commanding a waiting period.
In terms of future launches, a turbocharged variant of Maruti Suzuki’s Baleno, called Baleno RS, was expected to be launched in February-March, a company official said.