5 reasons why Maruti Suzuki Ignis is not a run-of-the-mill car

Maruti’s targeted customers for the Ignis are the millennials, and they are probably the hardest ones to woo! Their lives revolve around their smartphone, music, flaunting the latest tech and the latest in fashion. And when it comes to automobiles, apart from wanting the most stylish features in cars, they want the best safety features too. In fact, safety is something they are not ready to compromise on.

Taking all these points into consideration, Maruti has created possibly the perfect recipe, and it is called the Ignis. The final party trick will be its launch, which will happen in an EDM concert on January 13, 2017, while official e-bookings will start from early Jan. How will it fare in the market? Only time will tell, but prices will play a crucial factor. And if history is anything to go by, Maruti will price the car aggressively.

Here’s are five reasons why the Ignis is not a run-of-the-mill offering in its price band.   

Most economical car to pack both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

The Ignis will come with the most advanced infotainment system in the Maruti clan. The automaker calls it Smartphone Linkage Display Audio (SLDA). It is essentially an updated version of the SmartPlay unit found in a few of Maruti’s offerings and comes with support for both Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. When it goes on sale in January, the Ignis will become the most economical car to pack in such smartphone integrations. Chevrolet will also offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in the upcoming 2017 Beat, but that will be launched at a later stage.

Sole vehicle to offer LED projector headlamps in sub-10 lakh bracket

Maruti stepped up its game when it offered segment-first bi-xenon headlamps with the Baleno. Now, the automaker is coming up with LED projector headlamps with the Ignis. The car uses it for both low and high beams, and the entire housing is enclosed in a horseshoe magnet-esque daytime running LEDs.

Customisation options

Seeing the popularity of the customisation options offered with the Vitara Brezza, Maruti will offer similar options with the Ignis. The automaker will offer roof wraps with it, so that buyers have the option to personalise their Ignis.

Stand-out design

The design approach of the Ignis is unconventional. While other cars are getting sharper and edgier, the Ignis features a boxy design. Love it or hate it, the Ignis will definitely stand out of the crowd with key design elements such as the grille that engulfs the headlamps, a sharply raked rear windscreen, and its SUV-ish wheel arches. Even on the inside, the Ignis features a black-and-ivory theme with body-colour accentuated inserts. It also features Suzuki’s ‘progressive traid marks’, both on the inside and the outside.   

Versatility  

Indians love tall-boy hatchbacks (such as the Hyundai Santro and the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R) and the Ignis is designed on similar lines. The tall-boy proportions will result in easy ingress and egress. Its 180mm of ground clearance will come in handy, considering our road conditions and coupled with its negligible overhangs, the Ignis can occasionally go off the tarmac. It offers a (nearly) flat-folding rear seat, which comes in very handy when you have to carry extra baggage.

Source: CarDekho.com