SUZUKI Ignis
Generations Timeline, Specs and Pictures
At the beginning of 2020, Suzuki unveiled the facelift for the second generation of the Ignis.
It was designed for better fuel efficiency due to a new drivetrain.
The new, five-slats grille, along with the trapezoidal front and rear aprons, amplified the car’s robustness. While it never won a beauty contest, the designers tried, at least, to give it a better stance. The blacked-out A- and B-pillars were part of that tryouts.
The interior offered enough room for four adult passengers, even though the rear occupant’s legroom was not at a high level. The urban styling taste surrounded the cabin and gave it a spacious feeling. An important part of the upgrade was the instrument cluster, with black and white, contrasting colors to offer a bold impression.
The engineering department was busy developing a new, K12D Dualjet engine. It featured a dual injection system that offered a faster response and better fuel-efficiency. The high-level balance was made possible due to the electric VVT (Variable Valve Timing) and cooling jets. To further enhance the fuel-efficiency, the existing mild hybrid system powered by a lithium-ion battery was enhanced due to bigger battery capacity, expanded from 3Ah to 10 Ah. Suzuki offered the Ignis with either front- or all-wheel-drive system, with a manual or CVT gearbox.
Designed for the busy city streets, the subcompact crossover Suzuki Ingnis was a small city car that offered practicality and style at an affordable price.
Despite the Ignis’ modest dimensions, the small car had a modern and rugged styling. At the front, the grille-integrated LED headlights draw all the attention. At the rear, the Ignis featured uniquely-shaped taillights.
Inside, the Ingnis had a distinctive and fresh styling with a two-tone dashboard and unusually placed door handles. A 7-inch touchscreen was placed on the dashboard and with the rear-view camera, the driver could avoid any obstacles when parking or driving in reverse.
The boxy cabin provided lots of headroom even for the rear passengers. The cargo area was also impressive for a car in this class, offering 267 liters of storage, or around 500 liters with the seats dropped. The rear seats could slide back and forth separately.
With the large windshield and the high driving position, the driver had great visibility all around.
While the main focus of the Ignis was to offer city driving practicality, the engines offered a great fuel consumption. Of course, the engines were not punchy, but they performed well in city conditions.
New for 2017, the SZ5 model featured the Suzuki’s Allgrip Auto, a four-wheel-drive system that was first introduced with the Swift.
Suzuki Ignis was one of the first crossovers built by the Japanese carmaker.
But it didn’t build it alone. It worked together with GM and Subaru.
Both Japanese car companies were known as big manufacturers of small vehicles. While Suzuki was known for off-road vehicles, Subaru was recognized as a world rally-winner with the Impreza range. The alliance between them resulted in the birth of the 2003 Ignis – Justy. The all-wheel-drive system was carried over from Subaru.
Small, with higher ground clearance, the Ignis was unusual for its class and times. The front fascia featured rectangular headlights swept-back over the hood. A noticeable difference from Subaru Justy was the grille and the bumper. Suzuki installed the badge on a horizontal bar over the grille. On the lower side of the bumper, it placed a different grille and smaller fog-lights. A tall greenhouse with a straight roof, but an ascending beltline, were some of the two siblings’ specific design cues.
Inside, it was room enough for four adults due to the high roof, but not that much legroom in the back if all the occupants were above 6 ft (180 cm) tall. With its small trunk, the Ignis was good enough for a city vehicle. The rear split-folding bench seatback could add some more room for a long trip if only two passengers were on-board. Like the Justy, the Ignis featured a small instrument cluster designed in a binocular style.
Under the hood, Suzuki installed its inline-four engines, both diesel, and gasoline, depending on the market. The 1.3-liter diesel unit was carried over from GM, which was developed in a partnership with Fiat. Suzuki offered the Ignis with front- or all-wheel-drive systems.
Suzuki needed to produce a certain number of vehicles to get an FIA homologation for the FIA Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC), and its best bet was the Ignis Sport.
While the regular, five-door Ignis was a decent, small-segment vehicle available with an all-wheel-drive system, its three-door cousin was developed for a different kind of meaning. The carmaker didn’t even bother to make it looks more civilized or better equipped than the five-door version. On the other side, it did its job, and Suzuki gained the credentials needed to put an Ignis JWRC car at the start.
Even though it shared its name with the regular Ignis, the three-door version was clearly a different vehicle. Its ground clearance was lower, and the front fascia featured a new bumper that sported a center lower grille flanked by a pair of small side scoops. The flared wheel-arches were continued on the sides by plastic moldings on the doors and rear quarter. Suzuki offered the Sport version exclusively for the three-door Ignis.
Inside, it was the same spartan interior built with cheap materials. It looked almost like a stripped-down cabin with slim door cards, a cheap plastic dashboard, and flimsy seats. All of these were replaced when the car was dressed for racing.
Under the hood, Suzuki placed a 1.5-liter engine that provided 109 hp. It was not the most potent four-mill on the market, but it was a good starting point for a junior racer.
The first Suzuki Ignis saw the daylight in 2000 when the Japanese company rolled out the five-door hatchback version equipped with multiple engine versions, ranging from 1.3 to 1.5 liter. Although the engines were able to produce between 89 and 110 horsepower, the models built for the export markets had only a 1.3 liter engine which developed 83 horsepower. The first generation of the car had multiple names depending on the manufacturer and on the market area. For instance, in Japan it was sold as Swift SE-Z and as Chevrolet Cruze while in Australia people called it Holden Cruze.
Suzuki introduced the first generation of the Ignis in 2000, working together with GM and Subaru.
The result exceeded their expectations.
Suzuki was known as a great carmaker for small vehicles. It also had a big experience in building 4x4 vehicles, such as the Samurai. But it lacked the technology to offer an all-wheel-drive vehicle. On the other hand, Subaru was good at that and hoped to enter a market where it couldn’t convince the customers. For the Australian market, GM could sell the car with the Chevrolet bow-tie on the grille.
In 2000, the MPV market was still important, and almost no other carmaker offered crossovers to the market. The car’s headlights resembled those found on the Suzuki Swift, but bigger and with integrated turn-signals at their outer corners, at the bottom. Despite being offered as a crossover, the bumper was designed to fill the urban vehicle’s tastes, with round fog-lights and a grille at the bottom to help to cool the engine.
Inside, it was room enough for four adults due to the high roof, but not that much legroom in the back if all the occupants were above 6 ft (180 cm) tall. With its small trunk, the Ignis was good enough for a city vehicle. The rear split-folding bench seatback could add some more room for a long trip if only two passengers were on-board. The instrument cluster featured a typical Japanese design, with four dials. The fuel level and the coolant temperature were placed on the outer sides, while the speedometer and the tachometer took the middle.
The Ignis featured a choice of two engines: a 1.3-liter and a 1.5-liter. The former was mostly used on the export markets, while the latter was for the Japanese domestic market.