Ignis is the cheapest offering from Nexa dealership, rivals unwontedly Baleno
The leading car manufacturer in the country has finally launched the Ignis urban compact hatchback in the Indian market. It was first showcased at the 2016 New Delhi Auto Expo last February. The Ignis is sold through the Indo-Japanese automaker’s premium dealership network NEXA and bookings of which had started from the beginning of January. The Maruti Suzuki NEXA also sells cars like the Baleno premium hatchback and S-Cross crossover already.
The Ignis is going to bring a fresh air in the domestic market and will be targeting audience expecting an affordable SUV with premium quality. The urban compact hatchback comes sporting an upmarket appearance, and at a budget pricing this has plenty of chance to impress the buyers. In recent times, we have seen compact cars becoming more and more popular and the Mahindra KUV100 has stamped a position for itself. With launch of several compact hatchbacks at affordable pricing, the Indian customers are leaning toward them rather than compact sedans and premium hatchbacks.
As Maruti Suzuki has now launched Ignis urban compact hatchback in India, it is expected to eat some share of the company’s own premium model Baleno – much like the latter did from the sales of highly popular Swift compact hatchback. Incidentally, the company delayed the launch of Ignis to meet the growing demand of Baleno and Vitara Brezza. Or else, earlier Maruti Suzuki had plans to introduce the model during last festive season.
Though both the cars sit in different segments, the Ignis and Baleno have chances to impact each other’s market share when they face each other. In Indian market, Maruti Suzuki Ignis will directly challenge Mahindra KUV100. Apart from that, the funky urban car is expected to throw challenge to some other compact SUVs as well.
Both the models are new aged products from Maruti Suzuki and will have significant presence in the volume aspirations for the brand in 2017. It is very interesting to pit these vehicles against each other because they are of different segments but have the tendency to attract same category of customers. Here we take a look at the spec-sheet based comparison between Maruti Suzuki Ignis and Maruti Suzuki Baleno:
Maruti Suzuki Ignis vs Maruti Suzuki Baleno Exterior Styling
Maruti Suzuki Ignis comes with a boxy yet stylish shape. This car features a contemporary styling, which is surely set to attract the new-age customers. The sporty looking urban compact hatchback gets rectangular headlamps which are designed to make it look like a single unit with wide front grille. LED daytime running lights are integrated to the headlamps. The front grille sports plenty of chrome garnishing, while front bumper has been designed to deliver a muscular and bold appearance with bold air intakes, chrome finishing around fog lamps.
At side profile the car features sporty black alloy wheels, flared wheel arches, floating roof design, blackened glass area. The sharp character lines and side body cladding enhance the cars appeal further. At rear profile Maruti Suzuki Ignis gets large taillights and a muscular bumper. So far the car doesn’t look like a very muscular and tough off-roader, but it looks pretty attractive in its compact guise.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno has become pretty much popular in Indian market in very short span since its launch. The car has already become one of the bestselling and most popular car from the Indo-Japanese automaker. Baleno comes with an attractive styling. It gets sharp swept back headlamps with LED daytime running lights integrated, while a V shaped front grille with chrome garnishing enhances the cars appeal. A wide air intake is there at the front bumper.
Side profile of Maruti Suzuki Baleno boasts a roundish appearance, and it comes with multi-spoke alloy wheels, chrome finished door handles, blackened glass area. At rear profile Baleno features roof spoiler, compact roundish taillights with LED inserts, a sleek chrome bar running between the taillights and a muscular bumper as well.
Dimensionally speaking Maruti Suzuki Ignis measures 3,700 mm in length, 1,660 mm in width, 1,595 mm in height, and a 2,438 mm of wheelbase as well. The micro-SUV also features 180 mm of ground clearance, while it also comes with a bootspace of 258-litres, which can be expanded up to 458 litres by folding the rear seats.
On the other hand Maruti Suzuki Baleno measures 3,995 mm in length, 1,745 mm in width, 1,500 mm in height and 2,520 mm of wheelbase and a ground clearance of 170 mm. It also gets a 339-litre of bootspace. Therefore Baleno appears 295mm longer, 85 mm wider, 95 mm taller compared to Ignis. Baleno also comes with longer wheelbase as well than its urban compact hatchback sibling. However, the Ignis weighs significantly lesser than the already lighter Baleno.
| Maruti Suzuki Ignis | Maruti Suzuki Baleno |
| Length – 3,700 mm | 3,995 mm |
| Width – 1,660 mm | 1,745 mm |
| Height – 1,595 mm | 1,500 mm |
| Wheelbase – 2,438 mm | 2,520 mm |
| Ground Clearance – 180 mm | 170 mm |
Interior and Features
Maruti Suzuki Ignis looks quite upmarket with its features on offer. The car appears with a multifunction steering wheel, a large round analog dial and digital MID consisting instrument cluster, a tablet like touchscreen infotainment system at centre console, and a dual-tone dashboard as well with range of interior and exterior customisation available.
The interior also features a dual-tone theme, and in terms of space the car comes quite spacious indeed despite its compact size. Compared to Maruti Suzuki Baleno premium hatchback the Ignis comes quite upmarket. The sleek and stylish touchscreen infotainment system certainly plays a crucial role in making it premium.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno premium hatchback on the other hand comes with a different styling inside the cabin. It gets a three-spoke multifunction steering wheel, dual analog dials and a digital MID consisting instrument cluster. The centre console looks quite attractive with its unusual V shaped design, and it gets a touchscreen infotainment system flanked by vertically slated AC vents.
The interior dons a sporty black theme, while silver trims around AC vents increase style quotient. In terms of space the car offers more room to occupants than Ignis. This is because Baleno being dimensionally longer, wider also. The premium hatchback offers pretty much comfort as well.
Engine and Performance
Maruti Suzuki Ignis comes available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol engine is a 1.2-litre K-Series unit which is capable to churn out 84.3 PS of peak power and 115 Nm of peak torque. The diesel engine on other hand is supposed to be a 1.3-litre DDiS unit, which kicks out 75 PS of peak power and 190 Nm of peak torque.
On transmission front Maruti Suzuki Ignis gets a 5-speed manual gearbox, while AMT is also offered in both petrol and diesel. As the car shares its engines with Maruti Suzuki Swift, it deliver 20.89 kmpl and 26.80 kmpl fuel economy for petrol and diesel respectively.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno are powered by the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine options. The power outputs are also same, while fuel economy is similar as well. On transmission front Baleno gets a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard, while a CVT is also on offer. The CVT is available in top-end petrol Baleno however. Both the cars deliver good on mileage despite Ignis having a slight edge.
| Maruti Suzuki Ignis | Maruti Suzuki Baleno |
| Engine – 1.2-litre petrol / 1.3-litre diesel | 1.2-litre petrol / 1.3-litre diesel |
| Transmission – 5-speed MT / AMT | 5-speed MT / CVT |
| Maximum Power – 84.3 PS / 75 PS | 84.3 PS / 75 PS |
| Maximum Torque – 115 Nm / 190 Nm | 115 Nm / 190 Nm |
Safety
Maruti Suzuki Ignis comes sporting several safety features like dual front airbags, ABS, EBD, automatic headlamps, reverse parking sensors etc. Top-end Maruti Suzuki Baleno comes equipped with safety features like dual front airbags, ABS, EBD, seatbelt warning, engine immobilizer, speed sensing door lock etc. So far, both the cars are equipped with modern-age safety features.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis vs Maruti Suzuki Baleno Pricing
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is priced between Rs. 4.59 lakh and Rs. 7.80 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Maruti Suzuki Baleno on the other hand is priced between Rs. 5.28 lakh and Rs. 8.44 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Therefore Ignis’s top and lower end come cheaper than Baleno top and lower end. This is certainly going to be a big deciding factor for customers while choosing between the premium hatchback and the urban compact hatchback that offers relatively same equipment.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis vs Maruti Suzuki Baleno Comparison Verdict
Though Maruti Suzuki Ignis and Maruti Suzuki Baleno sit in different segments, both the cars will surely impact on each other’s sales considering Indian customer’s present buying trend. As it is believed, Ignis is going to impact more on Baleno’s sales, than the vice-versa. No wonder, we Indians are very fond of compact cars, therefore the Ignis urban compact hatchback has better chance to impress customers over the premium hatchback.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis’s design is certainly pretty attractive, while its interior features also are pretty impressive than its hatchback sibling. The car being a urban compact hatchback is capable to take some little bit of rough road challenge than Baleno. Also, at an aggressive pricing, Maruti Suzuki Ignis is going to throw some serious challenge to Baleno, even if they are siblings (internal competition is tasty and we are certainly going to love it though).
The Baleno could confuse you a little bit when buying Zeta or Alpha variant. Baleno Alpha is the range-topper that is just around Rs. 55,000 pricier than Ignis but you get plenty of additional features not present in Ignis like leather-wrapped steering wheel, driver armrest, chrome door handles, auto headlamps, LED tail lamp, gear shift indicator, 16-inch tyres, extra 80 litres of boot space and little extra mileage of 21.4 kmpl in petrol against 20.8 kmpl of Ignis and 27.3 kmpl in diesel against Ignis’ 26.4 kmpl.
Besides, the price difference of Baleno Zeta and Ignis Zeta is around Rs. 75,000 and in that too you get above said features along with UV cut glasses, electronic anti-glare internal mirror, coloured TFT MID screen, etc. But if you are on for entry diesel or petrol Delta variant, then you could be better off with Ignis as Baleno Delta and Ignis Delta differs by around Rs. 66,000 and Baleno Delta offers you only auto climate control in addition.
Rounding it off, either the Ignis Zeta or Alpha variant is overpriced or Baleno’s Zeta and Alpha are underpriced. But if you are downer for stylish looks and interior, then Ignis’ retro appeal will give you a good buying proposition.