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Thread Author: Stuu	Replies: 32

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New Sat 5 Mar 11 16:32

Suzuki Ignis I - First Impressions - Stuu

Finally have my own car again, what a relief, its been nearly a month and I really was missing having something of my own.

Collected the car this morning and within an hour it was earning its keep - all my work stuff easily fits in the back, there is no wheelarch intrusion at all which means a flat, square loadbay with seats down - perfect for me, so I can tick the practicality box.

Drives aswell as I remember and now with more miles, Im exploring its limits, or atleast I would if I could find them.
I ran out of bravery before the front end even felt like it was going and what had impressed me is how controllable it is mid-bend.
Maybe its a legacy of its light weight and good tyres ( Pirelli P6000s all round, seem good - any opinions? ), but even when your really pushing it, you can make adjustments mid-corner without even a hint of resistance and it flatters clumsey steering inputs. The steering is pinsharp and well weighted, meaning it changes direction very quickly, making the cars ive driven recently feel very nose heavy.
I have a cross-country drive from Kettering to Stamford tomorrow on the B-roads an I really cant wait as the way it can carry speed through the bends makes it perfect for such roads.

Its not searingly fast although its fast enough that to stay legal, you need to keep yourself in check. The engine has a raw sort of engine note, a little uncouth maybe, but the way it revs with the VVT makes it a pleasure to redline it - it seems to really find alot of power up above 4000 rpm so overtaking is a breeze.
Pootling around town though, it feels totally comfortable doing that, with a light, slick gearchange ( nothing like other Suzukis ive driven ) and its great for darting through gaps.

The ride is definatly firm, but its firm in a controlled way and fits the character of the car. Its worth taking time over speed bumps as I only have one spine, but its actually softer feeling than the Wagon R.

The seats are fab, nice huggy Recaros which support the lower back nicely, important if you have trouble that way like me and means that you dont fall off your seat in a fast corner. The steering wheel and gearknob have leather finish which feels nice in use and seems to lift the interior above the standard Ignis, as do the blue backlighting ( on white ials ) for the dials and the carbon-look trim.
One thing which you forget at first is that this isnt your usual hatcback because like all Ignis, its a bit higher than normal, so you step out rather than climb out - useful for the old folk who suprisingly seem to like the Sport too - I saw a VERY elderly couple filling theirs up the other day ( red with white wheels ) - it was the most bizarre pairing really, but prob the coolest grandparents about.

The look of the car is growing on me - people certainly notice it on account of the wheels I expect. My customer today had a poke round and gave it his seal of approval and I also now have to contend with teenage boys wanting a look at it and asking the kind of inane questions only they can dream up - twice today ive seen lads look at it as I go past, then turn to have another look - I feel like ive stolen an ASBO, but ill get over it in the end.

This car has aircon which does work, I checked earlier and ive given it a run with it on - smelt abit at first but cleared after a few mintues.
It isnt over-endowed with kit, but it has elec windows, mirrors and aircon, plus a CD player - thats about all ive ever found a desire for on the toy count, so Im content - for safety fiends, it also has twin airbags.

I havent discovered if there are any special features yet, I expect there will be a japanese oddity in the design somewhere, there usually is ( it has the obligatory storage tray under the front seat apparently but thats nothing new ).

I await the results of economy returns, but for this first full tank, I making no special effort, just to get a baseline. Im expecting maybe 40 mpg which is just short of the combined of 41 mpg.
Road tax is £155 a year, insurance a tad over £300 and its chain-cam so its just fluids and filters each year, making it pretty cheap to service.
Performance is good, not so fast that its unusable, but fast enough that you can redline it in lower gears and not end up at some insane speed, so theres room for having a laugh. It is low-geared which makes for 3000 rpm at 60 mph although at 75, its actually quieter, but never quiet in any real sense. The tyre roar is actually more of an issue and if I get to change tyres on it, ill be investigating quieter boots.

As yet, I cant find a decent negative an my wife loves it, she said if it were auto, id never see it. Its funny because its not the car id seek out, ive never seen myself as a hothatch kinda person, but because it is rather more practical than most small hatches, it actually makes alotta sense and covers more bases than most.
I rather like it and I think the best way to think of it is as a Rover Mini Cooper estate ( not that one ver exisited ) because it has that feel of being alive and its full of guts and a fair bit of ability too. Its actually alot better than I ever imagined.