Suzuki Ignis Wins Local Award for Its Special Interior

The new Suzuki Ignis has won a New Zealand award for its special interior design that marks the small five-door SUV-style hatchback as a unique model.

It was one of three recent awards given to the Ignis which was introduced to the local market earlier this year.

The Stuff news and information website, owned and operated by Fairfax New Zealand Ltd, gave the Interior Award of the year to the Ignis.

Judges recognised cabin design was too often neglected by car makers. “Secondly, virtually all the time you spend with a car, you’re inside it,” said the Stuff motoring writers. They complemented the clever colour and detailing of Suzuki’s newest small car contender.

“You have no right to expect a great interior design in a car that starts below $20,000 which makes it all the more impressive that Suzuki has delivered such a feel-good, well designed cabin environment for its baby car,” said Stuff.

Judges also said, “The Ignis interior is brilliantly styled, beautifully coloured, to give a sense of space in such a tiny car and serves up a superb array of textures. Best of all, the Ignis cabin manages to feel special without being over-styled.”

The layout had been kept simple, the controls large and logically laid out and Suzuki had retained conventional analogue dials in the main instrument binnacle which were still the benchmark for clarity, commented the website.

“But other cabin features look like they’ve been mounted around a skeleton structure whenever they’re needed, including the tablet-like touch-screen for the information and entertainment functions.

“Sit in this Suzuki and you’ll get a smile on your face before you turn a wheel. Although it’ll be the first of many. The Ignis is a great place to be - in many different ways,” said Stuff.

The website also named the Ignis the top sub-$20,000 car in New Zealand, saying it was fun to drive, had really funky styling, and was unique and “a lot of car for the money”.

“It’s very much an entry-level model in terms of the new car market but we’re constantly amazed at just how much quality and driving fun $20,000 buys,” said Stuff’s motoring writers. “And that’s worth celebrating. That’s why we love the Suzuki Ignis. It’s technically a micro-car but it has such a distinctive personality that you’d almost call it ‘classless’.”

Half a world away Scottish motoring writers voted the Ignis best Compact Car of the Year. Stephen Park, president of the Scottish Motoring Writers Guild, said, “Never has the demand for compact cars been greater and our top choice is the Ignis as a vehicle with a real sense of character.

“Distinctive, spacious and quirky, it proves that you don’t need a big budget to stand out from the crowd,” said Park.

GoAuto, the weekly Australian motoring website, said the Ignis had excellent cabin quality. In its review of the model they also remarked on the “impressive infotainment system, decent rear legroom and boot space and an energetic 4-cylinder engine”.

Jurors from 25 nations highly rated the Ignis in the 2017 World Urban Car award, ranking it second to a considerably more expensive car in the final analysis.

The Japanese assembled Ignis is sold in two specification grades in New Zealand, offering the choice of manual or automatic transmissions, with prices starting from $18,990 plus on road costs.