Maruti Suzuki launched the new Baleno facelift last month and now the company is working on bringing a facelift for the Ignis hatchback. According to ACI, dealer sources have confirmed that the production of the current generation Ignis has come to an end. However, there is no official confirmation from Maruti Suzuki regarding the new model. For now, the dealers have been asked to continue accepting bookings for the current generation model.
The current generation Ignis has been on sale here since more than two years. Therefore, it is in time that the car will get an update. The new car will not be a radically different model than the one sold now. Rather, it will be updated on the lines of the new Baleno, which has been given subtle changes here and there to make it fresh. New colour options might also be added along with some new body graphics as a part of Maruti’s customization program.
Talking about the changes to be made on the new car, the new Ignis is likely to get the same treatment as the recently updated Baleno. What we expect to see are some mild tweaks on the front fascia including the bumper, new alloy wheels along with refreshed up interiors. The exterior design will be made smarter and probably a bit sharper to go with the facelift theme. Along with this, the car will also feature Maruti Suzuki’s new SmartPlay Studio infotainment system that made its debut on the new Wagon R launched recently, and is also found on the Baleno facelift.
The base variants of the Maruti Suzuki Ignis facelift will also be updated with new features to make them competitive. The LED projector headlamps currently available only on the higher variants are expected to make way into the lower variants too. A bit of chrome could also be added on the base variants of the car to enhance the bling factor. The Ignis is aimed towards a younger audience and so styling is one of its main attributes.
Talking about the Ignis, it is a tallboy design hatchback with a front wheel drive layout. The car has a good ground clearance of about 180 mm which helps in out pothole riddled road, something which is way too common on our roads. The Ignis is available with a single petrol engine option as the previously available diesel option has been axed sometime back, owing to low demand. The hatchback is powered by a 1.2 litre K-Series petrol engine that produces 82 Bhp of peak power and 113 Nm of peak torque. While a 5 speed manual gearbox is standard, a 5 speed AMT is offered as an option.
As of now, there is no given date on which the Ignis facelift would be launched. However, we expect that the car will be launched during the third quarter of this year. It will be made available at Maruti Suzuki’s premium Nexa dealerships.