Suzuki Ignis review

When McFly and Busted merged to form McBusted, they became – to some pop fans – even better. Likewise, the Suzuki Ignis is designed to combine the best qualities of small cars and small SUVs to give buyers the best of both.

In other words, the Ignis looks tough and is capable off road but is also as tiny as a Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto. Fortunately, thanks in part to its boxy shape, the interior is roomier than you might imagine, plus the rear seats slide and recline – a handy feature only a few rivals have. The downside is that the Ignis is a strict four-seater.

Today there’s just one version of the Ignis on sale new. It's in a trim called SZ-T and has a mild-hybrid petrol engine and front-wheel drive (the four-wheel-drive version is no longer available).

Suzuki Ignis video review

So if you like the sound of the Ignis, what other small cars are worth considering? Well, besides the i10 and Picanto, there's the new Citroën C3 and the Toyota Aygo X. Or there are some less-expensive small SUVs, such as the Renault Captur.

Read on to find out how we rate the Suzuki Ignis against those cars and more...

The Suzuki Ignis is very light, weighing in at less than 900kg, which is hundreds of kilos less than a Ford Puma or VW T-Cross. That lack of weight impacts a lot of the driving experience – for good and bad.

In town and city centres, it makes the 1.2-litre petrol engine's modest 82bhp power output seem like plenty, and in those situations the Ignis gives some more powerful cars a run for their money. However, on an uphill stretch of motorway it can feel like nothing: you might be able to keep a steady 70mph with your foot down, but many small cars – including the Hyundai i10 N Line – are noticeably punchier.

The Ignis's light weight, small dimensions and tight turning circle give it an air of agility, and it's great for car parks and urban streets. The reason we say "air of agility" is that body lean is pronounced and the steering is dull and inconsistently weighted, so the Ignis fails to feel sharp or adept at quick direction changes. Overall, a Toyota Aygo X handles better.

The Ignis has relatively relaxed suspension, making for a largely comfortable ride, but not all bumps are dealt with elegantly. Patchy stretches of road will often have you jiggling around in your seat – although that's partially because the Ignis is tall relative to its length and width. 

You’ll also notice the suspension fidgeting beneath you. The Aygo X better isolates you from the movements of its suspension and feels more settled on the road.

Refinement isn’t a strong point either. The engine is always audible, and while it’s never coarse, the Hyundai i10 is a little more hushed overall. There is road noise at 70mph, but it’s the wind noise gusting around the windscreen pillars and door mirrors that’s more irksome on a long motorway journey.

"The Ignis revealed some kickback through the steering when I hit mid-corner bumps. That took me by surprise." – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

Sitting behind the wheel of the Suzuki Ignis is a relatively comfortable experience, and you can adjust the height of the driver's seat to get just the right level for you.

As with many small cars, the Ignis's steering wheel can be adjusted for height but not reach (most pricier small SUVs offer adjustment in both directions). There’s no lumbar support adjustment available for the front seats, and the side bolsters are weak, so you sometimes find yourself clutching the steering wheel for support during quick cornering.

The Ignis's short bonnet means front visibility is good, and accurately placing the car is easy. Conversely, looking over your shoulder and trying to see past the wide, chunky rear pillars is more of a challenge. To help combat that, a rear-view camera is standard. LED headlights are standard too.

Disappointingly, the interior materials are hard and feel low-rent compared with those in the Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto – let alone the Ford Puma and Skoda Kamiq. The car’s wobbly centre console suggests less-than-stellar build quality.

A 7.0in infotainment touchscreen is standard, with built-in sat-nav, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring included. The system isn't great to use, though: it’s pretty unresponsive, the menu layout is tricky to navigate and the screen resolution is low. The systems in the Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto and Renault Captur are much better.

"I found the interior to be a rather a cheerful piece of design, but that's tempered with a sense that the materials used to build it came from the bargain bin." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

The relative roominess of the Suzuki Ignis depends on how you categorise it. Next to city car rivals, it’s immensely spacious and practical. Next to some SUVs, like the super-roomy Dacia Duster and Skoda Kamiq, not so much.

If we focus on its chief rival, the Toyota Aygo X, we can report that the Ignis is much more accommodating. Plus, with sliding rear seats you can choose to what degree you’d like to prioritise rear leg room or boot space. Unlike the Aygo X, four 6ft individuals won’t be fighting for head and leg room – that’s with the rear seats slid all the way back, mind you.

Boot space ranges from 260 litres to 373 litres, depending on where you position the two rear seats. For reference, even the smaller figure beats the Aygo X and near-enough matches the Hyundai i10 figure. On the other hand, the new Citroën C3 has 300 litres of space, while the Renault Captur goes up to 422 litres with its rear bench slid all the way forward.

The rest of the boot is less impressive: the opening is rather high and tight, plus when you put the 50/50 split-folding rear seats down they don’t fall flush with the boot floor.

"Some of my back-seat passengers said the ability to slide and recline the rear seats added an extra layer of comfort. It's a welcomed feature and one that's not always present in rivals." – Dan Jones, Reviewer

Next to small cars such as the Hyundai i10, the Kia Picanto and the Toyota Aygo X, the Suzuki Ignis’s price tag is slightly more expensive. But next to a Renault Captur – one of the cheapest cars in the small SUV class – the Ignis is thousands of pounds cheaper. The Ignis's closest rival on price is the new Citroën C3.

Suzuki frequently offers discounts on the list price and very tempting PCP finance deals so it's always worth checking the latest offers on our New Car Deals pages.

Our Real MPG fuel economy tests on the front-wheel-drive Ignis led to a real-world average of 59.6mpg, which puts it up with the most economical cars we’ve tested. That's no small feat considering the many hybrid cars and diesels we've tried.

The good news doesn't stop there. If you run an Ignis as a company car, its comparatively low CO2 emissions help keep BIK tax palatable. Plus, its resale values sit at about the same level as the Hyundai i10.

The Ignis's SZ-T trim (your only option) is decently equipped for the money. It gets 16in alloy wheels, sliding and reclining rear seats, front electric windows, DAB radio, Bluetooth, a four-speaker sound system and air-con.

In terms of safety, the model scored just three out of five stars when it was tested for safety by Euro NCAP – and that was back in 2016 when testing was less stringent than it is today. You do get automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard, as well as lane-keep assist.

Suzuki came an impressive third out of 31 manufacturers in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey (only Mini and Lexus did better). The Ignis did not feature in the latest survey but it came top out of 18 small SUV models in the 2023 survey.

Every new Ignis comes with two services and a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, extending up to seven years or 100,000 miles if you keep servicing your car at an official Suzuki centre.

"I found the Ignis's rugged looks rather at odds with its low running costs. In fact, for a time, the Ignis was the best-performing car in our Real MPG testing, with a real-world average of 50.9mpg." – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

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