The recently launched Maruti-Suzuki Ignis has been nominated as a finalist in the new Urban Car category of the World Car of The Year for 2017. The criteria to meet the parameters of the same were that the car had to be less than four metres long, suitable in design for everyday use in an urban environment and also on sale in two continents by the deadline of spring 2017. The Ignis measures 3.70 metres and has been nominated as a finalist with four other competitors.
The World Car Of The Year judging panel that consists of 73 automotive journalists will critic the car, out of which eight represent the UK and Republic of Ireland. The World Car of The Year, Mike Vice-Chair, UK, Rutherford said: “Suzuki has seen off many rival manufacturers from all corners of the globe to become a 2017 World Car finalist. As our 70-plus jurors have decided and as I have long suspected, Suzuki builds some of the finest small cars on the market – thus its official position as a finalist. The company may yet go on to lift the World Urban Car trophy at the New York International Motor Show in April.”
The Maruti Suzuki Ignis was launched recently in India with a sticker price of Rs 4.59 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base petrol variant and Rs 7.8 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the top-end diesel variant. The Ignis is powered by petrol and diesel engine as well. While the petrol engine is a 1.2-litre VVT that develops 82bhp of power and 113Nm of peak torque, the diesel variant is powered by a 1.3-litre DDIS mill that churns out 74bhp of maximum power and 190Nm of peak torque. Both the engines have transmission options of either a 5-speed manual or an AMT transmission. Ignis sports a first-in-segment LED headlamps and DRLs, dual-tone colour schemes and 15-inch alloy wheels. It also comes with a 7-inch touchscreen floating display with navigation and reverse camera.
The World Car Awards (WCA) is a programme initiated, organised and conducted by automotive journalists from all over the world. The WCA are administered by a not-for-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of distinguished automotive journalists. By its nature, WCOTY includes some vehicles that may be unavailable in individual regions, and excludes others whose availability may be limited to those regions.