Suzuki Ignis

Australia’s smallest SUV has had a midlife makeover. Read our review of the cute but quirky Suzuki Ignis Series 2

Pint-sized and punchy: Compact city car face-off

Which is the best model in Suzuki's pint-sized SUV line-up.

After six months in the CarAdvice garage, it's time to say goodbye to the Suzuki Ignis – a micro car we've come to love and appreciate for its value, flexibility and funky design.

Suzuki Australia is preparing to cast a range of Shadow special editions across its showrooms, starting with the Baleno city car.

The new Toyota GR Corolla two-seater is one of a long list of cars with more doors than seats, spanning everything from luxury SUVs to work utes.

Five new cars on sale in Australia still have 'four on the floor' – albeit as automatics – and the number of new vehicles with five-speed manual gearboxes is diminishing.

The fault could potentially lead to a fire in the presence of an ignition source, according to the manufacturer.

Doing what we do, CarAdvice writers are often asked by friends and family, and through our contact page: Which car is best for me?

(Aqua is gross, you guys)

Great young styling, fun to drive and super economical. The Ignis 5speed always puts a smile on your face especially when refuelling. I average 4.6 litres per 100klms Which is handy considering I travel 1000klms per week (Leura blue mountains to Ingleburn NSW every day). The 1.2litre engine pulls willingly when given a boot full and will surprise other motorists, at least to 60klms an hour. This is probably notable due to the 840kgs weight of the Ignis. One area for improvement would be suspension tuning! With occupants In the back seats (only 2 x 70kg teenagers) the little Ignis will bottom out with a thud!!! even over small bumps. Considering I drive this car by myself 95% of the time, this issue isn’t a real concern for me. Another area for improvement would be road noise. On certain rough road surfaces the road noise can be a little annoying especially when talking on the phone. The seats are comfortable even for taller occupants my son is 6ft 3” and is happy to travel an hour and a half in the back seat. I wouldn’t hesitate a road trip for 2 down to Melbourne or up to Queensland in the little Suzy either. One thing Suzuki doesn’t offer for the Ignis is a row bar kit. Yes I know I know it’s not the type of car that could lug around a trailer full of dirt or bricks, but it would be ideal to be able fit a rear bike rack. I’d love to see the AWD version in a 5 speed come to Australia and fitted with the 1.0 turbo, the power to weight ratio would make for an even more enjoyable drive, with the added advantage of being able to explore a fire trail or two. I’d highly recommend this car for anyone single or a couple for a daily commute or a road trip. Servicing and parts are cheap and you won’t ever need to do a timing belt!! Keep this car regularly serviced and I doubt you’ll experience any major mechanical issues. I’ve traveled 60,000klms in 14 months with out a single concern!

Having been in the market for a car that is as minimal fuss as possible after having been a long-suffering VW owner, my demands were pretty simple - I was looking for the ultimate urban daily - simple to service, easy to park, fun to drive and with as many mod cons as my budget could stretch to. The Ignis stood out as quite the jack of all trades. I was immediately taken by it's weird-beard-kawaii-retro-future details and storm-trooper helmet side profile. the smiling headlights reminded me a bit of Baymax, which isn't reason enough to buy a car...but it didn't hurt. Simple mechanics with not a whole lot to go wrong was the next appeal. I am not a smart man when it comes to mechanical elements, and anecdotally, many friends who have Suzuki's speak of their reliability and simplicity. The 6 monthly services were a little off-putting, but the cap priced servicing costs aren't exorbitant. The interior accompaniments were also very welcome. The inclusion of GPS, Android Auto and Apple Carplay were very welcome. The reality is that the system does have a tendency to run slower than I'd like, but an extra 2-3 seconds sitting there waiting for my phone to pair isn't the end of the world - and it'll pay for itself should I avoid a fine for mobile phone use! I've also found my inner reverse-parallel parking deity, with excellent all around vision, a reverse camera and the shearest of back sides meaning there are very few spots I can't wiggle my way into. Misses? I find the CVT hunting fairly regularly through the rev range in an effort to find peak fuel economy, and the small engine, while being a near petrol tee-totaller, does need to work to get things moving. It's all just a case of modulating the throttle and picking your moments in traffic - and once underway I've found in-gear acceleration perfectly serviceable. It's also not particularly quiet - the little engine that could does have a tendency to drone, but the tyre roar is most noticeable on the sorts of roads where the higher ground clearance of the Ignis should stand it in better stead. The drivers seat is adjusts to my lanky frame well, save for the headrest - I would have enjoyed another notch so that I can set it without it digging in between my shoulder blades. I would have also loved the option of buying the Hybrid model. the omission of both this and the 4wd option does leave a few blank switches dotted about the cabin - reminding you that you get what you pay for. There being plenty of good choices at this end of the market, including within the Suzuki stable. For me it was a case of head meeting heart meeting wallet. That the Ignis has oodles of character and puts a smile on my face is just an added bonus.