Faults:

A drunk driver coming the wrong way down a motorway slip road wrote it off for me. Aside from that, absolutely nothing went wrong with the car in the year I owned it.

General Comments:

The car handles better than you'd think it handles - it feels high, but it can still corner really well if you push it, but you'd have to overcome your fear and trust the handling.

The fuel economy is ridiculous - I mean, I consistently did 300 to 350 miles on a tank on both motorways and city roads.

The cabin is incredibly roomy for a small car, and there are all sorts of nooks and crannies all over the cabin.

On very long journeys the driving position could get a little uncomfortable, but then I was used to the much lower seating in a Ford Ka before this one. I did get used to it over time, though.

The back seats fold flat to give a big load area - came in very handy when moving house.

It's not as quick off the mark as some cars, but the higher gears do make up for it, and the fuel economy doesn't match up to it's performance at all.

When she was written off, the car was hit in the driver's side door by a much bigger jeep-style vehicle, and the car flipped three times. despite this, both myself and my passenger walked away from the crash with only minor injuries. The safety features obviously work pretty well!

She sometimes suffered from crosswinds on open roads because of its high sides, but on the flipside it does make it easy to spot in car parks, and it gives a fantastic view of the road.

Overall, though, this is a fantastic car. It's practical, but still has an aura of fun, and it's very easy to drive. I'm planning on getting another one, although the new Sport model looks like it has my name written all over it!

If you're looking for a slightly different car that won't let you down, is easy and economical to run, and you don't want to trade practicality for style, look no further: the Ignis is the answer you've been looking for.

Faults:

Nothing serious, but a few niggles:

The windscreen wiper blades are very poor quality, and are already leaving a film of rubber on the glass after just 2000 miles.

The rear washer dribbles whenever you wash the front windscreen.

The speakers rattle when you turn up the bass on the stereo. Although easy to operate, the stereo is poor quality. Reception is not that good, with interference from the ignition at speed.

General Comments:

This is the "new Ignis" (2003 redesigned body and engines). It is made in Hungary whereas the previous Ignis was made in Japan.

Before buying this new Ignis I had an Ingni 1.3GA (original type) for three years. I was very pleased with this, and it's still in the household. The new one is nowhere near as good in my opinion.

My main complaint is the poor fuel consumption. At a constant 80-ish in 5th on a motorway it returns 22MPG. On a normal mix of town and A-roads I'm lucky if I get 35MPG. Compared to the original Ignis which was around 35MPG on the motorway and 45MPG on the mix of town and A-roads. The published fuel consumption figures suggest only a 5MPG difference between the two. I do 20000 miles a year, and this car will cost me several hundred pounds a year more than the previous one.

The dealer have contacted Suzuki, who think the consumption I am getting is reasonable. I disagree.

Performance is less lively than the original 1.3. Probably all the extra power from the new 1.5 is used for the permanent 4 wheel drive.

The 4 wheel drive does improve road holding when pushing it around corners etc. If you do lose grip, such as on wet or icy roads, it tends to keep in line rather than veering all over the place. I think it should be selectable rather than permanent though, since all it does on motorways is waste fuel.

This car is a joint design with Vauxhall - and it shows. The interior is clearly Vauxhall - especially the dash, switchgear, stereo etc.

The stereo is a Blaupunkt model, in the Vauxhall standard double-DIN format. It drives a separate display in the dash. It's a basic radio/CD. Sound quality is fairly poor, not helped by the poor quality speakers that rattle when you turn the bass up. Because the whole thing is integrated with the dashboard display and used to set the time on the clock, there is no easy way to fit a decent replacement if you want these features to work. There are no alternative systems available from Suzuki yet.

The interior is a mass of boring black. Black dash (with contrasting dark gray section below), black carpets, black seats, black door panels with black fabric inserts...

There is a lack of storage space compared to the original Ignis. All you get is the door pockets, a couple of little spaces near the gear lever and a couple of useless slots either side of the stereo.

After just 2000 miles I am thinking that this purchase was a mistake, and will be looking into trading it in either for a good low mileage original Ignis or a different make.