The Ignis has long been the most affordable way into a new Suzuki, but its future in Australia is under a cloud.
New rules coming into force on March 1, 2025 mandating autonomous emergency braking mean the Ignis in its current form can’t be sold locally.
Speaking with CarExpert at the launch of the new Swift Hybrid, general manager for Suzuki Automobiles Australia Michael Pachota said there’s been no confirmation of a new model from the brand’s Japan headquarters.
“Ignis is at the end of its lifecycle,” Mr Pachota said.
Ignis GLX
“There has been no new Ignis that has been communicated from Suzuki Japan to us, with [driver assist and mild-hybrid] specifications and/or a new spec available for the Australian market – so at this stage, we don’t see a path past 2025”.
While never made available in Australia, the Suzuki Ignis is offered overseas (including the UK) with camera-based active safety systems like autonomous emergency braking and lane departure warning.
The Ignis Hybrid still on sale in the UK utilises a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a 12-volt mild-hybrid system and 10Ah lithium-ion battery pack.
The belt-driven integrated starter generator also provides 2kW and 50Nm during takeoff and acceleration.
According to WLTP specifications, the Ignis Hybrid is capable of 4.96L/100km with emissions of 112g/km. The non-hybrid version offered in Australia uses 4.7-4.9L/100km on the more lenient NEDC-based ADR combined cycle, and CO2 emissions of 107-114g/km.
Despite being its most affordable model, Suzuki only registered 2280 examples of the Ignis in 2023, paling in comparison to the similarly priced Swift (6914 units) and supply-constrained Jimny 4×4 (5002 units).
Currently priced from $22,490 drive-away, the Ignis has been subject to a number of price increases since it originally launched in Series I guise back in 2016, where it was one of the cheapest new cars on sale at $15,990 before on-road costs.
The equivalent model in 2024 is priced from $21,490 before on-roads or $22,490 drive-away, despite having undergone minor changes locally compared to overseas models.
Suzuki Australia is gearing up for a hybrid product onslaught over the next 12 months, led by the Swift Hybrid later this month and followed by the Vitara Hybrid, S-Cross Hybrid and Fronx Hybrid in the early stages of 2025.
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