In India, hatchbacks have always held a considerable market share. Being a price sensitive market, two key players namely - Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have been ruling this particular segment in the country. Maruti Suzuki’s Ignis will be the latest contender to the Hyundai’s popular seller, the Grand i10. Both the cars boast of practically and features that puts them one step ahead of the rest.
On the design aspect, both the cars are pure charmers. However, in order to strengthen its foothold in the Indian market, Hyundai will be introducing a new Grand i10 facelift. The front fascia gets a redesigned grille with a new mesh pattern and round LED DRLs, tweaked headlamps and tail lamps. The sides remain fairly the same as the current version except for new alloy wheel design. Moving away from the conventional design, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis gets a more upright design with large headlamps that neatly connects with the grille. The hatchback gets an SUV-like stance to appeal to the younger lot. Moreover, the Ignis claims to offer better ground clearance figures that is apt to handle Indian conditions.
As for the interior, the new Hyundai Grand i10 will get revised upholstery with an updated choice of colour options, new instrument cluster and depending on the variant, it will get features like 7-inch touchscreen display with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Safety features like front airbags and ABS with EBD might be offered from mid variant onwards. The Ignis from Maruti Suzuki will be sold via the company’s premium Nexa outlets, hence we can expect to see front airbags and ABS with EBD as standard on the upcoming vehicle. Moreover, depending on the variant the Ignis will be loaded with features like 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, USB, and AUX. Additionally, it will also offer automatic climate control and reverse parking sensors with camera.
Under the hood, the Hyundai Grand i10 will continue to be powered by a 1.2-litre Kappa engine which generates 82bhp of power and 116Nm of torque, while the diesel variant will continue to be powered by a 1.1-litre three cylinder U2 VGT engine which generates 70bhp power and 163 Nm of torque. Five speed manual transmission comes as standard, while CVT is optional on the petrol variant. The yet to launch Maruti Suzuki Ignis will also be offered with a 1.2-litre K-series petrol engine, while the diesel will get a Fiat sourced 1.3-litre engine. Five speed manual transmission comes as standard on both the cars. However, Maruti might introduce an AMT option for the Ignis.
Though both the cars score well on the practicality aspect, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis scores some extra brownie points with slightly lower pricing and standard safety features. Moreover, a new design might also lure the younger lot to the Ignis. Hyundai on the other hand can also work wonders, in case it pulls out its hidden bag of surprises for the new Grand i10 model.
