The Suzuki Ignis moves another step nearer to taking the World Car Of The Year Award.

Suzuki is well known as the ‘Small Car Experts’ and is pleased to announce that the recently launched IGNIS has made it as a finalist in the new Urban Car category of the 2017 World Car of The Year.

To qualify for the initial judging process, vehicles 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. 

At 3.70 metres in length, the IGNIS Mini Crossover qualified for judging and is now shortlisted with just four other new cars.

The World Car of the Year judging panel comprises of 73 Automotive Industry journalists with eight of these representing the UK and Republic of Ireland.

World Car of The Year (UK Vice-Chair) Mike Rutherford comments: "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 new IGNIS was first launched in the Japanese domestic market, unveiled for Europe at the Paris Motor Show last Autumn and went on sale in January 2017. In addition to its stylish exterior design it features excellent visibility, compact dimensions and a spacious cabin with ample luggage space. The development goal was to create purely iconic crossover styling that is undoubtedly Suzuki.

IGNIS is powered by a 90PS 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine and is available with optional ALLGRIP four wheel drive. It also offers optional SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) technology that lowers CO₂ emissions to 97g/km.

The IGNIS SZ5 model offers the latest in safety technology with stereo cameras monitoring the distance between the vehicle and other objects, as well as the shape of those objects. This new technology is the basis for three advanced safety functions: Dual Camera Brake Support (DCBS), Lane Departure Warning, and Weaving Alert.

In the UK, IGNIS is already proving popular with sales of 560 in its first month. 

Suzuki wins the small car award at this years Irish Car of The Year Awards ceremony, and well deserved it is too.

Suzuki is very well known as the ‘Small Car Experts’ and is pleased to announce that it has just won the Small Car category at the 2017 Irish Car of The Year ceremony. This year celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the awards and was supported again by its long established sponsor, Continental Tyres.

Baleno was announced as a category winner following an intensive test programme whereby 33 of Ireland’s leading motoring writers assembled to vote for the best new cars on the market. The voting jurors spent the last twelve months evaluating a total of 42 new models and voted in a number of different categories.

Each juror has 25 points to allocate in each category, with no car receiving more than 15 points. The votes were then collated and the car with the maximum points was deemed a category winner. The jurors also then re-evaluated all cars last week as a reminder prior to final voting.

Dale Wyatt, Director of Automobile comments: “This award is really positive news for us at Suzuki as the launch of Baleno has opened up further opportunities to reach some important new buyers in the crowded small car segment. It appeals to customers who are looking for a more rational choice than Swift with extra interior space and larger boot capacity but who may not be looking to move up in size to a Vitara or S-Cross.”

The Baleno is available with Suzuki’s highly acclaimed 1.0-litre three cylinder Boosterjet turbocharged engine offering CO₂ emissions of 105g/km and consumes just 4.5l/100km (62.7mpg) on the EC combined fuel consumption cycle. It was also Suzuki’s first car to be available with SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) technology and is equipped with a lithium–ion battery and Integrated Start Generator to enable CO₂ emissions of just 94g/km.

Standard equipment for all Baleno models in the range is comprehensive and the SZ-T model (Available with 1.0-litre Boosterjet) includes six airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, HID headlights, air conditioning, satellite navigation, DAB Radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, rear privacy glass, cruise control with speed limiter and front electric windows.  

SZ5 (Boosterjet and SHVS model) adds automatic climate control, rear electric windows, 4.2 inch central colour trip display, LED rear lights, Adaptive Cruise Control and Radar Brake Support .

Suzuki looks forward to haveing two of its new models nominated for World Car Of The Year Awards.

Suzuki is well known as the ‘Small Car Experts’ and is pleased to announce that it has two eligible nominations in the new ‘Urban Car’ category of the 2017 World Car of The Year.

To qualify, vehicles must be less than four metres long, suitable in design for everyday use in an urban environment and also be on sale in two Continents by the deadline of Spring 2017. The Baleno hatchback model at 3.99 metres and the new Ignis Mini Crossover at 3.70 metres both qualify for judging and there are six other new cars listed in this category.

The World Car of the Year judging panel comprises of 73 Automotive Industry journalists with eight of these representing the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The Baleno was first launched in India and then introduced in Europe several months later in June 2016. It was Suzuki’s first car to be available with SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) technology and is equipped with a lithium–ion battery and Integrated Start Generator to enable CO₂ emissions of just 94g/km. The Baleno is also available with Suzuki’s highly acclaimed 1.0-litre three cylinder Boosterjet turbocharged engine offering CO₂emissions of 105g/km and 62.7mpg on the EC combined fuel consumption cycle.

The new Ignis Mini Crossover model was first launched in Japan for the domestic market and more recently unveiled for Europe at the Paris Motor Show; it will go on sale from January 2017. In addition to its stylish exterior design, the Ignis features excellent visibility, compact dimensions and a spacious cabin with ample luggage space. The development goal was to create purely iconic crossover styling that is undoubtedly Suzuki.

Ignis is powered by a 90PS 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine and will be available with optional four wheel drive. It will also offer optional SHVS technology that lowers CO₂ emissions to 97g/km.

Ignis also offers the latest in safety technology with stereo cameras monitoring the distance between the vehicle and other objects, as well as the shape of those objects. This new technology becomes the basis for three advanced safety functions: Dual Camera Brake Support (DCBS), Lane Departure Warning, and Weaving Alert.