Had one, loved it, miss it, would buy one again. Simple engineering that goes and goes and goes. Completely invisible to most. Raised a smile every time I got in. Its tenacity and ability to keep up with much bigger dogs (or "unshakeoffability", as a friend put it) earned it the nickname of "The Randy Terrier". Great seats, but you did feel like you're sitting quite high in them, a CG lock makes 'em perfect. Not a lot can be done mod-wise, though the 1.8 block & crank can be fitted with the VVT heads from the 1.5. I don't know if the SISOC is still active, buit it's worth a look.

I like these, briefly thought about buying one myself but wrote the idea off. I think they look cool in a quirky kind of way, but not exactly "looking back over your shoulder" kind of good, and my budget allowed for more performance and charismatic engines to be on the menu. I really wanted a car that I would dream about driving every time I'm not in it, and I didn't think the Ignis would deliver that, but for a student on budget I think it's a great choice.

I bet the Fiesta ST drivers aren't that surprised though, are they? Unless they don't know what it was at first, but then I'm sure when they exploit the near 50% power advantage they have over the Ignis, they probably disappear fairly quickly!

If we're going for the nicknames, mine was given "Postman Jap Van" by many of my friends, pitty it isnt red... They even went as far as buying me a stuffed black and white teddy.

Great write up, and couldn't agree more! I absolutely loved mine, but binned it in the snow. Mine was an ex demonstrator, so had every option under the sun.

Seeing the Nobuhiro 'Monster Sport' Tajima JWRC cars driven by the likes of 2004 title winning PG Anderson and Guy Wilks made me look into these modern day Peugeot 106 Rallye alternatives (another car I've owned) as a fun cheap everyday car.

It was this homologation limited edition feel & Recaro 'fish-nets' that sold it to me.

I bought mine from a Suzuki dealer with 8700miles on the clock and 13months of manufacturer warranty remaining for under £5k. It was like the article car met blue and had some nice optional extras on it.

The big spot lights, mesh grill, mudflaps, black carbon look B pillar covers, Suzuki Sport mats etc. I added a few items like the 16x7" 'San Remo' alloys which were Suzuki UK only option made by RimStock which although heavier than the 15x5" Enkei originals filled the arches much better, always felt the Enkeis needed to be spaced out to look right. Plus the ContiSport2 195/45/16 rubber made the car behave much more predictable at the rear and have far better turn in than the Bridgestone 185/55/15 fitted as standard.

One of the best modifications was the Suzuki Sport clutch pedal relocation kit which supplied a new clutch pedal arm to move it closer to the brake pedal and an alloy footrest where there was none before and alloy pedal covers to match it.

It's amazing how many items you could buy directly from Suzuki Sport like the lowered springs with very detailed instructions on how to shorten the bump stops to ensure correct suspension travel, none of the aftermarket springs supplied this, or the silly expensive carbon fibre cold air induction kit, and front strut tower bar in Suzuki talk, all of which I bought when it was meant to be my cheap transport for work.

Only none Suzuki Sport items I fitted were WhiteLine front and rear anti-roll bars. The front allowed you to add some extra castor, the rear didn't have one as standard, made it very pointy and possibly a little nervous but massive fun.

Edited to add, there is a lot of love for the Fiat Panda 100 HP and on paper should be similar, boxy van profile 1.4 16V 6speed 100Bhp V's 1.5 16V 5speed 107bhp, but in reality totally different. The now defunct Performance Tuner mag took them both to Bruntingthorpe as part of a group test and the Ignis did 0-60 in 8.8 secs claimed 8.9 & 0-100 in 30secs the Panda did 0-60 in 10.8secs claimed 9.5 and 0-100 in 41secs. The Ignis also covered a handling course iirc quicker which backs up how the felt to me driving them. Though hardly fast cars by anyone's estimation I genuinely believe the Ignis is a modern day 106 Rallye.

Mine

And Ed, have you ever startled a badger? Have you?...

FUGLY and hateful, owned one briefly and couldn't wait to get shot of it ... To each their own!

Do quite like this little monster. Although at uni I had a 1971 mini clubman with a 1275 mg metro engine in which I wouldn't have swapped for anything.

As a young car enthusiast driving a Corsa at the moment, I'm slightly disheartened over your Vauxhall related comments... but your Ignis is certainly a bit different! Good work

I quite like these, but why on earth would anyone need parking sensors on a car with such a flat rear end?