RE: Shed Of The Week: Suzuki Ignis Sport
Discussion
I have posted this somewhere else before, but I did the 2004 London Sydney Marathon in one of these. I did it with the late Freddie Preston and he decided we were not going to do our third LSM in an old car! (Mind you in the first -1968-one we were on modern cars - he in a Rover 200TC & me in a Cortina Lotus)
The Ignis Sport was brilliant. Didn't miss a beat (until Freddie rolled it on the penultimate day, 1 1/2 rolls & landed on the roof & only thing really broken was the aircon. We finished after some metal bashing & re-attaching the rear axle!& carried on & won the class).
The rear seat was out, full roll cage, strut brace, brace for the lower suspension mounts, a sump & tank guard, extra spare wheel, box of untouched spares)
10,000 miles, up to four stages a day. Standard brakes & suspension.
Who cares if it looks like a cardboard box, they go really well.
I wonder what the insurance is for an 18 year old, might look for one for my grandson!
The Ignis Sport was brilliant. Didn't miss a beat (until Freddie rolled it on the penultimate day, 1 1/2 rolls & landed on the roof & only thing really broken was the aircon. We finished after some metal bashing & re-attaching the rear axle!& carried on & won the class).
The rear seat was out, full roll cage, strut brace, brace for the lower suspension mounts, a sump & tank guard, extra spare wheel, box of untouched spares)
10,000 miles, up to four stages a day. Standard brakes & suspension.
Who cares if it looks like a cardboard box, they go really well.
I wonder what the insurance is for an 18 year old, might look for one for my grandson!
david.h said:
I have posted this somewhere else before, but I did the 2004 London Sydney Marathon in one of these. I did it with the late Freddie Preston and he decided we were not going to do our third LSM in an old car! (Mind you in the first -1968-one we were on modern cars - he in a Rover 200TC & me in a Cortina Lotus)
The Ignis Sport was brilliant. Didn't miss a beat (until Freddie rolled it on the penultimate day, 1 1/2 rolls & landed on the roof & only thing really broken was the aircon. We finished after some metal bashing & re-attaching the rear axle!& carried on & won the class).
The rear seat was out, full roll cage, strut brace, brace for the lower suspension mounts, a sump & tank guard, extra spare wheel, box of untouched spares)
10,000 miles, up to four stages a day. Standard brakes & suspension.
Who cares if it looks like a cardboard box, they go really well.
I wonder what the insurance is for an 18 year old, might look for one for my grandson!
Excellent story thanks for sharing this.The Ignis Sport was brilliant. Didn't miss a beat (until Freddie rolled it on the penultimate day, 1 1/2 rolls & landed on the roof & only thing really broken was the aircon. We finished after some metal bashing & re-attaching the rear axle!& carried on & won the class).
The rear seat was out, full roll cage, strut brace, brace for the lower suspension mounts, a sump & tank guard, extra spare wheel, box of untouched spares)
10,000 miles, up to four stages a day. Standard brakes & suspension.
Who cares if it looks like a cardboard box, they go really well.
I wonder what the insurance is for an 18 year old, might look for one for my grandson!
That's two sheds in four weeks that I've owned in the past following the FTO before.
I bought an Ignis Sport with 8400miles on it at 18 months old from a Susuki dealer for under £5k with some options chucked in. The UK dealer supplied 17x7" 'San Remo' wheels made by Team Dynamics filled the arches much better than the 15x5" Enkei's. Ran it for 20,000 miles which were trouble free, gave it to my Mum who stick another 35,000 miles with only a single top mount needing replaced. Sadly written off when someone jumped a red light and hit her.
What I liked at the time was you could buy some very well made and resolved tuning items from Suzuki Sport either through a limited options catalogue at any Suzuki dealer or through Monster Sport Europe who ran the JWRC teams and a few other suppliers. The springs for example had very detailed instructions to cut the bumpstops down to prevent bottoming out on them, aftermarket ones, even expensive ones neglected to do this. One if the best items was the clutch pedal relocation kit which not only moved it closer to the brake pedal but provided a foot rest for longer journeys, an absolute must and really should have been like that standard. The pedal arm was so easy to remove and replace with the new. Suzuki Sport did every thing from air boxes to strut bars, to LSD and throttle bodies, the list was extensive.
I added the carbon fibre cold air box kit, springs, aforementioned cold air kit, Magnex iirc exhaust when a hanger broke and front and rear WhiteLine anti roll bars. Rear adjustable for strength front for castor.
Had a good chassis that verged on nervousness with a very direct front end and mobile rear. which is probably why it made a decent JWRC car. Fantastic brakes, great steering feel and feedback, slick gear change and I lived the old shool Recaro 'Fishnets' which summed up the overall feel of the car. Old school and honest modern warm hatch that's as quick as older bit hatches.
I bought an Ignis Sport with 8400miles on it at 18 months old from a Susuki dealer for under £5k with some options chucked in. The UK dealer supplied 17x7" 'San Remo' wheels made by Team Dynamics filled the arches much better than the 15x5" Enkei's. Ran it for 20,000 miles which were trouble free, gave it to my Mum who stick another 35,000 miles with only a single top mount needing replaced. Sadly written off when someone jumped a red light and hit her.
What I liked at the time was you could buy some very well made and resolved tuning items from Suzuki Sport either through a limited options catalogue at any Suzuki dealer or through Monster Sport Europe who ran the JWRC teams and a few other suppliers. The springs for example had very detailed instructions to cut the bumpstops down to prevent bottoming out on them, aftermarket ones, even expensive ones neglected to do this. One if the best items was the clutch pedal relocation kit which not only moved it closer to the brake pedal but provided a foot rest for longer journeys, an absolute must and really should have been like that standard. The pedal arm was so easy to remove and replace with the new. Suzuki Sport did every thing from air boxes to strut bars, to LSD and throttle bodies, the list was extensive.
I added the carbon fibre cold air box kit, springs, aforementioned cold air kit, Magnex iirc exhaust when a hanger broke and front and rear WhiteLine anti roll bars. Rear adjustable for strength front for castor.
Had a good chassis that verged on nervousness with a very direct front end and mobile rear. which is probably why it made a decent JWRC car. Fantastic brakes, great steering feel and feedback, slick gear change and I lived the old shool Recaro 'Fishnets' which summed up the overall feel of the car. Old school and honest modern warm hatch that's as quick as older bit hatches.
A see the Panda 100HP mentioned a few times but this article from a few years ago where's it's pitched against a Suzuki Ignis Sport, Ford Ka, Smart for2, MINI One. I think the ChippedUK remap can be taken with a pinch of salt as subsequently I think it was found out to be smelling of poo from a bull!
The whole article is written the premise of with so many hot hatches now have 200bhp + and massive amounts of grip, meaning that to actually drive the car to the edge of its talents can only be achieved on a track. So the new wave of warm hatches with less power and grip but meaning that in fun terms means you get much more as you get to drive them closer to there limits on public roads. the choices then buy a new Panda for 10K or save a bit and buy a 2nd hand car and maybe spend a little on performance modifications bring you back to the 10K or under mark.
Forgot to add the editor of the mag said in his first word bit "I think all of us have experienced the joy of driving something that's hugely underpowered at its very limits on the road. I started out in a Cinquecento Sporting, and you had to be on the redline everywhere just to make any progress! It may not have been fast in outright terms, but as an entertaining thing to bomb about in, it felt pretty peerless at the time."
Heres the front cover and start a little teaser of the article, but if you want some more info read after the pics.
Some interesting figures came from the day which was done at Rockingham with proper timing gear which you may be able to see in the pic, but I extracted this for you.
The cars;
Suzuki Ignis Sport 1490cc 16V VVT, induction kit, cat back exhaust, ChippedUK remap 130.9bhp@6450rpm 113.8lb ft@5825rpm 945kgs 17" rims standard are 15"
Fiat Panda 100HP 1368cc 16V 6 speed 99bhp@6000rpm 97lb ft@4250rpm 975kgs as per standard
Ford KA 1299cc 8V Fiesta Zetec Throttle body, Puma SPeed 4-2-1 manifold, Powerflow exhuast, Superchipped estimated 65bhp 945kgs 16" rims standard 13"
ModNMini One 1598cc 16V custom remap. pipercross panel filter, Denso plugs 134bhp 115lb ft 1065kgs 18"rims standard 15"
Smartarse Smart fortwo 598cc Pipercross venom induction, modified Smart Roadster turbo, s/s large bore intercooler pipes, remapped, janspeed stealth exhuast system 94.53bhp@5250rpm 86lb ft@3400rpm 730kgs
0-60mph
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 8.8secs
2nd ModNMini One = 10.5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 10.8secs
4th Smartarse Smart fortwo = 15.1secs
5th Ford Ka 1.3 = 15.3secs
0-100mph
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 30.4secs
2nd ModNMini One = 34.5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 41.5secs
N/A The Ka and Smart never made it to 100mph
Maximum speed
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 111mph
2nd ModNMini One = 108mph
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 107mph
Joint 4th KA & Smart = 94mph
Standing 1/4 mile
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 16.9secs@81.8mph
2nd ModNMini One = 18.1@78.2mph
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 18.2@75mph
4th Ford KA = 20.3@67.7mph
5th Smartarse = 21.2@68.1mph
30-50mph in 3rd gear
1st Smartarse = 4.9secs it was noted it was very low geared needing 5th to get to 60 so had an advantage here.
2nd Suzuki Ignis Sport = 5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 5.6secs
4th Ford Ka = 6.5secs
5Th ModNMini = 7.5secs
50-70mph in 4th gear
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 7.5secs
2nd Fiat Panda 100hp = 7.7secs
3rd Smartarse = 9.9secs but needed upshift to 5th gear as 4th too short
4th ModNMini = 10.4secs
5th Ford KA = 12.7secs
80-100mph in 5th
1st Fiat Panda 100hp = 18.3secs noted that it has 6speeds so its not top gear like the others
2nd Suzuki Ignis Sport = 19.3secs
3rdModNMini = 29.6secs
Smart and KA couldn't do it.
The whole article is written the premise of with so many hot hatches now have 200bhp + and massive amounts of grip, meaning that to actually drive the car to the edge of its talents can only be achieved on a track. So the new wave of warm hatches with less power and grip but meaning that in fun terms means you get much more as you get to drive them closer to there limits on public roads. the choices then buy a new Panda for 10K or save a bit and buy a 2nd hand car and maybe spend a little on performance modifications bring you back to the 10K or under mark.
Forgot to add the editor of the mag said in his first word bit "I think all of us have experienced the joy of driving something that's hugely underpowered at its very limits on the road. I started out in a Cinquecento Sporting, and you had to be on the redline everywhere just to make any progress! It may not have been fast in outright terms, but as an entertaining thing to bomb about in, it felt pretty peerless at the time."
Heres the front cover and start a little teaser of the article, but if you want some more info read after the pics.
Some interesting figures came from the day which was done at Rockingham with proper timing gear which you may be able to see in the pic, but I extracted this for you.
The cars;
Suzuki Ignis Sport 1490cc 16V VVT, induction kit, cat back exhaust, ChippedUK remap 130.9bhp@6450rpm 113.8lb ft@5825rpm 945kgs 17" rims standard are 15"
Fiat Panda 100HP 1368cc 16V 6 speed 99bhp@6000rpm 97lb ft@4250rpm 975kgs as per standard
Ford KA 1299cc 8V Fiesta Zetec Throttle body, Puma SPeed 4-2-1 manifold, Powerflow exhuast, Superchipped estimated 65bhp 945kgs 16" rims standard 13"
ModNMini One 1598cc 16V custom remap. pipercross panel filter, Denso plugs 134bhp 115lb ft 1065kgs 18"rims standard 15"
Smartarse Smart fortwo 598cc Pipercross venom induction, modified Smart Roadster turbo, s/s large bore intercooler pipes, remapped, janspeed stealth exhuast system 94.53bhp@5250rpm 86lb ft@3400rpm 730kgs
0-60mph
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 8.8secs
2nd ModNMini One = 10.5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 10.8secs
4th Smartarse Smart fortwo = 15.1secs
5th Ford Ka 1.3 = 15.3secs
0-100mph
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 30.4secs
2nd ModNMini One = 34.5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 41.5secs
N/A The Ka and Smart never made it to 100mph
Maximum speed
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 111mph
2nd ModNMini One = 108mph
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 107mph
Joint 4th KA & Smart = 94mph
Standing 1/4 mile
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 16.9secs@81.8mph
2nd ModNMini One = 18.1@78.2mph
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 18.2@75mph
4th Ford KA = 20.3@67.7mph
5th Smartarse = 21.2@68.1mph
30-50mph in 3rd gear
1st Smartarse = 4.9secs it was noted it was very low geared needing 5th to get to 60 so had an advantage here.
2nd Suzuki Ignis Sport = 5secs
3rd Fiat Panda 100hp = 5.6secs
4th Ford Ka = 6.5secs
5Th ModNMini = 7.5secs
50-70mph in 4th gear
1st Suzuki Ignis Sport = 7.5secs
2nd Fiat Panda 100hp = 7.7secs
3rd Smartarse = 9.9secs but needed upshift to 5th gear as 4th too short
4th ModNMini = 10.4secs
5th Ford KA = 12.7secs
80-100mph in 5th
1st Fiat Panda 100hp = 18.3secs noted that it has 6speeds so its not top gear like the others
2nd Suzuki Ignis Sport = 19.3secs
3rdModNMini = 29.6secs
Smart and KA couldn't do it.
Edited by j333evo on Monday 7th July 16:30
j333evo said:
That's two sheds in four weeks that I've owned in the past following the FTO before.
I bought an Ignis Sport with 8400miles on it at 18 months old from a Susuki dealer for under £5k with some options chucked in. The UK dealer supplied 17x7" 'San Remo' wheels made by Team Dynamics filled the arches much better than the 15x5" Enkei's. Ran it for 20,000 miles which were trouble free, gave it to my Mum who stick another 35,000 miles with only a single top mount needing replaced. Sadly written off when someone jumped a red light and hit her.
What I liked at the time was you could buy some very well made and resolved tuning items from Suzuki Sport either through a limited options catalogue at any Suzuki dealer or through Monster Sport Europe who ran the JWRC teams and a few other suppliers. The springs for example had very detailed instructions to cut the bumpstops down to prevent bottoming out on them, aftermarket ones, even expensive ones neglected to do this. One if the best items was the clutch pedal relocation kit which not only moved it closer to the brake pedal but provided a foot rest for longer journeys, an absolute must and really should have been like that standard. The pedal arm was so easy to remove and replace with the new. Suzuki Sport did every thing from air boxes to strut bars, to LSD and throttle bodies, the list was extensive.
I added the carbon fibre cold air box kit, springs, aforementioned cold air kit, Magnex iirc exhaust when a hanger broke and front and rear WhiteLine anti roll bars. Rear adjustable for strength front for castor.
Had a good chassis that verged on nervousness with a very direct front end and mobile rear. which is probably why it made a decent JWRC car. Fantastic brakes, great steering feel and feedback, slick gear change and I lived the old shool Recaro 'Fishnets' which summed up the overall feel of the car. Old school and honest modern warm hatch that's as quick as older bit hatches.
Those wheels are factory option? I thought those (same as the ones on mine) were aftermarket I bought an Ignis Sport with 8400miles on it at 18 months old from a Susuki dealer for under £5k with some options chucked in. The UK dealer supplied 17x7" 'San Remo' wheels made by Team Dynamics filled the arches much better than the 15x5" Enkei's. Ran it for 20,000 miles which were trouble free, gave it to my Mum who stick another 35,000 miles with only a single top mount needing replaced. Sadly written off when someone jumped a red light and hit her.
What I liked at the time was you could buy some very well made and resolved tuning items from Suzuki Sport either through a limited options catalogue at any Suzuki dealer or through Monster Sport Europe who ran the JWRC teams and a few other suppliers. The springs for example had very detailed instructions to cut the bumpstops down to prevent bottoming out on them, aftermarket ones, even expensive ones neglected to do this. One if the best items was the clutch pedal relocation kit which not only moved it closer to the brake pedal but provided a foot rest for longer journeys, an absolute must and really should have been like that standard. The pedal arm was so easy to remove and replace with the new. Suzuki Sport did every thing from air boxes to strut bars, to LSD and throttle bodies, the list was extensive.
I added the carbon fibre cold air box kit, springs, aforementioned cold air kit, Magnex iirc exhaust when a hanger broke and front and rear WhiteLine anti roll bars. Rear adjustable for strength front for castor.
Had a good chassis that verged on nervousness with a very direct front end and mobile rear. which is probably why it made a decent JWRC car. Fantastic brakes, great steering feel and feedback, slick gear change and I lived the old shool Recaro 'Fishnets' which summed up the overall feel of the car. Old school and honest modern warm hatch that's as quick as older bit hatches.
I'll keep mine and get them reconditioned then (some muppet has rattle can sprayed them white
)
)
my wheels are exactly the same design... but 16"
I think in hindsight the wheels were 16x7" not 17" as I previously put and were definitely a UK only dealer option. The original UK sales brochure listed them fitted with Continental ContiSport2 tyres. The Enkei's came with Bridgestone in iirc 185/55/15 a terrible size of tyre to get and the really narrow 5" wheel made it impossible to fit any slightly wider more common tyre sizes. The front grill was also an option along with fog lights, mudflaps, B pillar covers. The car in that magazine was fitted with 17" OZ's and was still faster to 60 than quoted and over 10seconds quicker to 100mph than the Panda 100HP. You would have thought going up 2inches raising gearing and adding unsprung weight would have blunted it, thought maybe it got better traction.
Some more pics I found of the cars front showing the optional grill and lights which came pre-painted. I negotiated these from the Suzuki dealer when buying the car as long as I fitted them. The light kit had a template to cut the front bumper which was really straight forward with a Stanley knife, a loom that plugged straight in to the engine bag and a button for the dash. All surprisingly easy to fit and well thought out which from a mechanical point of view was my memory of the car. Good pub quiz answer to name a car with larger diameter rear brake discs than front as the Ignis Sport does by 1mm. 258 rear 257 front and rears the same as a Mazda RX8 if memory serves. Or that could be rubbish.
Some more pics I found of the cars front showing the optional grill and lights which came pre-painted. I negotiated these from the Suzuki dealer when buying the car as long as I fitted them. The light kit had a template to cut the front bumper which was really straight forward with a Stanley knife, a loom that plugged straight in to the engine bag and a button for the dash. All surprisingly easy to fit and well thought out which from a mechanical point of view was my memory of the car. Good pub quiz answer to name a car with larger diameter rear brake discs than front as the Ignis Sport does by 1mm. 258 rear 257 front and rears the same as a Mazda RX8 if memory serves. Or that could be rubbish.
Edited by j333evo on Monday 7th July 19:18
I've had one from new in mid 2005.
I've also owned (for a min 6 months for each of them):
Alfas (Sud / Spider / Sprint / 33 1.7 16v / P4 / 156 2.5V6 / GTV 3.0)
Fiats (Strada (!) / Coupe / Barchetta / Punto 16v)
Fords (S-Max 2.5T), Subaru (3.0 Spec-B), Peugeot (106 1.5D / 106 Rallye 16v / 406 2.1TD), Golf GTI MK2 8v, BMW 530D and another 10 or so cars in the last 25 years / 1.2 Million Miles driven.
The Ignis?
Just on 140,000 miles now. Used daily for 130 mile commute.
Costs 7p a mile to run on LPG.
As fun as the old Alfas / 106 Rallye.
Noisy at 70mph. Bumpy, but oh so engaging. I will be really sorry to see it go.
Lovely feedback on cornering.
Reliable? Yes. Chain cam M15A engine is great. No squeaks after 140k driving. Great brakes. Great seats. Err. Tyres can last 25k+, Disks 40k+.
Faults?: Aircon hoses. Corroded alloys (fixed under warranty), Radiator leak after 135,000 miles.
Lots of bushes (go poly!) / drop links etc done due to rubbish UK roads and speed humps.
A couple of windscreens (bad winter with potholes and a relatively upright screen)
Excellent b-road fun with less chance of losing license than in a 200+ HP car.
If I wasn't doing 130 miles a day, and over 40, I would definitely have another one.
I've also owned (for a min 6 months for each of them):
Alfas (Sud / Spider / Sprint / 33 1.7 16v / P4 / 156 2.5V6 / GTV 3.0)
Fiats (Strada (!) / Coupe / Barchetta / Punto 16v)
Fords (S-Max 2.5T), Subaru (3.0 Spec-B), Peugeot (106 1.5D / 106 Rallye 16v / 406 2.1TD), Golf GTI MK2 8v, BMW 530D and another 10 or so cars in the last 25 years / 1.2 Million Miles driven.
The Ignis?
Just on 140,000 miles now. Used daily for 130 mile commute.
Costs 7p a mile to run on LPG.
As fun as the old Alfas / 106 Rallye.
Noisy at 70mph. Bumpy, but oh so engaging. I will be really sorry to see it go.
Lovely feedback on cornering.
Reliable? Yes. Chain cam M15A engine is great. No squeaks after 140k driving. Great brakes. Great seats. Err. Tyres can last 25k+, Disks 40k+.
Faults?: Aircon hoses. Corroded alloys (fixed under warranty), Radiator leak after 135,000 miles.
Lots of bushes (go poly!) / drop links etc done due to rubbish UK roads and speed humps.
A couple of windscreens (bad winter with potholes and a relatively upright screen)
Excellent b-road fun with less chance of losing license than in a 200+ HP car.
If I wasn't doing 130 miles a day, and over 40, I would definitely have another one.
Hi.
I've had one of these for about two years to drive around Milton Keynes. It's just the job. Plastic rear wings are a pain, the clips fall out very easily and Suzuki aren't the best on spares; BUT it goes off the shovel like the proverbial. It's a bit like surfing; the suspension is very hard, but the Recaro seats hold you tight. Mine has a nice twin pipe exhaust, and when the back is empty, it goes fast with a luvverly noise. Oddly, it likes some extra weight in the back, it seems to work better. Fuel goes quick if you use the speed, and with 225 roundabouts (seriously) to play with in MK, it makes driving a lot of fun.
I don't get the back wheel off the ground, but the front gets a bit light sometimes.
I don't know its top speed, but the acceleration and cornering is something else for a toddler.
DS 73
I've had one of these for about two years to drive around Milton Keynes. It's just the job. Plastic rear wings are a pain, the clips fall out very easily and Suzuki aren't the best on spares; BUT it goes off the shovel like the proverbial. It's a bit like surfing; the suspension is very hard, but the Recaro seats hold you tight. Mine has a nice twin pipe exhaust, and when the back is empty, it goes fast with a luvverly noise. Oddly, it likes some extra weight in the back, it seems to work better. Fuel goes quick if you use the speed, and with 225 roundabouts (seriously) to play with in MK, it makes driving a lot of fun.
I don't get the back wheel off the ground, but the front gets a bit light sometimes.
I don't know its top speed, but the acceleration and cornering is something else for a toddler.
DS 73
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