Anyone own a Suzuki Ignis Sport?

[Cal670]

Been taking a serious look at these recently. Read nothing but good comments about the handling, revvy engine, and old school hot hatch feel. I also like the way they look personally, plus the look of the interior and the Recaro seats. Would love to hear some comments about the build quality though, and using one daily. I would expect them to be pretty bombproof reliability wise being Japanese, but I've seen 1 or 2 comments that they weren't built to last. Has anyone had any problems with them, bits failing or needing replacing? If I went out to look at one, is there anything in particular I'd need to look out for? Thanks.

[Dan_M5]

gutless but fun cars, cheap to run and maintain. Would have a clio sport over one though

[TehRin]

Mine was as close to perfect as it could be without being boring. It was followed by a Saab 9-3 Aero, Yaris T Sport, Clio 182 FF, Mazda 3 MPS and I miss the Ignis the most.

Females hate them, because it's not an Audi.

[Toyoda]

I would say for the money, if you're wanting a small Jap car that packs a little punch, a Yaris T-Sport is a better proposition. Very similar performance, without the cheap and nasty build quality of the Suzuki (for a time they were £7995 new, remember). I drove an Ignis at the time and it was very eager and rev happy but they rattled a lot from new so goodness knows what a 12 year old example is like. Whilst a Yaris isn't the last word in comfort, it should have aged a lot better and will be undoubtedly better screwed together than the Ignis. Both are geared for acceleration rather than top end, so expect the engine to be screaming at 4000 revs at 80mph in 5th gear. Both cars will offer the often talked about cheap thrills of the last 'warm hatch' (Swift Sport) but for a hell of a lot less money.

Any queries on the Yaris, ask away. The facelift took place during the '03' plate, which made a number of visual changes both interior and exterior. But if you prefer the looks of the Ignis and the 1980's yellow mesh netting of the Recaros then you only have one choice.

[Liggle]

My brother has a 2004 Ignis Sport, cracking little car to hoon about in but its very cheaply made inside and rattles/squeaks like a goodun! I've borrowed it for my commute a few times and its very short geared and noisy so not really a car I'd want to be driving every day.

Mechanically it feels unburstable but is getting to the age where suspension parts etc. need replacing which aren't as cheap and readily available as its rivals like the Yaris T Sport.

For example... its currently off the road because it failed its MOT and my brother runs it on a shoestring. It needs a new balljoint and they are part of the lower arm so the whole arm needs replacing, ECP weren't great at tracking down a replacement and I couldn't get the current one off working on the drive so it needs to go to a garage who want £150 to replace it. Its also failed on emissions, hoping a full service and cat cleaner will see it through the next attempt as a new cat is ~£300

They are great otherwise - cheap to buy/run, fun to drive and a bit different

[Liggle]

Things to watch out for:

Stiff clutch, probably not just the cable as we found out and needed a full new clutch kit

[Cal670]

Thanks for the replies. My Celica is lowered and rather rattly on our roads, so these may not be too bad by comparison. The cost of spare parts is my biggest concern, since it was a limited edition car. Think my best bet is to try and find one to look at and see for myself.

Cheers for all the tips