Which to buy? Maruti Ignis or Mahindra KUV100

Both these are super compact SUVs that will be competing against each other at a similar price point

Maruti Ignis vs Mahindra KUV100 comparison is what you need when you are confused about which to buy. Mahindra’s KUV100 has been around for a while now, while Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to launch the Ignis.

Both these are super compact SUVs that will be competing against each other at a similar price point. The Ignis will be a tad more premium as this will be sold through the Nexa Experience dealerships.

Exterior

Maruti Ignis has a contemporary design. This micro SUV has a black honeycomb mesh grille and a sleek chrome strip that runs across. The headlamps are large in size and they come with integrated LEDs too.

The front bumper has fog lamps which are round with chrome surrounds. There is an air scoop on the hood just above the front fender.

The door pillars are blacked-out and door grab handles have chrome.

The Ignis stands out in the crowd and this makes it look stylish and appealing.

The massive chunk of metal after the rear door makes it look appealing.

The black alloy wheels look sporty and it has an intriguing design overall. At the rear, large windshield and the the tail lamps look striking.

The Ignis has good ground clearance and this makes it good as a crossover too.

The Mahindra KUV100 is also a departure from the regular hatchback styling. It appears more of a crossover between a hatchback and a compact SUV and is also termed as a UV by the company.

The KUV has a ‘love it’ or ‘loathe it’ kind of look. There are many who have fallen for the looks and at the same time there are others who find it not so pleasing.

It looks very  different from anything on the road. The styling seems inspired a bit from the XUV500.

The KUV100 stands tall and has a high bonnet. The sleek headlamps with built in DRLs and the narrow grille give it a premium look and the seems as if the headlamps extend right upto the windscreen, ending with a deep grove on the front door.

This styling is inspired from sunglasses, to give it a cool look, as the name suggests - KUV (Kool Utility Vehicle).

The rear door has its handle next to the window similar to the Chevrolet Beat and is coloured silver, to make it stand out.

The rear is clean and quite good looking with wrap around tail lamps and an integrated spoiler.

The twelve spoke alloy wheels also compliment the vehicle looks.

Interior

Maruti Ignis has stylish interiors. As it will be sold through the Nexa Experience, it gets high quality plastic materials and even the fit and finish is top notch.

The Ignis gets a three spoke steering wheel with controls for audio and bluetooth.

The instrument cluster has large size dials that can be read easily.

There is a large touchscreen system which also includes Apple CarPlay in it. The other features that are included in this are navigation and reverse parking camera. Then there is climate control that is offered in the top variants of this micro SUV.

The front and even the rear is spacious enough. The boot space in the Ignis is good enough. The space utilisation on the Ignis is good despite being so compact.

Its tall stance makes it spacious even for tall people. The Ignis will have high quality interiors and this will be an added advantage for most of the buyers in this segment.

The Mahindra KUV100 has ergonomically designed interiors. The black and grey instrument panel is a welcome change as most of the cars today have black and beige, which suits mature car buyers.

There is a twin-dial instrument panel with a gear-shift indicator and a basic tripmeter at the centre. The steering wheel has controls for audio.

The gear knob on the centre console looks a bit odd, but is a very good placement to save out on space. The three-knobs control the air-con vents, while the handbrake is old-fashioned.

This has helped to save out on space and Mahindra has done a good job by adding the third extra seat and this comes handy many a times.

Engine

The Maruti Ignis will be powered by a 1.2-litre K-Series engine. This will come with a five-speed manual transmission. There shall even be an automatic transmission on offer, which will be a CVT.

Maruti Ignis being compact, will have sufficient power from this engine. The 1.0-litre is a smaller engine, hence the company will stick to the 1.2-litre as it will be more powerful than the competition. This engine is highly refined and has good performance too. Maruti could even offer a 1.0-litre petrol to reduce the price tag but at a later stage.

The Ignis is likely to even come with a 1.2-litre diesel engine. This will be a three-cylinder diesel engine that will be offered with a five-speed manual transmission. This is a newly developed engine by Suzuki and it will be used on the Ignis as well for the Indian car market.

This engine will be producing about 75bhp of power and it will have a torque close to 175Nm.

The KUV100 is powered by a new mFalcon range of engines in petrol and diesel. The petrol is the mFalcon G80, this is a 1.2-litre petrol that churns 82bhp of power and 115Nm of maximum torque. This engine comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

The diesel engine is mFalcon D75, which is a 1.2-litre three-cylinder that churns 77bhp of power and 190Nm of maximum torque. The diesel unit is noisy but a refined one and drives pretty well too. These engines a are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Mileage

The petrol engine of the Ignis will have an efficiency of 14km/l in the city, while on the highway it should be about 17km/l.

The petrol automatic will return 13km/l (city) and 16km/l on the highway. The diesel on the other hand will be highly fuel-efficient with a city mileage of 17km/l, while on the highway it will be about 18km/l.

The KUV 100 is the most fuel efficient diesel SUV in the country with a fuel efficiency of 25.32 km/l.

The petrol has a fuel efficiency of 18.15km/l. These are ARAI figures. In the real world, the KUV100 diesel returns about 13km/l in the city, while on the highway it is about 18km/l.

The petrol KUV100 returned about 11km/l in the city, while on the highway it is about 15km/l.

Price

Maruti Ignis will be priced between Rs 650,000 and Rs 900,000 (on-road). This micro SUV will a major product for Maruti as it will be entering a new segment altogether.

The Mahindra KUV100 is priced between Rs 520,000 to Rs 820,000 (on-road) and is practical, fuel efficient and has good drivability.

The Maruti Ignis is one of the hottest upcoming cars in India, and it will be joining the Baleno and the S-Cross in the Nexa dealerships.

Specifications

	Maruti Ignis	Mahindra KUV100
Engine (petrol)	1.2-litre	1.2-litre
Power	85bhp	82bhp
Torque	110Nm	115Nm
Engine (diesel)	1.2-litre	1.2-litre
Power	69bhp	77bhp
Torque	180Nm	190Nm
Length mm	3700	3675
Width mm	1600	1715
Height mm	1595	1635
Wheelbase mm	2438	2385
Ground clearance mm	180	170

Powered by

MotorOctane.com is your one stop shop for news, views and reviews from the automotive industry. It is meant for car and bike enthusiasts- whether they are considering a new purchase or just wanting to stay abreast of the industry.