Maruti Suzuki has launched the Ignis, the “unconventional and new age” car, through which India’s largest carmaker wants to attract a larger chunk of young car buyers — an consumer segment it has failed to address in over three decades. The petrol version is priced between Rs 4.59 lakh to Rs 6.69 lakh, while the diesel variants start from Rs 6.39 lakh and goes up to Rs 7.80 lakh.

“We want to enter into newer categories… the millennial generation wants connected cars, and that’s what we are trying to give to the buyer,” said Kenichi Ayukawa, CEO and managing director of Maruti Suzuki at the launch.

Ignis is powered by the same engines that go into the bonnet of the Swift and the Baleno:

1197cc VVT petrol — 82PS power @ 6000 rpm — 113 Nm torque @ 4200 rpm – 20.89kpl 1248cc DDiS diesel — 75PS power @ 4000rpm — 190 Nm torque @ 2000 rpm – 26.80kpl

The “premium urban compact” comes in four trims:

Sigma — Petrol manual only, priced at Rs 4.59 lakh; Delta – Petrol and diesel in both Manual and AMT, price ranges from Rs 5.19 lakh to Rs 6.94 lakh; Zeta – Petrol and diesel in both Manual and AMT, starts from Rs 5.75 lakh and goes up to Rs 7.46 lakh; and the Alpha – Petrol and diesel in Manual transmission only, is available between Rs 6.69 lakh to Rs 7.80 lakh.

Ignis, which Maruti Suzuki has sculpted for the millennials, is packed with features inside and outside the cabin.

“Car purchases by millennial have gone up by 22.7% in the last couple of years,” explained R.S. Kalsi, head of sales and marketing at Maruti.

The 7” touchscreen infotainment system , borrowed from the Baleno, can be linked by both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The automaker plans to come out with 10 more new cars in the next four years, most of which will be to target new customer segments, said Ayukawa.

Our first impressions of the car – which has been positioned as a young buyer’s first car – are that Maruti has done a good job.