The Suzuki Baleno, the Ignis subcompact crossover and the Ford Figo a.k.a. Ka+ have been nominated for the 2017 World Car of the Year Awards. The cars will challenge each other in the '2017 World Urban Car' category, along with other nominees like - BMW i3, Citrone's C3 and E-Mehari and Smart Brabus Range.
While the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Ford Figo (Ka+) are already on sale in India the Ignis will be launched in the country in early 2017. The Baleno is exclusively manufactured in India via Maruti Suzuki and the nominated Ford Ka+ (Figo) is produced in both India and Brazil. The Suzuki Ignis, on the other hand, is currently being manufactured in Japan, while India assembly is expected to begin soon. Both the Suzuki Baleno and Ford Ka+ (Figo) that are exported to Europe and few other countries are currently manufactured in India.
To tell you more about the awards, the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) awards is made up of a committee of automotive journalists from across the world. The top three finalists from each category will be announced by this committee next year, on April 13, at the upcoming 2017 New York Auto Show. What essentially makes these three cars and the others to be nominated in the World Urban Car of the Year category, is that each shortlisted nominees should be a sub-4 meter in length and must be new and available on sale in at least in five nations across two continents.
Coming to the car itself, the global-spec Suzuki Baleno is powered by a 1.0-litre BoosterJet turbo petrol motor and a 1.2-litre petrol engine. The Suzuki Ignis uses the same 1.2-litre petrol motor as the Baleno. The Ford Figo, on the other hand, which is powered by the 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is also a part of the car's engine line-up in India.
