The Maruti Suzuki S-Cross was a big ticket launch for the company as it marked the launch of Nexa, Maruti Suzuki’s premium retail chain. In addition, SUVs/ Crossovers weren’t exactly a strength area for the company historically, until the Vitara Brezza came in. Despite big expectations, the S-Cross didn’t manage to find the expected level of success. What really held back the sales of this model with two diesel engines and a long list of variants and features? We got onto finding the answer by getting ourselves an S-Cross 1.6 into our long-term fleet. We’ve now driven the car for more than 2,200 km before getting the first report out and clearly, have an answer to what works and what doesn’t for the S-Cross.
Design
Perception of design varies from one person to another but then again it isn’t hard to spot what’s loved for its design and what’s not. The S-Cross bears an unconventional design for a crossover although it doesn’t look dated at all. There are multiple elements on the exterior such as the large headlamps with projector units and LED DRLs, the chrome grille, the clamshell hood and the sleek tail lamps, all of which look good when seen in solitude. However, not all of them go along well with each other, as a result of which the S-Cross isn’t able to exude a dynamics character. It looks different but with curves and few sharp edges, the S-Cross isn’t able to reflect a kinetic appeal in its design.
Inside the car though, things are different from the exterior and the cabin feels plush and sporty. The black interior theme is well-supported by leather seats. The front seats themselves are well-contoured and offer excellent back, under-thigh and side support. The rear seats too are comfortable and offer good under-thigh support and shoulder support. Leg room too is generous at the rear and two tall occupants can comfortably sit behind each other. Being a crossover, the S-Cross is pretty tall and with just a slightly tapering roofline, headroom is quite good for all occupants. The transmission tunnel in the second row is not too tall and coupled to a wide seat, a fifth passenger too can sit with a decent amount of comfort.
In terms of features, the S-Cross fares well against the competition and its touchscreen infotainment system simply won our hearts. The system offers an easy interface and responds quickly to touch inputs without any lag and displays the view from the rear camera too. One thing I found particularly helpful during long commutes in heavy traffic was that the system reads out incoming text messages if required. If you don’t want that, you can simply read the message on the screen without having to pick your phone at all. A highlight of the system is its voice recognition capabilities, which surprisingly picks up the right names in most instances. It even got the names of some of my South Indian and Bengali friends right in one go!
In terms of material and build quality too the S-Cross scores well as almost everything in the dashboard and door panels seem to be put together. The dashboard with its soft touch material and the rearview mirror with auto-dimming further add to the premium quotient of the cabin. However, there are a few bits such as the exterior casing of the rearview mirror and the plastic quality of the smaller door pockets that seems a bit off the quality levels of the rest of the cabin.
Good to drive? You bet!
Our test car was the top variant in the S-Cross range with the 1.6 litre turbocharged diesel engine, christened 1.6 DDiS 320. The engine offers 118 hp and 320 Nm of torque, which makes this the most powerful engine on sale by Maruti Suzuki in India presently. The turbo comes in pretty early at around 1,500 rpm and by 1,700 rpm the acceleration becomes quite strong. Past 2,000 rpm, the engine pulls happily to its redline and the car moves forward with an impressive amount of urgency.
Overtaking on the highway is a task and even long trailers can easily be dispatched from the peripheral vision with a dab of the throttle. The six-speed manual transmission slots in easily and the clutch effort sits midway between light and heavy so driving the car in traffic too isn’t a problem. Since most of the power of the engine is served up in one big dollop, getting the front wheels spinning frantically in the first two gears is quite easy. Off the line, the S-Cross 1.6 can be quite entertaining for keen drivers, as no other car in this segment delivers its power in such a quick manner. However, the lack of an automatic transmission is a bit bothering for buyers in urban centres and hopefully, Maruti Suzuki will soon add one to the lineup.
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Just in case you’re thinking the 1.6 litre engine with this adrenaline-pumping character is going to drink madly through the fuel tank and your pocket, you couldn’t have been more wrong. With about 70 % of our driving cycle involving the rush hour traffic from West Delhi to Noida and back, the car has managed to return an average fuel-efficiency of 16.8 km/l. For a car of its size, weight and power these figures are quite impressive, considering the bumper-to-bumper traffic it has had to encounter. On the highway, the figures are significantly higher but more on that in our next report with detailed fuel-efficiency numbers for various conditions.
Even in terms of handling the S-Cross surprised us as around the corners body-roll is much lesser than what one expects from a vehicle of this height. The suspension setup strikes the right balance between comfort and handling and hence, going over bad roads too is not one bit of problem for the occupants. What could’ve been better is the grip from the JK Tyres as they get overwhelmed by the engine’s power quite easily. This, however, can be easily fixed by swapping the JK tyres with something more grippier. We also got a chance to take the S-Cross to the mountain roads close to Chandigarh and the S-Cross did prove to be an engaging car to drive. The steering too offers good feedback, making the car a good pick for those looking for a practical vehicle with good handling and power. One other important thing that aids driver confidence and safety is the impressive illumination by the projector headlamps during dark hours, allowing for better visibility.
Round-Up
The S-Cross has turned out to be an impressive car for those who love to drive. The sudden surge of power, a good balance between comfort and handling and a spacious and well-appointed interior make it a great value-for-money proposition. At Rs 12.04 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi and Rs 14.3 lakh on-road , Delhi, the S-Cross offers a torquey engine, rich interiors and spacious cabin. The only chink in its armour is the lack of widespread liking for its design. If you are in the market for a car with a raised driving stance and do not mind the looks of the S-Cross, the 1.6 Alpha is a great car from a driver’s perspective in its price-segment. Watch out for our next long-term update, wherein we’ll offer a deeper insight into the utility of the cabin, ability to handle rough terrains and fuel-efficiency in various conditions.
Maruti Suzuki S-Cross 1.6 Alpha logsheet
Date Acquired: Mid-November, 2016
Variant: 1.6 Alpha
Odometer reading at start:18,270 km
Distance covered: 2,270 km
Average Fuel-efficiency: 16.8 km/l (70 % in rush hour traffic, 30 % on highway)
What you might like: Powerful engine, spacious cabin and great infotainment system
What you might not like: Exterior styling and lack of automatic transmission.
Additional Cost incurred: None