Maruti Suzuki bid adieu to its diesel portfolio and with that the S-Cross had been discontinued for a few months. As the company transitions towards BS6 compliant powertrains, the 1.5-litre petrol engine now seems like the mainstay for all its premium cars including the Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, XL6, Ciaz and now the S-Cross. The petrol S-Cross has been launched at a price tag of Rs 8.39 lakh, ex-showroom for the base manual variant while the automatic starts at Rs 10.83 lakh.
The 1.5-litre engine in the S-Cross has been tuned to deliver 103bhp @ 6000rpm along with a peak torque of 138Nm coming in at 4400rpm. Gearbox options include a five-speed manual and a 4-speed torque converter automatic. Then there’s also the brand’s Smart Hybrid system that improves fuel economy, aids in start/stop situations and feeds additional torque when the battery is charged. The claimed fuel economy for the automatic variants is a best-in-class 18.43kmpl.
The S-Cross also features the latest version of Maruti Suzuki’s Smartplay Studio touchscreen infotainment system. It comes integrated with voice recognition, Android Auto, Apple Carplay and live traffic updates among other things. That said, the S-Cross continues to get premium features like automatic projector LED headlamps, rain sensing wipers, cruise control, leather upholstery, auto-dimming and anti-glare IRVM among others.
Rivals of the S-Cross include the Nissan Kicks, Renault Duster, Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos. And thanks to the aggressive pricing from Maruti Suzuki, the S-Cross is the most affordable amongst this lot. Now it doesn’t match the Creta and the Seltos on equipment and power, but the aggressive pricing and Maruti Suzuki’s excellent reliability will be key points dictating the sales figures. Let’s wait and watch how it fares on this front.
Here’s the full price list of the 2020 Maruti Suzuki S-Cross