The S-Cross spearheaded the Nexa initiative for Maruti-Suzuki, and it’s generated a fair bit of interest. Soon it’ll have company in the form of the new Baleno, which could see more walk-in traffic at the growing network of Nexa showrooms around the country. And while the S-Cross may not have enjoyed quite as much initial success as Maruti would have liked, it’s quite a capable product.
Now, the S-Cross may not necessarily look the part – it’s certainly not going win a beauty contest against the Hyundai Creta for instance, but there’s a fair amount of substance under the skin.
For starters, the 1.6-litre Fiat-derived diesel motor packs quite a punch – especially in the mid-range. It does have a little bit of lag low down, but the engine revs cleanly and offers pretty impressive performance. The gearshifts are short and precise. The steering is direct, and the handling is actually pretty good too. Of course, on a track the S-Cross is always going to struggle to put the power down because of its increased ride height. On the road, however, you’re never really going to have a problem – unless you’re behaving like a complete hooligan that is.
The cabin, meanwhile, is pretty well put together. The material quality is good and the layout is clean. But where the S-Cross truly excels is in terms of practicality. It offers ample interior room for five adults to travel in comfort, as well as a sizeable boot. One of the biggest advantages of the S-Cross is that it’s perhaps the ideal sized vehicle for use in our increasingly crowded urban areas, and yet it’s big enough for most long distance journeys. So, it offers a combination of space, usability, practicality, refinement, and, of course, the Maruti Suzuki brand that will always attract consumers.
To be honest, it makes for a perfectly good car for everyday use, it’s just that Maruti were perhaps a little too optimistic when pricing the S-Cross. Perhaps they got taken in by their own premium positioning. The product itself is very good – it’s just not particularly sexy!
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