Team-BHP - Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

For all those who've got 1.3 and felt bad after price reduction, that you could have easily pushed for the 1.6, I would tell them please relax. If your driving is 90% city, i can vouch the 1.3 the car of choice. The 1.6 does have lag and 1.3 has almost no lag. I got only the 1.3 to test drive and i can tell the car was really good to drive in the city. On the highways the 1.3 may feel little under powered, considering the car dynamics can allow more, but still it should satisfy most. In my opinion the S cross is a bigger car and a better product than brezza and are in different segments.
I can see many more S cross on roads these days. Every time I see one it brings a smile on my face. Most are 1.3 though. Actually I don't like seeing 1.6, wan tto remain exclusive. I would be on of the very few, who would be happy if 1.6 is stopped stupid:. Also, I've noticed every time I pass by an S cross the owner does take a look. May be they feel happy, they could spot another person who went against the crowd. Till today everyone asks me why S-cross? I can only answer them with a smile, because no answer will convince them, but I know that's the only car my heart liked when I was shopping. It's so close to my heart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioholic (Post 3919176)

I am just waiting to see what they do about the 1.6 engine. If this is localised or at least continued to be produced, then I will be buying one soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaiusPitar (Post 3919201)

Agreed, am on the fence also.

+1 to both of you.

I too was in the same position but have made up my mind for the XUV 5OO W10.

Not sure what Maruti is having in mind with this respective engine. The only reason to get SCross for me is this brilliant engine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 3919168)

Availability is not the concern for replacement in Alpha units only, Maruti Suzuki has instructed its dealers not to offer this for the lower variants of S Cross..

Yes, and the reason is BCM syncing.

Also, this car being not so popular worldwide in the modification scene is making things difficult to find a way out.
If it would have been a Polo, many would have got it by now.

Manufacturers in India are mostly defensive on this front.

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 3919168)

The earlier Bi-Xenon HiD kit ( HID w/o Projector)that was referred was not a MGA offering. The dealer (NEXA Palace/ Mandovi )was doing it by referring to an after market accessory guy.

Bimal Auto has confirmed this.

I am referring to the complete alpha headlamp with projectors and Bi-Xenon HID kit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioholic (Post 3919176)

The headlight assembly of alpha is not MGA. It is just a regular MGP that is a replacement part. Even if one is manage to purchase the headlight unit, the connectors on the lower variants wont match the one on the Alpha. Hence it wont be a plug and play setup. The connectors come with the main wiring harness which is again not something that can be easily replaceable. Finally, as said by KPZen, the BCM of the lower variants is also different which does not have the automatic functionality present in the Alpha.
.

Yes you are spot on. It's not a plug and play setup.
My mistake, its a MGP.:thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dani7766 (Post 3919210)

Completely agree! While researching for my next car, the SCross 1.6 looked like the most sensible option on paper - especially with the price cuts. But I took a TD of 1.6 and the lag at low end is very bad. The TD convinced me to remove the car from my list.

Quote:

Originally Posted by girishv (Post 3919327)

Did a PDI of my car, looks alright. Only problem is, I'm not sure of month of mfg. Car has done 106km and no visible damage either in paint or rust etc.
Getting the DD, planning to ask them to show the mfg date before handing over the DD.

1.6 delta
Girish

Why has it run 106km? Sense something fishy here. Ideally if you consider unloading point(outskirts) to dealer/yard(10km) to RTO(10km) to dealer(10km) and some overhead it should be 30-40kms only. These days the RTO is usually the closest one and most of the times I am told that the cars dont even go there. A batch of cars are inspected together by the officer at some location.

If a 5km test drive is offered to ten customers, this figure is believable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by girishv (Post 3919327)

Did you note 19 character VIN?
If not, ask RM to show form 22 ( May be wrong here about form number, but there is a form which shows date of manufacturing)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ank.nsit (Post 3919222)

Has the delivery of 1.6 stopped? I mean why do you doubt that Maruti might discontinue 1.6?

I doubt that. I visited the Pasco Nexa showroom in Gurgaon this weekend and put this question to my sales advisor and he was absolutely sure that no such thing would happen. Infact he stated that the test 1.6 had gone for a function. Also if I were to book one I would get delivery within a very 'reasonable' time period. So not sure if this reasoning justifies my premise or is exactly the other way around!

I could test drive only the 1.3 and will get to lay my hands on 1.6 only on this Sunday now. Eagerly looking forward to that.

My list of shortlisted cars has a +1 and S Cross is the new entrant :)

Regards
DV

Quote:

Originally Posted by arun_josie (Post 3920003)

In my opinion, I don't think that they will stop 1.6 MJD because this is the one which differentiates NEXA from the standard Maruti showrooms. Minus 1.6, there is nothing to differentiate between these two entities.

Same here - With the new facelift, SCross might sell better but they need the 1.6 option. Ideally they should also tune for better low end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by timuseravan (Post 3920022)

Same here - With the new facelift, SCross might sell better but they need the 1.6 option. Ideally they should also tune for better low end.

I am still finding it tough to decide between 1.3 and 1.6. Had decided upon 1.3 Zeta but now I wonder if it's worth extending the budget and getting a 1.6 Zeta. The low end was pretty bad during the TD. But is it possible that in future after re-tuning, things might improve ? I saw the review of Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.6 JTD (awesome looking car BTW,specially the rear. Do check it out) and even in that car there was this issue of lower end lag. I guess it will remain no matter what is done. My last TD was about a month back, does the push back effect happen on each gear? Passengers hate it.Maybe another TD to compare them would be good.

Now the question of Zeta vs Alpha. Are all the additional features worth the difference in price between variants? Headlights are the ones that I am interested the most but if other features do come in handy then might as well go for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anycatd (Post 3920294)

The low end was pretty bad during the TD. But is it possible that in future after re-tuning, things might improve ? .

When you say low end was pretty bad, what exactly are you referring to? I did a test drive of the 1.6 within our office campus with numerous speed-breakers and some long straight stretches without obstruction and a few U-turns thrown into the mix. I did not feel the low end as bad as it is made out to be. We were 4 people on board and were able to go over most of the speed breakers in 2nd gear without any stuttering from the engine and it would pick up speed pretty decently. Also coming to the turbo thrust that you mention which the passengers hate, I had to floor the car in 2nd to get the thrust, but being gentle on the throttle did not make it as bothersome to the passengers.

For the price that it is being offered at, the 1.6 is the engine to get in the S-Cross. Has good amount of torque and can be driven sanely within the city and unleash that power on the highway.

Having said that, don't buy a car thinking that re-mapping it at a later stage might make it behave to your tastes. Do a TD of the 1.3 and 1.6 back to back and then take a decision. The stock car should appeal to you right out of the showroom. What you do with it later once you have it and get bored of the power is different but getting a car with a thought that a remap should fix the faults in the way it drives might not satisfy you in the long run ! All the best in your choice! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by anycatd (Post 3920294)

I am still finding it tough to decide between 1.3 and 1.6.....My last TD was about a month back, does the push back effect happen on each gear? Passengers hate it.Maybe another TD to compare them would be good.

This is controlled by the driver, if he ensures being in the right gear and takes time to master the art of driving with a light foot, this should be taken care.

Tell us about your usage. If its 80% City and 20% Highway, then the 1.3 DDIS makes lot more sense. Else, aim for the 1.6

Went through the first servicing of my car (1.3 Zeta) this weekend from SAI Service workshop in Hinjewadi, Pune. When I reached there at 9:15 AM, there was hardly any customer. Service advisor promptly took the car and made sure that car was continuously attended to. Servicing was completed in 1.5 hrs as I was waiting there to take away the car. Car wash took probably the longest time of all; but it was very nicely washed and cleaned.

Cons:
When technicians were working or driving the car inside the workshop, they did not put any cover on the seat (I had seen this for my earlier cars); this results in seats getting dirty / stained.