Team-BHP - Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

Hello All,
Booked a Scross 1.3 Sigma, expected delivery date is coming Friday the 8th. I will be changing the tyres immediately after delivery. Is there anyone in Mumbai who is looking to change the original OEM alloys on their Scross ? Please PM me and we can work out a deal. I would like to change my steel pressed wheels for original alloys. Most of the folks going in for the higher variants have swapped their alloys for Momo/Lenso and trade in their original alloys at the tyre shop for10K for the set of 4.

Regards
Faraz.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 3945181)

I agree with Shankar, even with some cost-cutting on no. of airbags and other safety features like ESP (compared to the international model), the S-Cross probably is the best from Suzuki in India. If you are cool with the understated styling, I recommend choosing that this over the Brezza (especially the 1.6 top end).

Seriously, this S Cross Alpha 1.6 is a big bad beast. 1.6 litre Diesel engine belting out 118 BHP and 300 NM of Torque! I ve driven it and enjoyed the drive. The suspension is also good for most of these bad roads here. I liked that protective fender cladding too.

My 4x4 Yeti gives 140BHP and 320NM of Torque. The S Cross is very comparable indeed in terms of behaviour and Power to Weight ratio because it is lighter being 2WD and uses less heavy metal. Good braking too. I love the fact that it has both front and rear discs! Something that most of the Indian manufacturers shy away from giving us, for some reason.

They could have been kind to us consumers and given Passenger side height adjustment on the seat. They could have given 6-8 airbags like the EcoSport. A few more features like Hill Hold, ESP, Traction Control and AWD would have been great too.

Saying the above, it is still a pretty formidable package the way it is right now.
I think that if one upsizes one level to 215/65/16 Tyres on it, it will easily rival the Duster or the Yeti in terms of GC and overall behaviour/ performance on and off the roads...

The best thing about it is that it is NOT In Your Face, like most of the other offerings in this segment. There is very little Bling. It comes across as a serious, under stated, neat and clean, purposeful vehicle and I believe it is great VFM, especially post the price reduction.

Before these Maruti fellows give up on it and pull it off the market, go and buy one, is what I would say! :) :)

This car is a keeper.

And there will most certainly be that discerning "niche enthusiast" a few years down the line, who will want this car as an used example.

Existing owners, please update asap.
-> In comparison to Brezza, is S-Cross a sensible choice?
-> Is there any ground clearance issue with S-cross (I have a Honda City(been there, done that with breakers))
-> What is the mileage of the 1.3 variant?
-> Longevity of the car, planning to keep for at least 9-10 years.
-> Which colour looks best on S-Cross?
-> Any existing point from the existing owners to a prospective owner? :)

Six months back when I was on the lookout for a car, a crossover in mind, was eyeing the Vitara Brezza (more so having seen the Suzuki Vitara ) but having probed more came to a conclusion that the Brezza will be built to a cost and will S Cross will be the Premium offering from Maruti Suzuki and hence my ownership of the DDiS 200 continues and can be termed as one of the best, having driven the car ~ 7k Km to- date.

Here is my take on your queries,

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluevolt (Post 3944615)

-> In comparison to Brezza, is S-Cross a sensible choice?

S Cross for sure - Suggest you witness this yourself on the built Quality and Test Drive

Quote:

-> Is there any ground clearance issue with S-cross (I have a Honda City(been there, done that with breakers))

Absolutely none with ~ 5.5K km in Bangalore city and ~1.5K on highway. Suspension is tuned according and its handling is one of its USP's.

Quote:

-> What is the mileage of the 1.3 variant?

Varies with time of the day and driving style - I get a Minimum of 20 km/l with the best at 27 km/l during my daily commute ( start at 7:am and return at 6:00 pm ) in Bangalore city traffic.

Quote:

-> Longevity of the car, planning to keep for at least 9-10 years.

Subjective but should be at least 10 years considering the built and proven power-train components

Quote:

-> Which colour looks best on S-Cross?

his is a user preferred attribute, However IMO, Premium Silver, Granite Grey are the top 2 choices.

Quote:

-> Any existing point from the existing owners to a prospective owner?

Buy the car based on your usage - if it is a near 100 % City driving suggest the DDiS 200, if it is a mix of highway and City go for the DDiS320 a car unmatched in its current offerings in this segment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshatmangal (Post 3942909)

hello friends, i have been observing that average of my s cross 1.3 zeta has been slowly falling and now is consistent between 13-13.5 Earlier first 2-3 months it was hovering between 16-17.
Could this be some problem or law of averages catching up. please:
Thanks

Akshat,

I also drive the 1.3 Zeta in extremely dense traffic daily. I get around 17-18 kmpl regularly, with a very light foot driving style and quickly up-shifting. If I go a little harder, the FE drops to 15-16 kmpl, but never below that. The best I have got in city traffic is 22.3 kmpl and on highway was 27.8 kmpl. Please remember that idling at signals and traffic jams also brings down the FE significantly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by girishv (Post 3943972)

Few things which can not be upgraded in a delta is cruise control, FATC, rear wiper and steering mounted voice command activation. May be the HID too.

I do not know how much I will miss the cruise control. Did two long trips, one in NH4 (300km+ in one direction) and the second to Mysore. But in both the trips, I could not keep the speed constant for more than 5km at a stretch and wonder how much cruise would have helped in these trips.

May be I will miss out on the non-upgradable feature of FACT but that alone was not a good reason for me to pay 3lakh+ extra.

Let me see,

Best alloys : 35-40k
Good HU + two missing tweeters : 25-50k
HID : 25k (when its made available)

So for less than a lakh, I can get better alternatives to the ones available on Alpha, but in a leisure. That will still leave me with a saving of a minimum of 2lakh. I pushed almost to the breaking point to get 1.6 delta and 1.6 Alpha could never possible.

So, please tell me how sensible is my choice of going for 1.6 delta instead of 1.3 zeta (not alpha) for 50k more?

That gem of an engine and six gear gearbox (another gem) is anytime better than the touch screen and cruise. What do you say :D

girish

Exactly what i thought!
No amount of gadgets can give the feeling of 320NM torque! :D
The choice you are going to make is natural for 'POWERRRRR' mongers like us.
Unfortunately Maruti has axed the 1.6 delta and zeta. So, you better hurry up! :thumbs up

Friends- I took delivery of my 1.6 over the weekend.
Believe me, I read 250+ pages of this thread, made notes on tyres, polishing, vinyl coats, etc. Also read the individual reviews of Mi10, ajay_satpute, sudeepg, sandygordon, pannags which were of great help.

Model- 1.6 Alpha
Onroad- 13.60 L (Aug-15 manufactured)

Upgrades:
1. Tyres- Upsized to 225/ 50 R17 (13k/tyre, total 52k). Also includes WB,WA, Nitrogen-Darshan Tyres.
2. Alloys- 17" Lenzo Venom (60k)- Modern
Buyback for stock tyres and alloys (28K)
3. 3M paint sealant
Paint protection film for bumper corners, door edges, handle
Underbody coat (not required as SCross has plastic cladding)
CR70 film for all glass areas (38K)
Got engine protection and 10% discount- 3M Baner

..and no, I do not have a money plant at home lol: I am just passionate about my drive.

Plan for the future:
1. Get the brake calipers painted red
2. Replace the speakers
3. Get roof painted White or get the viper stripes in white/ grey
4. Remap after 2 years

Now I will shut-up and let the pictures do the talking. Hope to have a review posted soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha (Post 3945380)

This one is NOT TRUE.
I am actively looking to buy a 1.6 Zeta. Spoke to two NEXA dealers in Bangalore. Both of them are happy to take booking of 1.6 Zeta variant, but rather apologetically say that there is a 45-60 day waiting period.

Hi there,
Congrats first of all!

Here is the source:
http://overdrive.in/news/maruti-disc...ants-in-india/

As far as i know, overdrive is a reputed reporting agency, so i would give my benefit of doubt to them. :D

@Bluevolt:
Im not an owner but I am very impressed with this vehicle.
My two bits below on the points that I feel Im qualified to help on.

Q: In comparison to Brezza, is S-Cross a sensible choice?
A: Most definitely. It is of a higher segment/ level. And the 1.6 engine is really fantastic. This is a truly International offering by Maruti though it could have come with 6 Airbags instead of 2. Its got rear Disc Brakes too which is a big thing for me.
I would buy the Alpha 1.6 even if I have to stretch a bit. The recent price drop causes this vehicle to be a great deal indeed.
It is definitely possessed of a "big car" feel from inside and even from the outside as I recently remarked about the S Cross, a few posts ago on this thread or on the Brezza thread, when I saw it in my rear view mirror. Good interiors. Plush upholstery and overall high quality compared with any other Maruti out there. And frankly it is a better car when compared to a Hyundai Creta - it clearly has the edge over the Creta in my book.

Q: Is there any ground clearance issue with S-cross (I have a Honda City(been there, done that with breakers))
A: No, you will not find GC a problem. Most of our horrible Bangalore Speed Breakers and bumps are handled exceedingly well by the S Cross.

Q: Longevity of the car, planning to keep for at least 9-10 years.
A: I think this car is comfortably a 7 year car, if looked after well, driven sensibly and maintained as per schedule. It is a great vehicle and if well kept, should fetch you a decent resale 7 years down the line, because there will be some enthusiastic bloke out there, who values what this car gives.

Q: Which colour looks best on S-Cross?
A: I would suggest Silver, because it is relatively easier to maintain, does not show little dinks, dents and scratches easily (you have to be prepared for this in India) and on Silver, even muddy stains and dust, do not show up too much. Additionally Silver is reflective and this is useful in a hot country like ours.

Q: Any existing point from the existing owners to a prospective owner?
A: I would consider a tyre change to some good rubber - either the moment you buy it, or perhaps in 2 years or so from the date of buying.

Good luck with your purchase. You won't regret it, believe me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manish_symc (Post 3945630)

Hello All S-Cross Owners,

Looking for your inputs on S-Cross clutch pedal. This weekend, I took test drive of 1.3 Zeta. Drive was within the city for around 2KMs but I found pressing clutch pedal was too painful. It was very hard as compare to my Chevvy Spark.

Do you also feel that clutch of S-Cross is hard to press or it could be the problem in Test Drive Vehicle?

-- Thanks

It is a little heavier than my old petrol i20 but now I am OK with 1.6 clutch. According to me its not clutch which is hard it's just clutch travel is little higher compared to others. Also sometimes mats can interfere with clutch and brake pedals. Painful? not at all :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by manish_symc (Post 3945630)

I do not think the clutch pedal is very difficult to engage. It's not very heavy. But, if I compare it with my Alto K10 (Old generation 2013), yes, the S-Cross clutch is little more heavy to engage.