Team-BHP - Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4184322)

Do you own a 1.3 or a 1.6? Your ride looks fantastic with the hills in the backdrop. I assume the color is granite gray? ( I have booked one GG 1.3 myself scheduled to be delivered in a fortnight.) The FE is very good considering full load & AC. How was the rear seat comfort esp in the hills with 3 pax seated? did you observe any noticeable change in vehicle dynamics when fully loaded?

Congrats on the booking Ankan. Welcome to the club!! What is the on-road price ? Any discounts and freebies? Please do share the details.

Congrats Ankan! The S-cross is indeed one of the best cars in India.

I have a question on the DDiS 320 1.6 Diesel engine vs. the 1.6 Hyundai CRDi engine. Was comparing the specifications and looks like:
a) Power: 118 BHP vs. 126 BHP (Hyundai CRDi has higher power)
b) Torque: 320 nm vs. 260 nm (DDiS 320 has higher torque)
c) Mileage: The DDiS 320 will give at-least 10% higher mileage than the Hyundai CRDI
d) Turbo Lag: Hyundai CRDi is better
e) Noise: Hyundai CRDi has almost no noise
f) Cost: Hyundai CRDi will be cheaper as it is produced in India vs. DDiS 320 being imported

So it is Torque + Mileage vs. Power + Significantly lower turbo lag + low noise/high refinement + low cost.

From the above, seems like except for dominantly the torque, the Hyundai 1.6 CRDI is a better engine. However the number of fans for that engine is low. Please note I pick the S-cross as a better vehicle any day. Am just trying to understand what factors I am missing in the objective comparison of 1.6 Hyundai CRDI vs. 1.6 DDIS 320.

Mods: Please move to a separate thread if this is not relevant to this thread. I could not find another vehicle with the 1.6 Fiat diesel engine and hence thought given the knowledgeable people on this forum, would be easier to get an update

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4184914)

Is there any change to the steering in new Scross models? In the TD vehicle, the steering felt a size smaller than my ritz. Or was it just a perception w.r.t. to a relatively bigger car? stupid:

Ritz has a different steering from these cars, this one was introduced with the New Swift, so it wasn't in the Ritz.

And I believe the Ritz one is bigger in diameter, so you must be correct in feeling that.(Anyway your opinion would be on the mark considering you have driven that car for 5 yearslol:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr (Post 4184937)

From the above, seems like except for dominantly the torque, the Hyundai 1.6 CRDI is a better engine. However the number of fans for that engine is low. Please note I pick the S-cross as a better vehicle any day. Am just trying to understand what factors I am missing in the objective comparison of 1.6 Hyundai CRDI vs. 1.6 DDIS 320.

Both are good engines. Hyundai 1.6 CRDI excels in terms of refinement. 1.6 MJD is not noisy but not as refined as Hyundai. Also, 1.6 MJD produces around 25 percent more torque. But, that's the peak torque figures.. If you compare the torque graph on dyno, 1.6 CRDI has flat torque curve and 1.6 MJD has steep rise and steep fall.

1.6 MJD has more fans, true!! It's because of the car - S-Cross. S-Cross 1.6 is a favourite amongst many enthusiasts.

But, 1.6 CRDI sells more and again because of the car - Creta, which appeals more to the mass market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr (Post 4184937)

So it is Torque + Mileage vs. Power + Significantly lower turbo lag + low noise/high refinement + low cost.

From the above, seems like except for dominantly the torque, the Hyundai 1.6 CRDI is a better engine. However the number of fans for that engine is low. Please note I pick the S-cross as a better vehicle any day. Am just trying to understand what factors I am missing in the objective comparison of 1.6 Hyundai CRDI vs. 1.6 DDIS 320.

Hyundai's 1.6 engine might be cheaper on paper but the cars it is being put in are definitely not cheaper. Elite/Active (1.4), Verna & Creta cost more than their counterparts from their respective segments. Hyundai focuses on design & feature more than specifications to market their cars. The 1.6 MJD engine does perform significantly better than the CRDI. Also, the 1.3 VGT variant of the MJD is definitely better than the 1.4 CRDI used in the Creta. All credit goes to the engineers who have tweaked the Fiat engines differently for their cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4185647)

How does the Scross 1.3 fare against Brezza in suspension/ride comfort, handling, braking and driving dynamics? I compared Scross 1.3 zeta with Brezza ZDI+ and feature wise both are equivalent except (1) Brezza has wider tyres & higher GC (2) Scross has rear disc brakes.

The Brezza falls short on a lot of grounds when you compare it to the S-Cross. It has a very cramped driver's seat and tighter rear legroom. Being a sub 4-meter hatch, it has a tiny boot, the quality & design of the dashboard is inferior, it doesn't have a telescopic adjustment to the steering, it doesn't have rear disc brakes, it also doesn't have the amazing 1.6 engine! The steering is a little heavy, with a slightly more rolling resistance thanks to the wider tyres. The handling & breaking is nowhere near the S-Cross and the blame goes to Brezza's aerodynamics and lack of rear discs..

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Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4185647)

Find the answer to your question by someone who has tested both cars. And I, as an S-Cross owner, can vouch for this.

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3959228)

The Vitara Brezza has two advantages over the S-Cross:

Looks (although that is subjective)
Ground clearance (although S-Cross' 180 mm is more than adequate).

In all other areas, the S-Cross blows the Vitara Brezza out of the water. Simply no competition. The S-Cross has better build, quality, cabin space, seats (more supportive) & slightly more boot capacity. The S-Cross also feels better engineered and has superior road manners.

I'd pick the S-Cross. As Csnanjappa suggested, if you can stretch your budget, nothing quite like the 1.6L. Wide grin guaranteed every time you floor the throttle. In EMI terms, what's the difference between the 1.3 & 1.6 anyway? But even if it has to be a 1.3L, I'd pick the S-Cross over the Vitara Brezza, despite the former's ugly styling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4185647)

I had also considered Brezza before getting S-Cross. Quoting the points from my thread.

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Vitara Brezza

1. Good ground clearance
2. Road presence might be better due to increased height
3. Performance is marginally better
4. Wider tyres and better alloy wheel design
5. Cooled glove box, multi color MID
6. Good visibility from driver seat
7. 5-6 months waiting period
8. Halogen projector

S-Cross 1.3

1. Better build and obviously a bigger car
2. Handling is way better than brezza
3. All 4 disc brakes
4. Better interior plastic quality
5. Comfortable seats with better underthigh support
6. Telescopic steering
7. Minimal waiting period
8. Bixenon projector

S-Cross is a better, bigger and mature car compared to Brezza.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr (Post 4185647)

SCross 1.3 Zeta and Brezza ZDI+ carries almost same price tag. If you are ready to live with the looks of (especially front), any day SCross is a better option.

What Brezza ZDI+ has which SCross 1.3 Zeta does not have.

1. Projector Headlights
2. Light Sensing Headlights & Rain Sensing Wipers.
3. Dual Tone as an option
4. 2 glove boxes with the upper one cooled
5. Under seat tray (front passenger seat)
6. Wider Tyres & better Ground Clearance

What SCross Zeta has but Brezza ZDI+ does not have (on the feature list)

Important
1. Disc Brakes for rear wheels.
2. Telescopic Steering adjustment
Not so important
3. Driver side Vanity Mirror with light and both the vanity mirror lights switches on automatically on opening the cover.

Apart from these, SCross has better space, better handling and ride comfort (owing to the shape/structure), better thigh support especially in the rear. Yes the Brezza has better road presence and visibility from driving seat due to its tall stance. Most of the people find Brezza to have better visual appeal atleast from the front.

I was looking for a replacement for my Quanto and had booked Brezza. I didn't even consider SCross as I didn't like the looks from the front and also I wanted a tall vehicle with high seating position. The never ending waiting period forced me to look for alternatives and I reached this thread.

Even though I liked the features I still did not approve of the looks. How ever I booked a test drive and was pretty impressed with the overall package; did a second test drive of Brezza on the same roads where I took SCross and then there was no looking back. Booked SCross 1.3 Zeta the next day and within 2 weeks, got the car delivered.

The crucial aspect favored S-Cross was the rear seat comfort along with the overall ride comfort and any day wifey would prefer back seat if given an option.