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Thank you. I am not buying a new car. Actually, I cannot afford a car anymore.


Have moved to Singapore.

Hello SCross owners! Need your help.

Note: A lengthy read!

Current Situation:

I currently own a pre-owned Honda City, a 2012 V-AT which has run around 80,000 KMs and has been fitted with a CNG kit. I had bought her in June, 2020 when she was run just 17,000 KMs and the CNG installation has paid back extremely well.

She is now 12 years old, and has started showing her age, in interiors as well as maintenance has shot up due to constant suspension issues, tyres are due for a change, plus some other major issues, I am looking at a bill of around 75,000 bucks.

Along with this, we as a family are hefty, and plus with CNG tank, the City struggles on every speed breaker, and now with all these points, we are thinking of a change.

For our needs, after scouring the used market for all possible alternatives below 8L, we have landed on SCross Diesel being the most fit for our requirements - should be frugal, sensible to maintain, good build quality, decent ground clearance to never think twice before going anywhere sensible with 4 people on board + luggage, something taller than the City, and would fetch a good resale within 5 years.

Actual Question to the owners / members:

Now, after reading up on as much as I could in the last two days, I still have some doubts as follows:

1. What are the differences between the pre-facelift and facelift versions of the SCross, other than the cosmetic ones?

2. While from what I have read, the 1.6 seems to be a usual choice, I would still like to persist with 1.3L as I would see this as a beater car, and the spares should be easy on the wallet, and also the fuel economy.

3. Considering 1.3L, what are the usual and major components which have a chance of giving troubles, and would be the costs involved to replace them?

4. How is the spares availability for the 1.3L, except the usual ones? I have fleetingly read that using some cross parts can help bring down the costs like for e.g: Using Baleno RS's read brake pads would shave the cost to 1/3rd. I hope there would be other alternatives like this for other parts without compromising too much on the quality?

5. What are some of the biggest pain points in the car?

6. First test ride impressions: Now coming from a superb Automatic Torque Converter from the City after 4 years to a manual transmission is going to be difficult to adjust to. How hard is the clutch of the facelift version? I test drove a 2015 version 1.3L today, and the clutch was extremely hard for me, and the overall cabin felt harsh, which is to be expected, so I am keeping my judgement reserved till I test drive better kept examples.
But the pull of the diesel after 2000 RPM is ADDICTIVE!!! It plastered a bigggg smile on my face, something I have never experienced in my ownership of the City CNG and the Fiat Palio before the City. So I would be extremely happy with even the 1.3 I am hoping, after which I can always get it tuned as many members have.

But the clutch being hard is a worry. Members please advice.

7. I didn't like the interior quality as much, but coming from a Honda, I didn't have too high hopes, so passable. I hate the all black interiors, if I do get the SCross, I would first change the seats to something light coloured, and maybe get the interior panels dipped / painted to something of a light shade / brushed aluminium finish.

SHORTLISTED OPTIONS:

1. 2016 1.6L Alpha variant with 66,000 KMs on the odometer, asking price of Rs. 5.5L, looks good in the pictures, but has no service record at all - dealer involved. On paper price looks good, but eh! Wouldn't hurt to check her out once.

2. 2018 1.3L Alpha variant with 49,000 KMs on the odometer, asking price of 7.15L, Nexa Blue colour, and looks really good in the photos, direct owner negotiating and has a fully detailed service history with Nexa Dadar, the owner is a doctor, so I am guessing the car has been well kept, and seems a nice person as well! Has no issues if I get her checked with an ASC or get the records from Nexa.

I will be checking both these cars personally in a day or two, but I personally, am inclining a little towards the 2018 one, as getting good vibes.

As for the price, is it sensible? Other examples on OLX for a similar specced SCross are much higher. If I have to negotiate, after getting her checked thoroughly at Nexa, how much should I look to bring her down to?

Sorry for the long post, but looking forward to some help from you all!! Cheers!! :Cheering:

Tyres are 215/60/R16 as opposed to 205/60/R16. Some trims have cruise. Other than that no big difference.

You'll find use for 1.6 if you are going to be on the highway more. FE wise 1.3 would easily deliver 20s. I had a lifetime FE of 21.2 during my ownership.

Glow plugs rl: I've replaced them 5 or 6 times during my ownership and once the glow plug control module.

Is this a question. MJD had 97% localization and shared parts across the board.

It is not light. But S-Cross 1.3 was the easiest car I drove. If you are not going to drive extreme B2B traffic, you should be good to go. You'll also shift much lesser in the city compared to the 6-speed manual on the 1.6

I'd negotiate and go with this.

Hello, thanks for your replies. I was mainly worried about the clutch, especially on an up hill B2B (missing hill hold assist :unhappy), but those instances would be rare, so I guess can make do.

What would be a good price for this? A deal which would be fair for both?

Oh, and I checked with Nexa Dadar, the car has been serviced immaculately and to the T, with every service followed to the manual. So extremely good first impressions.

5.5 lakhs for a 2016 S-Cross Alpha 1.6 which has run 66,000 km is a good price, but no service record and dealer involvement are some things I would worry about, there may be issues with the vehicle, ODO tampering, and other problems may be there, so be cautious, do check it out once, and enquire the details.

If you can get the 2018 S-Cross Alpha 1.3 for 7 Lakhs, I would consider it a good deal considering it's a direct deal with a good service history, Do check it out and try to get it at 7 lakhs at least, you should be good to go.

I own a 2019 1.3 Alpha and will pen down my thoughts on your dilemma:

1. Stay away from 1.6 if you want a beater.
2. Facelift cars have minimum feature upgrade. Major addition was SHVS.
3. If you find the clutch heavy, just replace it since its not an expensive affair. Ballpark around 12-15k at a competent FNG.
4. The car is no nonsense. Doesn't demand anything more than what is instructed in the Manual.
5. Glow plug is not a serious issue as per me. You can replace in 5 mins at SC.

Some points for reference:
1. We sold my friend's 2016 93K run Delta model for 5L in May 24. So resale is good enough. It was bought for 10L in Oct 2016.
2. I was planning to sell my 2019 Alpha run 50k last year. Best quote from online portals was 9L in Jun23.

Hope you get an idea with this information. All the best:thumbs up

Pre facelift does NOT have the SVHS system , facelift comes with SVHS system. So, added battery, belts etc on SVHS.

PS: Prefacelift can be switchable wolf maps with a remap. Facelift with SVHS cannot be remapped. (atleast with wolf, i am not sure about others)

Some spares are high failure parts, like alternator pulley. Hard to comeby, but pajero pulley can be used. The timing kit if not already done on the 1.6 would be a pain to procure. Only about 5000 odd cars of the 1.6 are in India (to the best of my knowledge). The 1.3 uses the same engine as the ones in swift, ertiga et al.

Almost all cars in this vintage would show age, so you would need to budget for shock absorbers. Very little 1.3 cars have gone through the timing chain replacement. but parts are common with other 1.3 engines. Clutch really depends on usage.

baleno RS parts are a common mod. The other one being Monroe rear shock absorbers.

Being a Manual. It is going to be tough coming from an automatic.

If doing a cluth change, do everything like, throw out bearing etc.. That would make the clutch smoother. Change gear oil, if the car has run more than 80,000 kms. The 160,000 as per manual is just too much.

The parts are hardy if well taken care of. If the car is parked in sun, the gear knob would become brittle. Look for usual signs of wear on high touch parts, steering wheel controls, ac button etc.. I just have a wipe down with soapy water about twice in a year. no other chemicals used and it is still very good.

The 1.3 DDIS SHVS does not have an additional battery unlike the Petrol counterpart. The ISG belt needs replacement at 30k kms iirc. It's not expensive.

Also, Wolf has a map for the facelift. It improves the low end by 15-20%, as per them. I had decided to go with it but I backed out because we bought another car and Scross became our beater.

With a diesel, it is easy to go up-hill without rolling back. I find it hard on my petrol manual, but never an issue in all these years with my Storme. So I would say that hill-hold on a diesel is good-to-have but not Necessary.

Like @DieselAnna said, no additional battery. The space below the co-driver seat is clear - may be a good place for an amp there ?

This has a timing chain ? Nice !

Agree

Ah! Thanks! I always thought it was the same system in petrol and diesel. Thinking back, it make sense, as in the whatsapp groups, they were talking about a different 12v main batt for SVHS cars.

So guys, what does the SHVS do in the 1.3 - apart from the stop-start action ? I notice the SHVS light coming on even when driving. The light comes on sometimes, so trying to understand the role of the system in the 1.3D

• Idle Start-Stop: This feature automatically turns off the engine when the car is idle, such as at traffic lights, and restarts it when you press the clutch, helping to save fuel.
• Brake Energy Regeneration: When you apply the brakes, the system converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy, which is stored in the battery. This energy is then used to assist the engine during acceleration
• Torque Assist: The stored energy in the battery provides additional torque during acceleration, reducing the load on the engine and improving fuel efficiency.

I am not sure if the 1.3 Diesel needs or has torque assist, but the 1.5 petrol definitely has it.

Can some one help with the bulb-type for the Low & High beam on the 1.3D Zeta ?

The below is from the 1.5P: I guess it should be the same, but wanted confirmation.

Assuming you are asking about facelifted 1.3D Zeta. Yes it is H7 and H11 55W halogens.

No torque assist in the MJD

Thanks for the clarification, I figured out why would it need torque assist when it is a diesel and has way more torque than petrol, I understand that it is present in the 1.5 Petrol introduced in 2020.