[Vigkey]

So guys, finally took the plunge - After seriously considering Jazz, i20 and Creta and neither of them convincing me 100%, I have pre-booked the S-Cross paying Rs. 11,000 to Bimal Nexa, Bangalore. This is the first time I have pre-booked a car!!! One main reason to book is that the booking amount is just 11,000 and unlike the 50k-100k asked by other manufacturers. And it is for just a couple of days and I can cancel the booking if I am not satisfied with the prices.

I have booked the Premium Silver S-Cross DDiS 200 Alpha variant. Looks like I am the only one here who has booked the 1.3 L variant. In fact I too would love to own the 1.6 L variant but I am sure it is going to be way outside my budget. The showroom guys are themselves discouraging prospective customers saying the DDiS 320 will be pretty expensive at ~15 on-road Bangalore. They are very confident that the ex-showroom price of DDiS 200 Alpha will be within 10 lakhs and DDiS 320 Delta will be in the vicinity of 10 lakhs (i.e. above 10 lakhs). He however told there can be a deviation of ~50k.

Some interesting bits from the conversation I had with the RM today. Spent almost 45 minutes today also.

• Maruti has given manual boot lamp as automatic lamp would mean the light will be ON unnecessarily in the day also.
• DRLs can be turned on using the control stalk. RM feels it is mainly for cosmetic purpose and there is not much use of it in India.
• The ORVM will not turn the wrong side (i.e. is NOT bike safe) - I am sure this is wrong as the photo in our review proves this feature is available.
• No cornering lamp function.

Below are other stuff that I could not check last time around. Some quick observations:

• Checked out the HID - seems very powerful.
• DRLs also looks good.
• Checked out the Reverse cam display - display has decent resolution and I think the guidelines are dynamic - not sure though. I checked this feature without turning on the engine.
• Reverse sensors give audible beeps and the frequency increases as the obstruction is near. The MID also displays the obstruction proximity and direction.
• Checked out AVN - the touch sensitivity is tad lesser than I prefer. There is a lag between my action and the response from the screen. However, it feels better than most other OEM AVN units.
• I mistakenly turned ON the engine while fiddling with the Push button start. The NVH levels were superlative in idle.

In spite of making the booking, I am still skeptical about a couple of things. Anyways, nothing will count if Maruti prices this one out of my budget.

• DDiS 200 - will it be powerful enough to carry 4/5 people for my use in the City, 2 lane highways and Ghat sections with some luggage as well. Since Ertiga uses the same engine and has been fairly successful, I think this will not be a serious concern. Experts and Ertiga / Ciaz owners can share their thoughts.
• Boot - the low boot height might be a pain to use. Even though the number of 350+ is decent, the usability is questionable.
• Tires - Each and every review has pointed out the limitation of the stock tires. Experts will have to guide me to understand if a tire change is necessary.
• Alloys - The stock alloys does not suit the character of this car and will have to be changed. I will prefer an OEM accessory. Will the dealership buy back the stock alloys? I found an earlier post which said the dealership will NOT - but is that the standard practice? Can we bargain with the dealership on this??

[adimicra]

^^

Congrats Vigkey. Hopefully your long search for a car should end! Time to change your avatar

One question though - both Ciaz ZDI and ZDI(O) , ZDI+ are all priced above 10L ex-showroom. Are you expecting the S-cross Alpha (top variant) to undercut the Ciaz?

Seems highly unlikely given the way Maruti is shouting premium premium from the roof tops and then all this Nexa hype etc.

If indeed S-cross manages to undercut the Ciaz, it will be a great successs but I have my doubts.


How does the S-cross kerb weight compare to the likes of Ciaz and Ertiga? The DDIS 200 will be just about adequate I feel for a car of this size... nothing exciting but will do the job!

[Abhi99]

Originally Posted by Vigkey

[*]Alloys - The stock alloys does not suit the character of this car and will have to be changed. I will prefer an OEM accessory. Will the dealership buy back the stock alloys? I found an earlier post which said the dealership will NOT - but is that the standard practice? Can we bargain with the dealership on this??[/list]

Congrats on your booking bud!! I checked with my RM if they have the picture of alloys that would be offered as accesory yet and the ans was negative. He expects to have the entire kit by 4th. Further he mentioned that they wont buy back the std alloys.

After giving it a long thought, i am going ahead with MOMO revenge anthracite alloys and would upgrade tyres too.

I cant wait for the pricing to be out now, according to my RM it would be about 12 top spec but yours say otherwise. Not sure whats in store

[sandygordon]

Do you plan to upsize the tyres? Any one planning on a 225 55 R 16? Thinking of upgrading the alloys. What to do with the oem? I d declare it a national disaster and send it to archeological museum. have to find out a way to sell it off, else keep it to avoid a bad eye.

[Abhi99]

Originally Posted by sandygordon

Do you plan to upsize the tyres? Any one planning on a 225 55 R 16? Thinking of upgrading the alloys. What to do with the oem? I d declare it a national disaster and send it to archeological museum. have to find out a way to sell it off, else keep it to avoid a bad eye.

I plan to upgrade the tyres and have ordered alloys too. Thanks to a goooood friend, i may have a place who would exhange alloys and stock tyres for upsized ones

[Vigkey]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Congrats Vigkey. Hopefully your long search for a car should end! Time to change your avatar

Thanks Adi!! I too hope this should be it - but you never know The avatar will remain at least till I confirm the S-Cross purchase - and Jazz, even today, is a car very close to my heart.

Originally Posted by adimicra

One question though - both Ciaz ZDI and ZDI(O) , ZDI+ are all priced above 10L ex-showroom. Are you expecting the S-cross Alpha (top variant) to undercut the Ciaz?

Seems highly unlikely given the way Maruti is shouting premium premium from the roof tops and then all this Nexa hype etc.

If indeed S-cross manages to undercut the Ciaz, it will be a great successs but I have my doubts.

I too have that doubt Adi. I asked this question specifically - "Do you really mean that S-Cross will undercut the Ciaz??" and the RM replied in affirmative. He says Maruti has assured them in their communication that the pricing will be very competitive for the DDiS 200 version. He and other RMs seemed very confident. Their point was that DDiS 320 is a beast and that one will be charged a handsome premium. But to make the product aggressive and to get initial boost of sales, the DDiS 200 will be priced very competitively. But you never know, they might be telling all this to boost the booking numbers. Will wait for a couple of days more and hope Maruti treats me better than Honda.

Originally Posted by adimicra

How does the S-cross kerb weight compare to the likes of Ciaz and Ertiga? The DDIS 200 will be just about adequate I feel for a car of this size... nothing exciting but will do the job!

Kerb weight of Ertiga is not officially published in their website. However the gross weight of Ertiga is 1845 and that of S-Cross is 1670. Ciaz weighs ~100 kgs less at 1585. The kerb weight of S-Cross is 1180-1205 and that of Ciaz VDi is 1105. By the looks of it, S-Cross will be lighter than Ertiga and is designed to carry 2 passengers lesser. Ciaz however will have a better Power:Weight and Torque:Weight ratios.

Originally Posted by Abhi99

Congrats on your booking bud!! I checked with my RM if they have the picture of alloys that would be offered as accesory yet and the ans was negative. He expects to have the entire kit by 4th. Further he mentioned that they wont buy back the std alloys.

I cant wait for the pricing to be out now, according to my RM it would be about 12 top spec but yours say otherwise. Not sure whats in store

Thanks Abhi!!! Have you made the booking? and which model / variant did you go for?? Even my RM confirmed that the accessory list will be revealed only on Aug 5th. I will try to bargain with them regarding buyback if I like any of the accessory rims. I would love to have the gunmetal finish alloys that comes with the Ciaz. All this, only if the pricing suits me. Did your RM mention the 12 lakhs as ex-showroom or on-road? If it is on-road, then both our RMs are eyeing a similar figure - ~10 lakhs ex-showroom will work out to ~12 lakhs on-road. OTOH, if it is ex-showroom, that will mean Good-Bye S-Cross

Originally Posted by sandygordon

Do you plan to upsize the tyres? Any one planning on a 225 55 R 16? Thinking of upgrading the alloys. What to do with the oem? I d declare it a national disaster and send it to archeological museum. have to find out a way to sell it off, else keep it to avoid a bad eye.

I actually feel there will not be a necessary to up-size especially for the DDiS 200 variants. However, I would love to have Michelin or Bridgestone tires on this car. I might therefore try to exchange the JK for one of these and try to strike a bargain for whatever the JKs are worth. In fact our Dzire is still running on the stock JKs (completed ~35k) and we have not found it too bad - by the way, my father and I both are pretty sedate drivers and not really corner carvers.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

I went and checked out the S-Cross in the Nexa showroom in JP Nagar, Bangalore. It is a lot bigger than it appears in photographs. Blue and grey appear to be the best suited colours for it.

Wife liked it. I liked it. Son liked it. Trouble is, wife does not like leather. So the RM kinda hinted that we could buy the top end (Alpha) variant and delete leather seats. I am not so sure, do you think this could be done?

On the other hand, I can't abide by the fact that the Zeta variant does not have climate control and HID headlamps.

Decisions ... Decisions ...

I saw this car yesterday in Chandigarh and it looked a lot bigger than the pictures.

As far as leather seats are concerned, just put a good quality fabric seat covers over the Leather seats. This way the leather will not be felt. You could take off the covers when you sell off the car. You could get a better resale as the leather seats will look super fresh.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Hope they will free more boot space by using a spare alloy wheel, given internationally as mentioned in the review.

The steel or alloy spare wheel will reduce the boot space. The international edition has run-flat tires, so there isn't a spare in the international one. Hence it has a 430 liter boot space.

Originally Posted by Vigkey

• DDiS 200 - will it be powerful enough to carry 4/5 people for my use in the City, 2 lane highways and Ghat sections with some luggage as well. Since Ertiga uses the same engine and has been fairly successful, I think this will not be a serious concern. Experts and Ertiga / Ciaz owners can share their thoughts.
• Boot - the low boot height might be a pain to use. Even though the number of 350+ is decent, the usability is questionable.

The DDiS 200 will surely have less power, don't expect to keep up with Ciaz, City etc on the highway. It's certainly not a speed devil, but will just do the job. I have a feeling the power-to-weight and Torque-to-weight figures maybe like the duster 85. It won't be under powered, but it'll be no monster on the highways also. You'll just have to live with turbo-lag also.

I'm worried that the boot space will be a deal breaker to many. The fact that Jazz offers the same boot space just highlights how much Honda have maximized space. The low boot height shouldn't worry you.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Vigkey

So guys, finally took the plunge - After seriously considering Jazz, i20 and Creta and neither of them convincing me 100%, I have pre-booked the S-Cross paying Rs. 11,000 to Bimal Nexa, Bangalore.

I had my money on you getting a JAzz. Where did the S-cross come from?

You had stood up for the Jazz more than what Honda themselves were doing. lol.

Anyways, congrats on your booking! Let's hope Maruti price it right. People seem to have hopes on Maruti after Honda and Hyundai disappointed with the Jazz and Creta.

[Abhi99]

Originally Posted by Vigkey

Thanks Abhi!!! Have you made the booking? and which model / variant did you go for?? Even my RM confirmed that the accessory list will be revealed only on Aug 5th. I will try to bargain with them regarding buyback if I like any of the accessory rims. I would love to have the gunmetal finish alloys that comes with the Ciaz. All this, only if the pricing suits me. Did your RM mention the 12 lakhs as ex-showroom or on-road? If it is on-road, then both our RMs are eyeing a similar figure - ~10 lakhs ex-showroom will work out to ~12 lakhs on-road. OTOH, if it is ex-showroom, that will mean Good-Bye S-Cross

Yes bud i made the booking too, infact i did a month back. Now like everyone else i have booked 1.6 and keeping my fingers and toes crossed for the pricing. Mr Kalsi on wednesday morning would decide which one i would buy .

My RM says 12 ex showroom for 1.6 and about 10 ex showroom for 1.3.

[searacer932]

Saw the S-cross today in flesh at the Express Avenue mall (Chennai). There is no way you could term this as crossover. It's just a large hatch and a good large hatch if you consider that 1.6 MJD and the interiors. It reminds me of Vauxhall Astra. The front bumper looked ugly to me in pictures and reminded me of Ritz. However the bumper looks much better in real world.

There is only one NEXA in Chennai at the moment and that's the one in Ambattur. EcoSport is a much better product, IMHO, if you compare it with the 1.3 MJD and makes lot more sense. Having said that, I think Suzuki have done well quite to get the 1.6 MJD. It makes sense to get the S-Cross if only if you consider the 1.6 MJD. I would personally prefer the EcoSport or the 1.4CRDi of the Creta in comparision to the 1.3 MJD of the S-Cross.

Just hoping for competitive pricing from Maruthi on the 1.6MJD. Hope Maruti don't replace the 1.6 MJD with their own in-house diesel engine in the future!!

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Abhi99

My RM says 12 ex showroom for 1.6 and about 10 ex showroom for 1.3.

The Ex-showroom for the Ciaz ZDI+ is 10.3L. The S-cross has better interiors, rear disc brakes, HID lights, auto lights, auto wipers and some more extra stuff.

I would say ex showroom for the S-cross 1.3L will be 50-70K more than the Ciaz for sure.

[Vigkey]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I had my money on you getting a JAzz. Where did the S-cross come from?

Vidyut!!! In fact my wife asked the same question yesterday when I told her than I am going to book the S-Cross.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

You had stood up for the Jazz more than what Honda themselves were doing.

Guess, I have proved that I was never a fanboy. I just stood for what I believed and when Honda disappointed me with their pricing, I had to move on. Anyways, if Maruti also does the same with S-Cross, I might revisit Jazz again. So everything rests in Maruti's pricing now.

Originally Posted by Abhi99

Yes bud i made the booking too, infact i did a month back. Now like everyone else i have booked 1.6 and keeping my fingers and toes crossed for the pricing. Mr Kalsi on wednesday morning would decide which one i would buy.

My RM says 12 ex showroom for 1.6 and about 10 ex showroom for 1.3.

Well, all the best on that Abhi!!! Hope Maruti prices the 1.6 within your reach and 1.3 within mine. In fact, my RM also quoted similar prices - so I guess its all the same.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

The DDiS 200 will surely have less power, don't expect to keep up with Ciaz, City etc on the highway. It's certainly not a speed devil, but will just do the job. I have a feeling the power-to-weight and Torque-to-weight figures maybe like the duster 85. It won't be under powered, but it'll be no monster on the highways also. You'll just have to live with turbo-lag also.

I am not looking for a speed devil either. So that should not be a problem. However, I must live with another devil - turbo lag. In fact all diesels I have driven till date had almost 0 lag - Bolero and the Hondas. So, this will be a new item in my plate. Let me see how this tastes.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I'm worried that the boot space will be a deal breaker to many. The fact that Jazz offers the same boot space just highlights how much Honda have maximized space. The low boot height shouldn't worry you.

I asked the RM about this as well. He said that the hatchbacks have their spare tire placed pretty low on the floor and hence liberates more height to the boot. Since Maruti is placing S-Cross as a crossover they did not want to compromise on the ground clearance and hence placed the spare tire slightly higher and that is resulting in low boot height. I think it makes sense. One way can be to remove the parcel tray and liberate more height.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The Ex-showroom for the Ciaz ZDI+ is 10.3L. The S-cross has better interiors, rear disc brakes, HID lights, auto lights, auto wipers and some more extra stuff.

I would say ex showroom for the S-cross 1.3L will be 50-70K more than the Ciaz for sure.

I got exactly the same price range from the Nexa executives here... Makes sense to me.

By the way Ciaz ZDI+costs 10.7 Lakhs in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Never knew such a huge difference in the Ex-showroom prices across cities. The Southern states have substantially higher Ex-showroom prices and much higher road taxes as well

[maven]

Saw the s-cross at the Nexa showroom in Noida.

It's not tiny by any stretch. Really decent room in the back seat. Best for 4 as there is a prominent floor hump. Stance isn't low as the photos will lead you to believe. One has to see this in person to the real picture.

Per the representative that showed us the car, they expect Ex showroom for top end 1.6 at upto 12.5 L in Noida. They said to add another lac or so to arrive at the on road price.