[shancz]

Originally Posted by esc2break

In my search, I didn't notice anyone bring up tight/heavy steering at standstill.

Could be low tyre pressure or default steering behaviour.
Had missed this but this is the first time I am hearing about it.
Better to TD another vehicle and check.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by esc2break

@asmr, there is a lot of intersection between my requirements (Maruti S-Cross 1.5L Petrol : Official Review) and yours. Big difference is my budget... Good luck in your search.

Originally Posted by shancz

Could be low tyre pressure or default steering behaviour.
Had missed this but this is the first time I am hearing about it.
Better to TD another vehicle and check.

Yeah, my budget was capped at 17L ex-showroom as max. But I decided to open it up a bit since there weren't many choices. And my previous car was a Santro Xing XL, not a Ritz.

As for the tight steering, I didn't feel any drag on the vehicle while driving, but yes, maybe I should TD another vehicle just to be sure.

[VW2010]

My 2 cents on practically hunting on a similar requirement. I was recently in a similar predicament. My earlier cars were Swift and Jetta and I really wanted a comfortable, no-nonsense, spacious, and "easy to drive around" car. I was also very clear that I do not want something to throw around the corner or do a 3hr trip to Bangalore from Chennai. All I needed was something that can do high way speed limit +-20% and be very comfortable. I have had enough fun for my age with the Jetta including crazy drives and senseless speeds. After testing many cars the one that caught my eye was actually a sub 10L segment car, Renault Triber. The triber is the most practical solution for your requirement. There is a potential upgrade to the engine coming up in early 2022. You can wait for it but even in its current avatar, this car has ample space including the last seat, decent safety equipment, excellent space utilization and does well on the highway. My requirements didn't change but I added 4*4 as a requirement and picked up the last generation endeavour. This weekend during a trip I was following a triber while coasting at 80-90 KPH and I felt that was indeed the next best alternative for space, comfort, and calm driving to reach the destination. The triber of course was pulling ahead of me cruising at comfortable speeds above 90. My driving habit has changed and hence I do not need enthusiastic cars. All I needed was something that can take me to different points, have lots of space and be comfortable throughout. With your 20L budget, I would still recommend picking up a used endeavour but you lose on fuel efficiency and gain on a lot of comforts, space, and excellent ride quality at those speeds. There is no compromise to riding high on broken roads and not feeling the thuds all over our body irrespective of what suspension upgrades we do.

The other alternative I did consider for space was Jazz.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by asmr

- And my previous car was a Santro Xing XL, not a Ritz.
- As for the tight steering, I didn't feel any drag on the vehicle while driving, but yes, maybe I should TD another vehicle just to be sure.

- Sorry, mixed it up with another post, too many S-Crosses these days
- The drag will be felt the most at standstill, it gets alleviated a bit in motion but I am not discounting some issue/behaviour of the steering itself. Also make sure that the other stuff is workable for you like the lack of rear charging points and vents.

Good Luck.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by VW2010

My 2 cents on practically hunting on a similar requirement. I was recently in a similar predicament. My earlier cars were Swift and Jetta and I really wanted a comfortable, no-nonsense, spacious, and "easy to drive around" car. ... With your 20L budget, I would still recommend picking up a used endeavour but you lose on fuel efficiency and gain on a lot of comforts, space, and excellent ride quality at those speeds. There is no compromise to riding high on broken roads and not feeling the thuds all over our body irrespective of what suspension upgrades we do.

The other alternative I did consider for space was Jazz.

Thanks for sharing that. Used cars a no-no for the family. And certainly not a Ford. Mileage is not THE factor, but it is important too. That's why we have decided that MG Hector might not make it to my final list, not withstanding the comforts it has. Jazz hasn't come up in my list. From whatever I read here as reviews, the new Jazz's back seats are not good. But I did see the specs. Seems interesting. Might be worth another look.

Originally Posted by shancz

- Sorry, mixed it up with another post, too many S-Crosses these days
- The drag will be felt the most at standstill, it gets alleviated a bit in motion but I am not discounting some issue/behaviour of the steering itself. Also make sure that the other stuff is workable for you like the lack of rear charging points and vents.

Good Luck.

Hey, no problem. The Santro didn't have vents or charging points. Truth is those don't surface up in my discussions much. It's more about comfortable seating for 3 in the back, luggage space, good ride quality. What the driver (me) gets as gizmos is not a big priority .

I am just kidding, but yes, S-Cross definitely made a good impression. I have revised my earlier position and decided to try out a Seltos HTX IVT and the new Honda City. S-Cross Alpha AT at 15.6L OTR is not too far from a 18L City or Seltos, which is still less than the 20L I was willing to shell out for the Creta SXO IVT.

Let's see how that goes.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by asmr

Truth is those don't surface up in my discussions much. It's more about comfortable seating for 3 in the back, luggage space, good ride quality. What the driver (me) gets as gizmos is not a big priority .

Let's see how that goes.

Understand and understood but at least you get AT
Personally I don't care about the rear vents or the port. But as an option I would prefer the port more than the vents since that prevents a potential annoyance of people bugging you to charge the phone on long trips mainly.

But if I am buying something today then I would expect both, that's just MSIL being themselves

Keep us posted.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by shancz

Understand and understood but at least you get AT ... Keep us posted.

S-Cross it is, folks! I plan to book the Alpha AT tomorrow.

For all those who took time to help share their views here, and also for those sharing their inputs on the official thread, my sincere thanks!

[shancz]

Congratulations, do share the pics if feasible.
Alpha is good, enjoy the drive.
What color ?

The Transformer strikes again

[sierrabravo98]

Originally Posted by asmr

S-Cross it is, folks! I plan to book the Alpha AT tomorrow.

For all those who took time to help share their views here, and also for those sharing their inputs on the official thread, my sincere thanks!

Congratulations on the decision. BUT,

IMHO, you have made the wrong choice with the S-Cross. My reasons are as follows:

1.) Your can easily get a well equipped variant of a D segment SUV (mid-size) in your budget. With the S-Cross, you are compromising on almost everything (engine, build, size, space). A car is a long term purchase. Hence, the highest segment achievable in one's budget is always preferable. We have an excellent thread on the topic if you have not gone through it.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buyin...to-longer.html (How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer))

2.) The S-Cross is too dated and small for most of your requirements. The rear seat is too low and narrow to comfortably accommodate 3 adults on a long(ish) road trip. This is statement is to be taken in context that the vehicles available in your budget(Hector/Safari/Harrier/XUV) completely blow away the S-Cross in any and every comfort related metric (seat width/ride quality/knee-room etc.).

3.) The 4 speed TC of the S-Cross is completely adequate for almost every use-case you will come across. The operative word being adequate. It is fine when someone wants to get a smooth automatic on a budget. However, the 6 speed Aisin/Hyundai TC offered by the Mahindra/Tata competitors are eons ahead of this Jatco unit. And I am saying this with over 15k kms of experience using this 4 speed TC on my family's XL6. You will always keep wanting an extra gear or two.

My arguments basically boil down to the point that you should not settle for an inferior car when you have a budget for better cars. Its not that the S-Cross is a bad car. It is just that it is completely outclassed by the other vehicles in your shortlist. There is a very high probability that you will want to upgrade to a bigger car very quickly into the ownership of the S-Cross.

[Newtown]

I maybe a little late to this and I have gone through the suggestions. Why not a Kushaq 1.0? In case you haven't considered it here goes.

You have a sedate driving style, the car has a good CVT. The rear will seat a 6 footer. It will could also seat 3 average built adults on the rear seat (take them and check). The boot space will surprise you when you start loading it.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by asmr

S-Cross it is, folks! I plan to book the Alpha AT tomorrow....

Congratulations! I followed your posts on Hyundai Creta thread and I am glad you pulled the plug on Creta quickly AND booked another car. And that too S-Cross! S-Cross misses out on quite a few features, engine/transmission combination compared to Creta and the desirability quotient is less too. But it is still a very sensible and practical choice. What made you choose S-Cross over your other shortlisted cars sans Creta/Seltos?

[asmr]

Originally Posted by shancz

Congratulations, do share the pics if feasible.
Alpha is good, enjoy the drive.
What color ?

The Transformer strikes again

Yeah, I know, right? Thanks. I am thinking of Grey or Premium Silver. Likely the latter.

Originally Posted by sierrabravo98

Congratulations on the decision. BUT,

IMHO, you have made the wrong choice with the S-Cross. My reasons are... There is a very high probability that you will want to upgrade to a bigger car very quickly into the ownership of the S-Cross.

Appreciate the detailed response. I actually agree with most of your points and the other thread, but it didn't come across as small for us and actually was comfortable enough. I liked the drive quality, wife liked the space and seating. I know I had put the budget range but we decided to "settle" for this not because it was cheaper, but like you said, the right word is "adequate". (Do read the bullet list below too).

Originally Posted by Newtown

I maybe a little late to this and I have gone through the suggestions. Why not a Kushaq 1.0?

Thanks for the input. Kushaq is too new for me to consider and also the opinions I have read on after sales didn't give me much confidence. But it being a new car had more to do with not having it as an option, same as the XUV700 or Taigun.

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Congratulations!... What made you choose S-Cross over your other shortlisted cars sans Creta/Seltos?

• Ride quality seemed excellent.
• It felt like effortless driving in bumper to bumper city ride.
• There is good enough space for 5 of us. Seating comfort was very good for me (with driver seat adjusted for my position, I could sit behind it with 2.5 inches of knee space left, which is great especially with my height of 6ft 1in) and was rated as excellent by my wife.
• Family really didn't want a sedan.
• Mileage is good, which was one of the reasons Hector was dropped.
• Harrier never came for the test drive after calling them a month back with 3 follow ups, making me wonder what their service would be like if they can't get a simple test drive done on time. Remember, I dropped Creta for Bad sales experience (Seltos - family didn't like it).

I kept my Santro for 15 years only because of parking constraints in my residence. Have moved for the short term and a plan for the long term is in works. So, we did the numbers on the car options we had this time and were quite OK with holding this car for a lesser time and upgrade or even get a second vehicle (with other plans materializing). As I mentioned, the Creta was a 'heart' option. I would have taken it without a second thought but it was not to be.

Ultimately, on the larger vehicles, upgrading from the Santro to a full sized SUV seemed to bring the question "Do we really need that big a vehicle?". So we decided for the S-Cross (it is a crossover, right? ) and see where it takes us.

[JJ1991]

Have you checked the MG Astor? If rear space is not too much of a concern check it out.

[fhdowntheline]

Why did you not consider the Kicks or the Duster ? Both of them have great space, best in segment engines (barring the 7OO if at all you consider it in the same segment) , and a dream ride quality (esp Duster). Yes, the Duster lacks on finesse of interiors which the Kicks redeems somewhat, but these Renault-Nissan cousins are immensely practical, rough and rugged. The only downside I see is lack of additional airbags, but then barring the top variants you dont get them anyway even for its competitors .
Otherwise you have to come one segment lower and compromise on space i.e. higher variants of Venue, Sonet and XUV3OO.

[DVK]

Congratulations on your booking!
While it may seem like a compromise of sorts, I think it is honestly not a bad choice! I am not entirely sure about the petrol AT though. Within the family we have both the Creta Sx(o) IVT and the S-Cross 1.3D MT. Here are my 2 cents which may help you in keeping peace with your decision.

1. Creta was a "heart" over head decision for us too as this was an aspirational buy pending since a long time
2. Out of both the cars, the S-Cross fares better due to a softer suspension set up. I have felt more at ease with bad roads when compared to Creta
3. The rear seat width is better and it shows. It is if I am not wrong around 10mm wider on the outer dimensions. But every mm counts if all 5 are seated.
4. Both have a similar boot space volume. So you are definitely not loosing out on that department
5. On the heavier steering, I think it may be because of your previous reference with Hyundai, who generally have lighter steering. But trust me the S-Cross weighs up beautifully with speed and is super enjoyable even in the hills. Not sure if the gearbox will be a limiting factor in your case though.
6. On the point of heavier steering, taking U-turns might be marginally cumbersome, both because of the harder steering and a wider turning radius ( I think, not sure about the numbers) but nothing like a minor workout eh?
7. They both feel like essentially the same 5 seater package after you have lived with them for a while. One has fancy tech and the other does not.
8. You mentioned you have older parents, in that case the S-Cross is the better of the bunch since the bench is ergonomically perfectly heighted. Thanks to its crossover stance. The older members of our family prefer to travel in S-Cross than the Creta since ingress and egress is harder for them.

As for the peace of the mind, both fall into the fill it shut it category. Do note my perspective is from the S-Cross having completed close to 88k kms in 6 years and the Creta having done 16.xx kms in a little more than a year.