[benzinblut]

Problem: I had no real requirement for a new car, but my heart stuck on to something which my head never agreed of.

Solution: Head-Heart balance

Result: Meet my pre-worshipped S-Cross 1.6 Alpha...

[benzinblut]

Summary:

What I like:

• Torque that give you that “pushed into the seat” feeling
• Powerful diesel in stock form
• An overall fun-to-drive package. Hits the sweet spot here
• Good interior space. Not the biggest boot but has a very usable layout
• Car came with 4 year extended warranty. I extended it to 5
• ABS + Airbags. Something I missed on my previous car
• Solid build quality
• Auto headlamp and rain sensing wipers. Rear windshield wipers.
• Decent fuel efficiency despite being driven hard
• Disk brakes all around
• High speed stability
• Practical 180mm ground clearance

What I don’t:

• Somehow, Nexa doesn’t give me the same confidence as Maruti
• Bi-Xenon headlamps are insufficient. Aftermarket headlamp upgrade options are limited and expensive
• No rear fog lamps
• High turning radius
• Un-exciting styling
• No rear air conditioner vents
• JK tyres. Too noisy and squeal under not so hard driving.
• New / Noob drivers unable to cope with the turbo-lag
• Noise insulation should have been better

[benzinblut]

Cars I previously owned:

2010: Pre-worshipped Optra Magnum 2.0 TCDi

In 2010 I acquired a pre-worshipped Optra Magnum 2.0 TCDi. It was a little over 2 years old and came with 40,000 kms on the odometer (quite high for my current liking).

I used it for 36,000 kms and enjoyed every bit of it. It just flew on the road really.

Throughout my ownership I maintained it immaculately. The shine was the same even when I parted with it. Was a pain to maintain though.




2014: New Swift Vdi with RACE-CHIP

I had the desire of driving something chuckable and the Swift then met all requirements. I traded the Optra for a new Swift Vdi.

In the city it was like aim and shoot literally. But on the highway it ran out of breath. Solution: Race-Chip at 5000km. It transformed the car totally. Highways were fun again.

Tyres were chanced to Conti-Contact 185mm and the grip increased drastically. With the Race-Chip and the new tyres it was absolutely enjoyable. Oh what fun it was on the ghats. On my regular highways, I used to accelerate when others used to break (I still do that).

It was sold in May 2017 with 70,000km on the odo.

I did some long trips: Mumbai-Jaisalmer and Mumbai-Agra:


This car was also my partner for my first participation at Autocross as an amateur :

[benzinblut]

The event that changed it all:

On reading the official review of the S-Cross, I was very impressed with the whole package. It was beginning to look like the perfect upgrade from the Swift and I started contemplating a switch earlier than I had originally planned. But Maruti spoilt the fun with their pricing.

It was a fine Sunday morning of September 2015 when I went to Sai Service (Lower Parel) to hand over my Swift for service. I casually walked into the Nexa showroom next door, knowing little as to what impact the next few moments are going to have on me. There stood the display car in its blue avatar. The quality, the fit and finish, everything felt superiors in all aspects to my Swift. It looked and felt like any other Maruti, but without that flimsy feeling.

Being early Sunday morning, the showroom and the streets of Mumbai were deserted. My test drive lasted 45 minutes (not typical for Mumbai showrooms) and I was mighty impressed. It took my heart straight away.

Got a quotation from the dealer as a part of the formality and left. The next few weeks my heart and mind were having a debate continuously. Excerpts from the official team-bhp review were flashing in front of my eyes. Constantly updated ownership reports were just not letting that debate end.

I was blown away by the drive. The way it handled, the ride quality, the power on tap….it just blew me away. This package was just what I wanted in terms of driving pleasure. The torque was there. It reminded me of my Optra days and the torque that I missed so much in my Swift, despite the Race Chip. It was like the heart of my Optra in the body of my Swift.

A few months passed but the itch didn’t subside. I was stuck to various S-cross reviews on team-bhp. With each read, the desire to own one of my own just kept growing.

Whatever my desire may be, two hard facts could not be denied: I did not need a new car and 17 lakhs felt like too much for this one.

My heart said aloud: This was the car I wanted. I don’t really remember what the head said.

I was CROSSING THE LINE .

[benzinblut]

My searching experience:

In Jan-Mar 2016, all dealers were offering mouth-watering deals on 2015 stocks. I reluctantly contacted a few other dealers to understand what was going on. My mind never agreed but my heart made me go further and further into negotiations and before I knew it, I managed to negotiate an awesome deal on the 1.6 Zeta. But just when I thought I had an irresistible offer in hand, Maruti slashed the prices on the S-Cross and that same deal for a 7 month old car suddenly made very little sense to me. Result: wait continues.

Eventually, Maruti offered the S-Cross 1.6 only in the Alpha trim and it was made-to-order, thereby reducing any chances for a big discount. At that same time there were rumors of the 1.6 being discontinued, which had a strong chance to be true. All of this left me disheartened, but not for long.

Heart and Mind found a way out: Go the pre-worshipped way!

One simply cannot ignore the tremendous value proposition a pre-worshipped car makes. If you are able to pick out a ‘pre-worshipped’ car from the lot of ‘pre-owned’ cars, you'll love every moment you're with it. 2 out of the 3 cars that I have bought only for my use were pre-worshipped. Recommended read.

Mid 2016, I started looking for S-Cross 1.6 on websites and with dealers. But there were almost none on the used car website. A dealer tried to sell me a test drive car (probably the same one I tested). But on the first and only phone call he made to me regarding this, I immediately identified which car he was referring to. The offer was turned down, not before I gave him a piece of my mind. Some poor fellow must have fallen for this one unknowingly. Sigh!

First of all, 1.6s were a fraction of the sales of the S-Cross, which itself was not a high volume product. Secondly, most of those who bought the 1.6 were enthusiasts, who wouldn’t want to part with their cars. Realizing both these facts, I decided to wait for a few more months and let a few 1.6s hit the market. My decision to buy an S-Cross may be impulsive, but I was willing to wait for the perfect match.

Jan 2017 a few pre-owned cars started showing on the websites, but they were too few to choose from. And the ones that were listed were either asking for an unreasonable price or were used too much for my liking.

First Attempt: Feb 2017: Mahindra First Choice had an Aug 2015 : Alpha : Grey : 17,500 kms : No extended warranty : Asking 11.3 lakhs.
I test drove the car but didn’t get that happy feeling. Neither the drive, nor visually (may be it was that lousy fake wood kit). They came to 10.75 lakhs as their lowest but I decided to pass.

S-Cross offered by Mahindra First Choice:


The car had fake wood trim on the inside that I couldn't digest:


One thing I realized by then is that if I needed a clean tight piece of the 1.6, I had to look for cars beyond just Mumbai.

Mar 2017: The first good car I found was in Pune. A Jan 2016 : Alpha : Silver : 13,500 kms : No extended warranty : Asking 12 lakhs
The car had Michelins and that was stated as the reason for the high asking price which I thought could be negotiated at least by a lakh. Within 2 days of my contacting him and trying to fix up a date for a test drive, he informed me that he had an offer for 11.25 lakhs and wanted a higher bidder. To me this seemed too high and with a heavy heart I decided to let it go.

April 2017: I found an old listing of a car in Pune. A Dec 2015 : Alpha : Grey : 10,000 kms ; 4 year extended warranty : Asking 11.5 lakhs
The owner was relocating to the UK. The car was in his wife’s name, who’d be joining him in 3 months. With no time to waste, I decoded the VIN and did a background check of the car from Maruti. I got the full service history of this car before fixing up a date for a test drive. Asking was 11.5 lakhs but based on our telephonic conversations I had a feeling that I should be able to come close to 10 lakhs. Everything about this car was feeling positive.

On a fine Saturday morning in the first week of April 2017, with a cousin (bhpian nawabnabeel) and a friend, I drove to Pune to check the car out. The check was conducted with the team-bhp checklist with some additional points that my cousin and I added to it for this particular case and we didn’t miss a thing. The whole process of inspection and the drive took some time, at the end of which we were totally convinced. With a thumbs up to each other we gave an approval. It had a minor dent on the bonnet and that was it. It was clean and tight in all aspects. The car felt brand new inside out.

The owner was a nice family guy. I didn’t want the guilt of taking advantage of the fact that he would be leaving the country. At the same time I wanted a nice sweet deal. The price should be fair is what I was thinking to myself.

With the commitment to close the loan and provide the NOC from the bank and RTO, we finalized the deal and took her home straight away. The price was fixed at a little under 10 lakhs which is a win-win situation and a fair price I think. I got myself a 15 month old car for a little more than 65% of the price of a new one. With 10,000 kms on the odometer, it’s got almost all its life left. In terms of power, safety, fit-finish and everything else, this car was way ahead of my Swift. For my requirements it was the perfect upgrade.

My latest acquisition comes home: My pre-worshipped S-Cross 1.6

I CROSSED THE LINE


Checked her out and took her home straight away. Picture of the car for the online listing by previous owner:


Odometer reading at the time of checking the car:


How the car looks today:


No fake macho stance. No blah blah blah!. Let the performance do the talking:

[benzinblut]

I may not be the best looking car from the front .....


or from the rear ....


But don't let my understated looks fool you


I'm a mean machine and I can leave you biting the dust


Number of kms at the time of posting this review:

I've driven the car for about 11,500 kms. She currently stands at ~21,500 kms on the odometer.

My usage pattern:

The car won’t be driven daily, but I expect it to clock more than 20,000 km per year. It will be driven almost only by me and my running involves almost 70% highway.

Exterior styling & design:

Suzuki designers have come up with something they like to call as a cross over and then their design camouflages the size. The S-Cross is actually much bigger in flesh than it looks in the pictures. The dimensions on paper will make you imagine a bigger car. To really know how big the car is, you have to put is next to another one. I feel it’s the low height that makes it loose the road presence it could have made.

Talking about the looks, I don’t find it ugly, yet it’s nowhere as admirable as my Swift. Till the last day I had my Swift with me, there were times I would just sit and admire it's beauty. I won’t be doing that with the S-Cross. An optimist would describe the looks as neutral. I personally wasn’t too offended by the looks initially but now I feel it grew upon me and now I find it more acceptable. I find the rear to be better looking than the front. Ironically, the design becomes more acceptable as you move towards the rear.

Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps:

The build quality is very good, especially by Maruti standards. There are those occasional squeaks but otherwise the car is quite rattle-free until now. The door panels of my Swift used to flex even when attempting to wipe the wax off. That’s not the case with the S-Cross. The sheet metal is definitely a gauge or two thicker than the other Marutis around us that feel tinny. The doors close with a nice heavy sound that Maruti should be forgiven for referring to as a ‘thud’ .

I must admit, this is not my first choice of color; I’d prefer white or silver. I am not complaining, but I’d rather avoid a dark shade as I’m very finicky about scratches. The paint quality is overall very good and the metallic effect is deep. The car is not low and hence ingress egress is easy. It’s just about the right height I’d say. Also, since the cabin is quite big, you won’t be getting that claustrophobic feeling when getting in, despite the all-black interiors.

Wheels & Tyres:

The sad alloys give the already conservative design a sadder look. Whoever approved these set of alloys at Maruti must be punished. Wheel cover manufacturers desperately try to make their designs fake alloys, and here we have an alloy whose design has actually achieved the opposite. A good set of alloys would have greatly spiced up the look of the car. Even a simple alloy swap from the Brezza makes the S-Cross much better looking. Opportunity wasted.

Another grouse are the JKs. Not only are they noisy, but also lack in grip. The 185mm Continentals on my Swift were more confident inspiring than these 205mm Elanzos. They are priced considerably cheaper to the competition in the replacement market, but they are not worth.

The good and bad about its features:

The good: I am pretty old school and not a gizmo freak, but I am happy I could get the Alpha trim which is the topmost Maruti offers. Features I like are automatic climate control, auto headlamps, rain sensing wipers, rear wipers, auto dimming IRVM and handsfree calling. The reverse camera and sensors are also nice. Google maps via Android Auto is another useful feature. The cabin is well lit up, unlike the Swift which had just one light in the center.

The bad: Skipping rear fog lamps and rear air-conditioning vents.

The ugly: I find the 25W bi-xenons to be insufficient and it’s ridiculous that they provided the car with D5S bulbs that are hard to come by. The uglier part is that the options are limited and each one of them comes with a compromise.

Safety & related equipment:

Overall the car feels strong and safe. I missed a lot of safety features on my Swift and repented for not opting for ZDi. The airbags, ABS, all around discs give me a certain confidence. I also missed the rear wipers on my Swift and will mention this point under safety as is directly affects the rear view.

Big drooping concave bonnet. The paint quality is excellent. This picture doesn't do justice to the depth of paint:


Headlamp. The row of lights at the bottom in not DRL (thankfully). They are position lights:


Headlamp side view:


Grill and air-dam. Notice the horn behind the grill:


Front skid plates:


Underbelly. The engine compartment has a plastic cover at the bottom, but the oil sump is left exposed:


Door mounted ORVMs are large enough and open on the press of a button on the inside. They can also go all the way back without breaking:


Sprays for the wipers have 3 nozzles. Two such sprays do a good job. They are tucked away from sight:


The RFID tag in its usual location. Also notice the light sensor on the back side of the IRVM:


Left door handle has the rubbery keyless entry button, but misses on the key slot:


Only the driver's door can be opened with a physical key:


Roof rails are usable:


Black cladding on all the sides:


Only regular diesel goes in here:


Sad looking alloys and pathetic rubber:


Antenna mounted at the end of the downward sloping roof. Looks good though:


Rear tail lamps. I like their look:


Side view of the tail lamps:


High mounted stop light also houses the rear windshield washer unit. Notice the Nexa sticker:


Rear view camera tucked out of sight. It does get dirty after a drive in the rains:


Rear bumper also has skid plates and mounts the 4 reverse sensors (pic shows only 2). No, they are just reflectors; no rear fog lamps for the S-Cross:


Rear underbelly shot. No protection here. Notice the towing point that is out of normal sight:


Rear glass view closeup. I missed the defogger and the rear wipers on my Swift. Rear wipers are necessary on a hatch for good rear visibility:


Keyless entry sensor for opening the tailgate. There is no lever to unlock the tailgate from the inside. It works in sync with the central locking system and that's the only way to lock/unlock it.


The DDiS badge appears on both front fenders...


but its this badge that makes all the difference:

[benzinblut]

Typical dashboard has Maruti written all over it:


Interior design & quality (plastics, upholstery, fit & finish etc.):

The best part about the interiors is the all-black theme; I just love it this way. Everyone found the beige interiors in my Optra to be luxurious, but for me it was indigestible for all those years I owned it. The interior layout is typical Maruti, but the quality is at least a level higher than that I've experienced on my Swift. The leather upholstery in the Alpha trim also contributes in giving the interiors an upmarket feel.

Interior Space & Comfort - Front:

The pillars and the roof lining are in grey, everything else is in black. The black theme is very well balance with the use of grey and blurred steel inserts. The seats are black leather with lovely stitching in contrasting white threads. My Swift had a similar color theme but in the S-Cross it feels more upmarket and doesn’t feel a bit claustrophobic due to the big glasses that let a lot of light in. I just love the interiors and am very happy when in the car.

On the one hand Maruti attempts full on to create a luxury brand and then it uses the same parts bin for visible parts. Sharing parts for economy is understandable, but doing so for parts that can be seen and felt by the customer should be avoided. Sharing the same steering wheel across models is absolutely shameless. Blindfold a regular Joe and put him in the driver's seat; he'll identify it's a Maruti with its steering. Blindfold an enthusiast, he'll tell you the trim .

Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID:

Space at the front is plenty. Front seats have a long travel and will let you flex your legs. The driver’s seat is height adjustable and so is the steering. Finding the perfect driving position is quick and easy. The lovely steering is leather wrapped, but I’d like it to be a bit more chunkier. It misses the thumb contours though; even my Etios has them. Seatbelts at the front are height adjustable. The IRVM is auto dimming type and is a boon to use. Central armrest cover can be slid forward. All these factors contribute in making the drive less stressful.

The instrument cluster has a nice blue theme and hey, it has the good old analogue temperature gauge as well. The MID has the usual trip related stuff. The right button has everything revolving around fuel efficiency. The MID shows which door is open, including the tail gate. It’s a nice large graphic. Wish it were in color rather than just black-white. With the MID you can also customize many functions, example: door locking sequence.

Visibility & size of mirrors:

The glass area is big and lets a lot of light in. The A-pillar is thick but I don’t find it too intruding. Side ORVMs are just about the right size even though I wouldn't mind them a size larger. The high seating position also aids in visibility. Even my wife (a non-enthusiast) noted and appreciated this. The view all around is superb (especially for its height) and there are no major blind spots.

The rear visibility however is not that great as the tailgate glass is too small. You have to rely on the side mirrors and the reverse camera + sensors. With 3 occupants in the rear, the IRVM is pretty useless. I still prefer reversing the old fashioned way using only the 3 mirrors. But in the S-Cross I have to rely on the reverse camera and sensors a lot more. I sheepishly admit, I like the reverse camera.

Air-conditioner cooling & effectiveness:

I was happy with the Swift’s air-conditioning and the S-Cross’s is no different. The automatic climate control does its job well and cools the cabin in no time. I am comfortable with the temperature set around 24 degrees. But on a hot day when I get into the car parked under the sun, I initially set it at LO and the air conditioner does an excellent job! The side vents can be completely closed, but surprisingly, the central vents cannot. Don’t get the logic behind that.

Inspite of doing a commendable job at the front, I observed that the automatic climate control doesn’t take into consideration the rear seat passengers, but more on that in the next post.

Interior storage, practicality:

Storage space is aplenty in the car, especially at the front. The doors can easily take in the typical 1 liter bottle. There are cubby holes all around including the doors. There 2 square shaped cup-holders in the central console which should be used for only for coffee cups or at the most, small bottles. The regular 1 liter bottles when kept there interfere when reaching for the gear or when sliding the central armrest cover back and forth. The placement of the cup-holders and the hand brake will always remind you that this car was designed to be a left hand drive.

The glove box, though illuminated, is short on space and is not cooled. The central armrest has a storage box has a very nifty and usable storage box. I use it to its limits and am amazed it takes in a lot more stuff than I expect it to. It also houses the USB and Auxiliary ports.

I like the lit up foot well and so does my wife. The front passengers have soft closing grab handles. There is a sunglass holder in the center on the ceiling in which, despite the damping, your sunglasses will rattle.

Any other unique or noteworthy points about the interiors:

Pictures are worth a million words…

Open the door and this is what you get greeted to:


And this is what your passenger gets greeted to:


There is a mix and match of textures. I like this texture of the dashboard. Looks more upmarket than it feels:


The side vents can be controlled for air volume and can also be totally shut. Not the case with the central air vents:


Celerio... I'm sorry, S-Cross steering. Wrapped in leather. Misses the thumb contours though:


Audio controls on the left and cruise control on the right. All buttons are back-lit:


Voice recognition and call answer / drop buttons on the steering wheel. They come in very handy:


Right stalk. Turn to position 1 for auto headlamps:


Left stalk. Intermittent speed possible only if rain sensing wipers are selected. The end of the stalk has a rotary knob for operating the rear wipers. They are not linked to the rain sensing system. Also, rear washer is controlled independently:


Both doors open wide:


Nice padded portion where your elbow rests. This is present on all doors. Contributes to the premium feeling:


The usual suspects. Only the driver's window is auto and back-lit. It is also the only window with anti-pinch feature. The small button at the front is for auto folding mirrors:


Engine start/stop button. Push this and the action begins:


Swtiches for fog + alarm + headlamp level adjustment. The blank slot has been misused by some bhpians for various DIYs :


Front legroom: minimum - maximum. Also notice the nice comfy seats in contrasting white stitches:


Central armrest cover can be slid back and forwards. As you can see, a 1 litre bottle in the cup-holder will restrict the sliding range and additionally interfere when reaching for gears. Picture shows the armrest cover in extreme positions:


Storage box under the central armrest is big and usable:


A very useful cubby hole behind the smooth shifting gear. Also has a 12V/120W point:


That cubby hole is lit up at night. Nice!


With all six slots occupied by the forward gears, to slot into reverse just lift the collar and slot it in your regular reverse gear position:


Apart from the bonnet, only the fuel cap can be unlocked from the inside. Tailgate lock/unlock is linked to the central locking system:


Automatic climate control panel:


With these you can quickly find your perfect driving position:


Nice contrasting roof lining. Auto dimming IRVM:


Sunglass holder. I've used it only once and the glasses rattle like hell:


Instrument cluster in blue. Looks lovely, especially at night:


If the battery in your key it low, the MID will inform you. This will appear only in the first 10 seconds of starting the engine:


At night the cabin looks very cool. This is what you are greeted to at night. Wheel wells are lit up and in sync with cabin lights:


Night sight for the driver:

[benzinblut]

Audio system & sound quality:

The ICE is a big 7 inch touch screen with integrated rear view camera on engaging reverse. I cannot comment on the sound quality as I hardly use it for music. I’ve not even tuned it. The car has 4 speakers in each door and 2 tweeters on the top of the dash board. AUX and USB ports are in the center control storage box. There is no CD/DVD slot.

I mainly use the ICE for navigation or for phone calls. Maruti has provided integrated maps which are stored on the SD card. The maps look boring and dated and entering your destination address is a pain which must be done only when the car is stationary. It also doesn’t have a night mode. I've used it only once for navigation.

As soon as Maruti came up with an Android Auto upgrade on the ICE, I installed it as a DIY. Since then I’m only using google maps for navigation. Even with Google Maps the system will not take in the address manually in a moving car. But it will take in spoken inputs; what a relief!

In addition to speakers in each door, 2 tweeters are mounted at the corners of the dashboard:


Engage reverse and the reverse cam is on, no matter what you are doing on the screen:


Head unit home screen:


On any screen you press the setting button and the setting relevant to that mode comes up. Here's a shot of the setting for the sound:


Basic sound setting options:


Whenever you select maps from the SD card, it will ask for this confirmation:


Pre-set maps. Looks ugly after the beautiful google maps we are used to on our smart phones. It also has no night mode; this picture was shot at night:


I upgraded to android auto myself. Here is a shot from work in progress:

[benzinblut]

Interior Space & Comfort - Rear:

The rear, just like the front is spacious. Its easy for ingress / egress as well. Leg space at the rear is also above average and your feet will love it too. Headroom, though less than that at the front, is sufficient for most people. All of these were the Swifts weak points.

The seats are perfectly padded and no one complains after long drives. The rear bench is wide enough for 3 average Indian adults, but the transmission tunnel and, to a very small extent, the rear armrest can make the fifth person uncomfortable. The transmission tunnel, though not very high, is high enough to make sure that the 5th occupant sits in perfect symmetry with his feet on either side of it.

The big glasses and the rear quarter glass let a lot of light in. Rear seat passengers sit a level higher than those at the front and have a good view of the front and what’s going on outside. Even the rear door pockets can take in a 1 litre bottle easily. Back of the front seats have usable pockets too. The rear armrest when pulled down have 2 cup-holders. Overall, the rear bench is a nice place to be in. The neck rests are badly designed though. They will keep hurting your back or neck. Clearly, an ergonomic failure.

At the rear, the biggest complaint is the lack of rear air-con vents . I feel that the automatic climate control gives the passengers at the rear a step motherly treatment. Don’t get me wrong, the system is no way incapable of this, but the automatic climate control doesn’t account for the rear passengers when on auto. I have to manually intervene to cool the cabin and then switch it over to auto. There is noticeable difference between the cabin temperature at the front and rear, especially on a hot day. It’s a typical situation I’d expect for a car with a fairly large cabin and no rear vents.

Boot Space:

The boot has a decent 353 liters that can be extended to 375 liters if the rear seat incline is adjusted in upright position. The boot size is simply average, but the layout makes it fully utilizable. The parcel tray can be push fit into small slots along the sides. Thus, one of the major contributors to rattles can be fixed. This must be present in every Maruti.

The grouse in the boot is the light that has a manual on/off switch. With the switch it on position, the light works in sync with the cabin lights. This means that the light comes on even if the doors are opened, despite the tailgate being shut. Why was this required? How difficult would it have been to make it like a regular boot light rather than unnecessarily complicate it? The boot has only one light on the right. Because of the usable layout, I feel another one should have been provided at the left, but that's like asking too much from Maruti.

The rear seat backrest can be split 60:40. With the back rests folded down, the space is huge. I’ve used it only once and was amazed at what it can take in.

Just like the front, the rear doors open wide as well:


The rear seats are also a nice place to be in. The central armrest folded upwards does not disturb the 5th occupant much:


View of the rear occupants. All lights are in sync with the central locking system. They can be individually operated as well:


Rear armrest in position. 2 cup holders for the rear occupants in addition to the bottle holders on the door:


soft closing grab handle on either sides with the regular coat hanger hook:


Legroom: min - max:


No rear vents. Why?


Headrest will foul with your neck. In any position it will irritate you:


Boot can be accessed from the rear bench; just lift this flap:


Sufficient ambient light. Quarter glass contributes here:


Rear glasses roll down all the way ... well, almost:


How the rear seats looks at night. Sufficiently lit up:


Open the tailgate and what you see is this. A nice practical layout:


Boot with parcel tray in position: 353 upto 375 Liters. Size=Average; Usability=High:


Parcel tray lifts up with the tailgate. Simple solution: thread and hook:


Rattle control 1: The rear end of the parcel tray has a rubber protrusion that is held by a groove on the tailgate. When the tailgate is closed they are a snug-fit:


Rattle control 2: The sides of the rear parcel tray is secured with clips on both sides in the middle that press fit into the lock on the tray guide. They slip in with a nice sharp click. To remove it, just pull it out:


Easy to use flaps to unlock the rear back rest to fold it down. Notice the lock:


Seats split 40-60. Very usable feature and easy as well:


Both seats folded down. Huge cargo volume available now:


Side pockets on both sides come in very handy particularly with small items that you want to easily find:


Side view of the boot. Right houses the boot lamp and 12V socket. Left has a hook:


The boot has a flat base. Adds to the the immense practicality. Its thick as well. Won't buckle when loaded:


No need to pry open the boot base with your fingers. You have a nice flexible hook for that:


Lifting the base is child's play. Once you lift it a certain height, there is a clever design that holds it in position:


That's the clever and simple mechanism that makes it possible:


A picture in the boot gives you instructions how to use it:


Nah! That's not an alloy, its a steel wheel. Neatly placed along with the usual tools:


Remember the pockets on the sides? They have a flap that can be removed. They should always be fixed because removing them makes no sense. A useless feature:


Use this handle when closing the tailgate. No need to dirty your hands. Its also better to reach for shorter people:

[benzinblut]

Here is where the heart of the matter lies:


Engine performance and drivability

This diesel motor is the single biggest reason why this car is sitting in my garage today. Ofcourse the car also had to be dynamically good as well, which it is. Drive the 1.3 and the 1.6, the difference is huge and very easily noticeable form the moment it starts moving. It’s the engine that transforms the performance from mediocre to explosive. In simple words, I would never have bought an S-Cross if it would not have been offered with this beautiful 1.6. In fact, I never even considered the 1.3 as an option.

It’s a true gem of an engine and a blast to drive, especially on the highway. The massive torque just pins you to the seat when you floor the throttle. It just pulls and pulls relentlessly. The torque wave is so huge that you have to hold the wheel to counter the torque steer in the lower gears.

On the flip side, the engine has turbo lag and power delivery is the opposite of linear. Below turbo zone the engine is lazy but not dead. If I say that the lag can be ignored, I’d be wrong. But if you adjust your driving style, you can cope with it. This is my third personal turbo diesel and I know very well how to deal with the lag. It becomes important to be in the right gear, drive anticipatorily and be patient in bumper to bumper traffic. The post-lag power surge is wild and an inexperienced driver trying too hard will get irritated and also make his passengers sick. That said, the good news is: After turbo lag, comes the turbo kick .

The highway is where this car really comes to life and is most practical. As long as you are in turbo-zone, power is on the tap and instantaneous. Be it any gear, all you need is press on the A-pedal and the car just leaps forward. Overtaking on the highway is a breeze really. The in-gear acceleration particularly, is absolutely violent and addictive. A good driver can just fly with this car without much effort and embarrass many.

The power surge is wild. If the engine is used with the correct gears, progress can be super quick. You’d be amazed by how quick this car can pick up speed. When in mood for some fun, I often find myself using the 3rd gear a lot. It is very usable within sane speeds and the engine braking is just perfect. If you are enjoying this car on the highway then you will unintentionally offended many and notice those you passed desperately trying to overtake you. But all that show for you will only be in your rear view mirror and eventually diminish.

With all the fun that can be had with this car, it can also cruise in a relaxed manner all day. The way this car crunches miles is commendable. Drive sedately and you will find yourself in 2 gears higher for the same speed when pushing it. On the highway in 6th gear you can keep healthy speeds and your engine relaxed at the same time. In 6th gear past 100 kmh you have just entered turbo zone and are just a tap away from overtaking the car ahead.

The car is powerful in stock form and I am happy about it. Currently, I have no immediate plans for a remap, but you never know.

Transmission:

The 6 speed manual gearbox is much better than the 5 speed one on my Swift. I find the gear ratios to be well spread out. Gear shifting is perfect and smooth. The gear slots are well defined and I like the feeling when I shift gears. Overall, using this gear box is a nice experience and I’ve never missed a gear. With all 6 slots occupied by forward gears, to slot into reverse, you have to lift a collar on the gear knob and slot it in your regular reverse gear slot.
The clutch is not light but it’s not heavy either. I’d like it to be a lighter because one has to use the gearbox more than other regular cars. Especially in bumper to bumper traffic you’d wish for a lighter clutch.

Overall NVH levels:

The engine is not super silent and you’d always be aware of a diesel under the hood. When stationary, engine and air compressor sounds seep in, but not the harshness. Even on the move the cabin is not the most silent, you will be aware of what’s going on around you. The tyre noise constantly reminds you that you are still on OEM JKs.

NVH is not in tune with the Nexa philosophy of luxury. Overall NVH is much better than my Swift, but still leaves a lot to be desired.

Fuel efficiency:

Even though fuel efficiency would never be a priority for anyone who buys an S-Cross 1.6, this car has decent fuel efficiency. When I use it mostly on the highways with some hard driving, I get a fuel efficiency of 17kpl. On the same stretch with normal driving I’ve even got 20kpl. Using cruise control can give you even better figures. I don’t bother much about fuel efficiency, but I diligently maintain a log of it.

As opposed to my usual trend, so far the car has about 60-40 city-highway. As I come back to my usual pattern of 70% highway, the fuel efficiency will be higher.

Average figures until now based on tankful to tankful method:
City : Highway = 60 : 40
Km driven : 11,384 km
Fuel filled : 643.69 liters
Total fuel cost : 39,095 Rs.
Lowest FE : 15.1 kpl
Best FE : 20.9 kpl
Avg FE : 17.7 kpl
Avg fuel cost per km : 3.43 Rs/km

If the car is driven sedately, fuel efficiency can be much higher. My father drives with a very light foot. With him on the wheel, MID shows around 24 kpl under mixed conditions. I’m sure if he’s given a chance to drive tankful to tankful, the car will easily return a real time fuel efficiency of 25+ kpl.

The fuel tank is 48 liters. I would prefer more like say, 55 liters. On the highway 800+ km on a tankful is easily doable.

Suspension & ride quality:

Just right! This is how I’d define the state of tune of the suspension in two words. At slow speeds the ride is a bit choppy, especially at the rear. It won’t hurt your bones, but you will notice the firm underpinnings. Once speed builds up, the ride quality improves drastically. At 1,250 kgs it is decently heavy, maybe that’s another reason for the high speed stability. At speeds the car feels absolutely planted, thus letting you go faster with confidence. I just love that sound when going over that small joint between sections on a concrete road.

The way it handles road undulations and small potholes is commendable. On the expressway I see many cars bouncing all over the place when passing over a mid-sized road bump. No such drama in the S-Cross. It recovers almost immediately. This ride quality remains excellent much beyond 120 kmh. The enthusiast in you will appreciate the superbly tuned suspension.

Handling & on-road behavior:

The suspension is on the firmer side and rolling and pitching is minimal. Slight pitching is evident only during hard take-offs and braking. There is a mild roll but you can still confidently push it around corners. Once I was running with cruise control set on 120 kmh; after taking a certain corner I realized that I usually used to take it around 90 kmh. That’s how the chassis is - tight and confident inspiring.

It is absolutely enjoyable on the ghats especially when going up. It builds speed quickly and will make you feel as if other cars are stationary. You can brake late and take off early on corners. A ghat section will set you apart from the rest of the cars that were working hard to keep pace with you.

Almost everyone who sat in the car appreciated the way it masks speed. Despite the average NVH it’s the high speed stability that won’t let you realize how fast you are going. A speed guess will always miss its mark, example 80 kmh for 110 kmh. Even if I’m doing 140 kmh, the passengers don’t notice. In fact, for this reason I often use cruise control so that I drive within the speed limits.

The grip from the JKs is my current upper limit on fast curvy roads. Not only are they noisy, but also eager to squeal when pushed. They are the only reason I back off a bit on hard corners. Other owners have already moved to Michelins and report a great improvement in grip levels. Tyre change will be my next upgrade (after a fix for the headlamps). With superior grip levels the S-Cross will be even more enjoyable.

Steering:

I will rate the steering feedback as very good overall. Especially at high speeds you always feel connected and the steering is well weighed and direct. It is light and easy to use when parking or in bumper to bumper traffic. In the city the steering makes the big bulky S-Cross fairly chuckable too.

The dead spot mentioned in the S-Cross review is evident, but that doesn’t bother that much. What I really don’t like is that it doesn’t return to the central position as quick and as much as I expect it to. It really spoils the fun after a quick u-turn.

Turning radius:

The 5.2 meter turning radius seems decent on paper. But in reality it is too big. Simple turns get converted to 3-pointers. Especially in narrow lanes I have to choose the perfect spot for a u-turn in order to avoid multiple 3-pointers.

Braking:

A fast car needs good brakes and the S-Cross's brakes do their job well. The all-wheel disc brakes make braking very strong. The 205mm wide tyres are also a contribution to the braking. Under hard braking the JKs squeal; I’m sure with a tyre change the braking will be just excellent. There is not regenerative braking or auto hold feature here. The brakes do what they are supposed to do; just stop the car.

Ground clearance:

The 180mm ground clearance is perfect to find the balance between scraping high bumps and cornering hard. The stiff suspension also prevents it from bottoming out I feel. Speed breakers can be crossed at fair speeds. Not once have I scraped the underbelly on this car. I hate the big front overhang though. Not only does it spoil the look but also the chin is the first to come close to scrapping as angle of approach is restricted.

I’ve never taken it off-road but have frequently been on temporary diversions on country roads that go for about 100m through fields. The high ground clearance and firm suspension ensured that the stretch was crossed without any problems. I must appreciate the fuss free manner in which I could take that bad stretch where the Etios scrapes atleast twice. May be the car is capable to go on even worse terrain, but I have no plans to test that.

Any niggles, problems or part replacements:

At around 17,000 kms I got the driver’s door handle replaced under warranty because the keyless entry wasn’t working. Apart from that there were no warranty claims.

The previous owner had opted for 4 year extended warranty. I intend to own the car for a longer duration and have already purchased the 5th year extended warranty.

Fully imported engine. The cover looks as understated as the exterior. But looks are deceiving here ... 118 horses and the massive 320 Nm torque will just blow you away:


Well laid out engine bay:


Garrett VGT turbo. It spools late, but there's no stopping once it gets going:


Heat shield for the exhaust side:


It is insulated under the hood as well as the firewall. Despite that, engine noise does creep into the cabin:


Panasonic battery. Specifications in inset:


Not smart: To remove the battery, you have to remove the intake duct:


BOSCH ABS unit housed to the right of the engine bay:


Engine bay fuse box to the left. There's another fuse box behind the glove box:


Air-conditioning system oil and refrigerant specifications:


Smooth functioning gearbox has a good looking gear knob. Is nice to hold too:


The closest I've come to soft-roading. The bad patch is actually much worse than it looks:


That's the best FE I've achieved till date. Actual tankful to tankful was 20.9 kpl. It involved city/highway : 20/80 and a considerable portion of the highway was driven hard. Air conditioner was set at 25 deg:


Topped up after the best FE and the MID showed this range:


Keyfob with detachable key. Only the driver's door has the slot for the physical key:


Warranty extended for the 5th year just before she turned 2. Money well spent:


The registration certificate is not a smart car, its a printout on plain A4 paper. It also shows details of the previous owner:


Specifications as taken from the user's manual. Note: no mention of power or torque anywhere:


Specifications as taken from the user's manual:

[benzinblut]

Quality of after-sales service:

My Nexa experience so far: I feel like I've been abandoned by my parents and now under a care taker. I have a certain trust and comfort level with Maruti. I am still to come to terms that I have to now contact Nexa for everything. I have excellent rapport with the service staff at Sai Service (Lower Parel) and our relation dates back to 2002, but the staff at their Nexa service is different.

My first contact with Nexa was S. K. Wheels (Navi Mumbai) because it’s closer to my home. Getting a simple Nexa card was a long unpleasant experience and required escalation. My 20,000 kms service (done at 17,000 kms) was also done there. I didn’t get that feeling of confidence. My next service will be at Nexa Sai Service in Mumbai.

I know I am in safe hands because at the end of the day it is a Maruti, but currently I am yet to get to experience the premiumness of Nexa. I hope things change in the future.

Cost of upkeep & maintenance:

My 20,000 kms service costed me Rs. 8,500 with no extra add-ons. That’s higher than my Swift service cost. Our Etios is really cheap to maintain with an average service cost less than Rs. 5,000 for every 10,000km.

Upgrades Planned:

My planned upgrades in order of priority:

• Headlamps: Desperately need a solution for the lighting. The stock headlamp is just not sufficient for me.
• Tyres: The less said about it, the better. I don't want to humiliate the JKs to that extent.
• Alloys: I can live with the current setup, but a good set of alloys totally transforms the look of the car. This is certainly on my shopping list.
• Remap: This one is on the list but I want to reserve it to spice it up some where around the 4-5 year mark. It would be a perfect midlife makeover.

[benzinblut]

Observation of my family members:

Observations by my father:

My father is a very sedate driver. His is a typical text book style driving. He won’t rev too much neither will he strain the engine with an early upshift. The engine is always relaxed when he drives. Don’t get me wrong, he is an enthusiast and understands his machines very well, but he enjoys his driving the soft way. He runs many more kms than me on the highway. This thread will give you an insight of a car that was solely driven by him and what he has achieved: Currently he drives an Etios diesel which has clocked almost 1,20,000 kms and is going strong.

He has driven the S-Cross but not extensively. His likes and dislikes from a driver’s point of view:

Likes:

• High speed stability. Speed masking ability
• Audio control buttons on the steering
• 6th gear
• Excellent braking

Dislikes:

• Weak bottom-end
• Insufficient headlamps

Observations by my wife:

My wife occasionally drives the car but has spent much more time as a passenger. Likes and dislikes from her point of view:

Likes:

• Boot space (compared to the Swift)
• Well lit cabin
• Illuminated vanity mirror on both the sun visors. (Only she has used the one on the driver’s side )
• Touchscreen
• Central armrest
• Side pockets in the boot. Currently used to hold my son's shoes.

Dislikes:

• Insufficient headlamps
• Contoured rear seats. The child seat cannot be mounted flat because of this

In addition to the passenger side, lit-up vanity mirror is also present on the driver's side:

[benzinblut]

From the point of view of a 4 year old

When I brought the car home, my son was less than 4 years old. As any other child of his age, he is very inquisitive. He is also a good observer IMO.

There are features that he noticed/discovered himself and appreciates them.

Note: He is almost always buckled in his child seat on the go. Very rarely does he sit in someone’s lap on the front seat. Features he uses are either on these rare occasions or in a stationary car or when he is buckled.

Features that he likes when they are used:

• Auto opening mirrors
• Hands free calling (I avoid using Bluetooth calling when he’s in the car. He just keeps intruding in the conversation)
• Reverse camera
• Keyless Start-Stop

Features he enjoys using himself:

• Maps (doesn't understand a thing but he himself sets it to maps always)
• He can play you-tube on his phone and the sound would be played via the car speakers
• Controllable air conditioner vents
• You can talk to a lady in the car (voice command). He loves to confuse the poor lady
• Car can be locked/unlocked by a small button on the door grab handle
• The central arm rest cover can be slid. (Buckled in his seat his feet keep fidgeting with it)
• Rear seats have an openable arm rest
• Parcel tray can be flipped open from the rear cabin to peep into the boot
• The car has more lights than the Swift (he wants all of them always on)

I hope he grows up to be an auto buff.

When the car is turned on, the ICE boots with the Suzuki logo, he immediately shouts ‘S-CROSS !’


He always has a special place in the car:

[benzinblut]

Other Points:

• I started writing this review in October 2017. Due to shortage of time it took almost 4 months to complete.

• The text was ready by first week of Jan 2018 after which I got my fog-lamps upgraded to XP Micros. Will post a separate section on that subsequently. That's also the reason why the review is missing fog-lamp details or pictures.

• After driving this car if you were told that it takes 11.30 seconds for a 0-100 dash, you just wouldn’t believe it. That’s a fact, it’s the in-gear acceleration that's this car's strength...it’s just brutal.

• Thank you Maruti for not slapping a big S-CROSS in chrome on the tailgate!

• The keyfob buttons are on a convex profile. With the keyfob in my pocket the car often gets accidentally locked / unlocked.

• The touchscreen brightness never bothered me, but cousin nawabnabeel found it to be too bright at night. He switched it off during one of our drives.

• There are no major reflections on the windscreen. It was a major concern on my Optra with beige interiors. In the S-Cross it’s not a bother.

• If the car is unlocked, then even without the engine start/stop button pressed, the MID will still show you which door is open.

• When using cruise control if you resume the previously set speed, the car accelerates violently. As soon as it reaches the set speed, it’s immediately off the throttle. This scares first time cruise control users.

• You won’t realise if you drive in the city under street lamps most of the times, but on the highway the bi-xenons are insufficient. I think they’re seriously weak. An upgrade strongly recommended. This will be my first upgrade

• Auto headlamps are quick and work just fine, but I wish they’d be more sensitive. To put it in measurable terms: I wish for 15 more minutes on either side. Often I just turn them on manually. On the highway, even during the day my low beams are on most of the times; even on a bright sunny afternoon. I’ve been signaled many a times by other road users remind me of it .

• Auto wipers are just awesome. I find them very useful and quick to react. The speed varies with the intensity of rain. I don’t remember the last time I used the wipers manually. I’ve spent one Bombay monsoon season with the car and the wipers did their job well.

• There were rumors of the 1.6 being discontinued. Offering the 1.6 only as made-to-order and only in the Alpha trim were the early hints. The news turns out to be true with the launch of the face-lift. I’m lucky to have one for myself.

• Auto windows up/down, anti-pinch protection, back-lit buttons: all of these are only for the driver’s window. Is the cost that prohibitive to offer it on all windows? The cost they saved by sharing switches from other models should have been spent on offering these features for all doors.

• On crossing 20 kmh the car locks centrally. A simple but practical safety feature. I had this in my Swift as well. In the S-Cross you can select/deselect this feature via the MID.

• Start driving without seatbelts on and cross ~15kmh; there is an irritating chime that will get your attention. This goes on for about 2 minutes and then it won't come back again. A warning on the MID will, however, stay always on.

• If the key is taken out of the car with the engine running, there is a reminder on the MID, but it won’t stop the engine or anything. Everything will work as normal. It just won’t start again without the key in it.

• Reverse camera display has some calibration lines marked in various colors, but they won't show you the distance. They also won't turn with the steering input.

• The S-Cross has no ISOFIX mounts. The child seat has to be secured by seat belts only. Maruti offerd ISOFIX from 2017.

• I customize my locking pattern this way: One press on the keyless entry will only unlock the driver's door. Press it once again and its centrally unlocked. With this setting if I press the keyless entry on the tailgate once, it will unlock only the tailgate and no other door. Press it once again to centrally unlock the car.

• When the engine is turned on, the auto dimming IRVM is always set to automatic dimming mode. It can be manually turned off. Slot into reverse and the auto dimming IRVM is automatically deactivated.

• If you are an S-Cross 1.6 owner, you can be a part of the ‘Scross 1.6 Exclusive’ WhatsApp group. It’s one very active group and by far the most active group on my phone. It currently has 96 participants and even on that group the most active member is Dr.Naren.

• To connect the phone via Android Auto, your phone has to be connected via Bluetooth and the USB slot in the central armrest storage box. You will then put your phone invariably inside the storage box. This can be inconvenient at times.

• Not cool: After servicing my car at S. K. Wheels, I was handed over the car with a sticker on the back side of the keyfob with the vehicle number written on it. I had to remove it myself and the cheap sticker glue made it very messy.

• The S-Cross official new car review is very detailed. I tried to avoid being repetitive and at the same time tried to cover minute observations from an owner's perspective.

• Credits: To maintain a systematic flow, I referred to this. I've also referred to GTO's 530d thread which, I feel, is the current benchmark for ownership reviews. If I wouldn’t have referred to these I’d have definitely missed some important points. Inspiration for the concept of the final picture also comes from GTO's 530d thread .
  

[benzinblut]

The Smaller yet Significant Things:

The car had a dent on the bonnet by the previous owner. I couldn’t live with it and got it fixed under insurance at S. K. Wheels. They painted it without removing the bonnet and it was left in the open to dry. Result: dust embedded in the clear coat. I got it reworked by them the right way:


The previous owner didn’t even remove the plastic seat protection covers :


Nexa accessory by the previous owner: Door sill guard:


Bottom of the B-pillar has the recommended tyre pressure settings:


B-pillar also has a riveted plate with the engine and chassis no engraved on it. This chassis no is without the date code. The complete chassis no is under the hood (see inset). For salesman who don’t want to disclose the complete VIN will give you a pic of this plate:


Door bidding is of decent thickness. Despite this NVH is average:


Soft leather-covered padded armrest is present on all doors. Almost everyone appreciates it:


Glove box is small, good only for the car documents and the user's manual. It’s not even cooled. Saving grace: it’s illuminated:


Black interior theme and contrasting white stitches look sporty. Quality is good as well:


Height adjustable seatbelt mount … missed sorely on my Swift:


I feel the gap between the side of the seats and the B-pillar is too little. Many a times the seat belts are found in this position:


Even the MID boots with a small Suzuki logo:


Press the front defrost button: fresh air position will be selected, air will be diverted to the front windshield + side vents and the compressor will be switched on. All this at your previously used temperature setting. I was expecting a hot blast of air irrespective of my previous setting. In the pic the Front defrosting is being done at 25.5 degs (my previously set temperature) :


The MID also shows which door is open, including the tailgate. It’s a nice large graphic. Wish it were in color:


Boot light reminds me of cabin lights of our OMNI from the eighties: