My S-Cross petrol: Observations after a Kolkata-Puri-Kolkata road trip

On access-controlled stretches, cruise control was a lifesaver as I was the only driver. It ensured I always reached my destination relatively fatigue free.

BHPian Centodieci recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I recently completed a Kolkata-Puri-Kolkata drive in my 2021 S-Cross 1.5 and would like to share some of observations as a new driver:

• The S-Cross is a comfortable highway cruiser. My car was loaded with my family of 5 members (all adults), my pet and 3 days of luggage. While return, the load was even more due to all the shopping. I was afraid of the car going over its gross weight but it carried us all in comfort and maintained its stability over sudden highway undulations and bridge joints.
• I maintained a speed of around 80 and got mind boggling mileage of 16 kmpl with all the load (5 adults + luggage).
• As some may know, the Kolkata Puri highway is still under construction near Balasore and there are lots of uneven ditches and insanely tall speed-breakers along this stretch of highway. Initially, I was afraid of scraping my car's underbody due to this but thankfully, the car made out unscratched over every bump.
• The JK UX Royale tyres were noisy, more so over the concrete tarmac that is spread along approx. 100 Kms but they provided adequate grip.
• On access-controlled stretches, cruise control was a lifesaver as I was the only driver. It ensured I always reached my destination relatively fatigue free. I was even able to attended an office meeting after driving 500 Kms nonstop.
• On way to Puri from Bhubaneswar, it was raining heavily but the car did not lose its composure while heavy braking due to sudden cattle movement. On the same note, I was able to avoid clash with a small cow which came running out of nowhere from the intersection.
• On the entire trip, I only refuelled twice as the car has decent fuel tank capacity and still had around half tank of petrol left when returned to Kolkata.
• Despite no rear AC vents, the AC compressor was able to cool the car down quickly and maintained the temperature at 24 degrees despite scorching heat outside. Please note I do not use any window curtain or shade still my family members were asking to turn the AC vents away from them.
• Android Auto was acting up sometimes and got stuck suddenly. It refused to work despite all the restarts and plugging back the cable and got reset only after switching off the engine for few minutes. This is happening frequently and I need to raise this in my next service.

I always admired S-Cross for its highway manners when I drove alone but I was a bit apprehensive about its behaviour when under full load. I was initially thinking of hiring XUV500 from Revv or a Innova with driver for this trip but then decided against it on seeing the rates.

All in all, it is a very good car and an all-rounder that I hope to keep with me for all 15 years. Signing off as one happy and satisfied S-Cross owner.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.