Muddy thinking around S-cross
It’s not easy living in the shadow of a glamorous sibling. Just ask the Suzuki S-cross, says David Linklater.
Life has not been easy for the Suzuki S-cross. When it was launched back in 2013, it was ostensibly a replacement for the SX4 – a small hatchback that Suzuki had progressively ruined by turning it from perky softroader (it was brilliant in original manual-gearbox, Allgrip form) to a see-me-out model with FWD and a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Except S-cross wasn’t really an SX4 replacement, despite Suzuki’s insistence on sticking an SX4 badge on the tailgate. The S-cross was more an attempt to capitalise on the small-suv phenomenon.
It was desperately conservative-looking, but certainly had something of the Toyota RAV4 look and feel about it. The CVT was still there, but you did have the choice of FWD or Suzuki’s excellent Allgrip 4WD.
S-cross did okay for a while too, hitting a sales high of 800 per year in New Zealand.
But in 2015 something called the Vitara happened. As we all now know, Vitara is a highly fashionable urban-suv with a touch of retro-cool. It also happens to be based on the same platform as the S-cross. Which basically meant the models were paternal twins; but Suzuki sent the Vitara along to school in cool clothes, while the same-price S-cross wore a cardy and sensible shoes.
Last year, Suzuki New Zealand sold 1481 Vitaras and 341 S-cross models, which says it all really. But you could still argue a place for S-cross; Suzuki New Zealand freely admits its more conservative look and practical packaging appeal to older buyers who aren’t into the Vitara’s cheeky attitude.
So what to make of the revised 2017 S-cross? Suzuki seems to have taken its main advantage over the Vitara, a low-key look, and tossed it aside in favour of a comedy toast-rack-inspired chrome grille.
There’s no accounting for taste, and one thing the new front does achieve is more of an Suv-look: the headlights are more upright and the in-your-face grille adds a lot of visual height to the S-cross. Even though it’s actually no taller overall than the previous model.
The family connection with Vitara brings a much more important improvement to the new S-cross. Because ‘‘our’’ Vitara is essentially a Europeanmarket model (it’s built in Hungary, actually) it must cater to European tastes. That means an engine with zing and a proper gearbox, because CVT is generally a no-no over there.
The Vitara comes with the option of a Boosterjet turbo engine and six-speed automatic gearbox.
In the delayed way that model cycles sometimes work, the sister S-cross has now picked that technology up. So the flagship S-cross Premium you see here boasts the 1.4-litre blown powerplant and a proper six-stage transmission.
Hello performance, goodbye slippy gearbox.
Okay, so the Boosterjet engine isn’t exactly a tarmac-tearer. But it is a smooth and energetic little thing, and it adds enough pulling power to make the S-cross an interesting drive. Especially when the gearbox now steps from one ratio to the next instead of wandering all over the rev range doing belt-stretching exercises.
Suzuki has attempted to keep some distance between S-cross Premium and Vitara turbo by only offering the former in 2WD. With Vitara, you can have either 2WD or Allgrip 4WD.
You can indeed still have an S-cross with 4WD, but you’ll have to give up your turbo engine, ‘‘leather-type’’ upholstery (no great loss), automatic lights/ wipers, exterior LEDS, privacy glass and polished alloy wheel finish. The S-cross Limited 4WD is the same price as the Premium 2WD.
Problem? Well, the S-cross doesn’t have enough power to need taming in a 4WD way, but Allgrip does add something in terms of on-road balance, with a Sport mode that sends more power to the rear, and of course allweather traction.
On the other hand, the buyer demographic suggests that S-cross buyers don’t necessarily want or need that option.
As it stands the S-cross is still a good steer, thanks to relative lightness and Suzuki’s knack for making front-drivers with good handling balance.
Cabin materials have been improved inside, but the architecture is still pretty conservative. Which was always the idea. The switchgear is simple in the extreme, which sounds like a criticism but is actually a plus. Besides, you get a touch of tech with Apple and Android phone projection on the centre-console touch screen.
Given that the S-cross Premium is exactly the same $33,990 price as the Vitara turbo 2WD, we’re still left with the question of why you’d buy the former over the latter. Especially now that the S-cross is arguably weirder-looking than the Vitara from some angles.
There is an answer and it’s size. Join the S-club and you get more interior room thanks to a 100mm-longer wheelbase and at least 55 litres more cargo space. More on-road presence as well, if that’s important to you: the S-cross is 125mm longer overall than its Suzuki sibling.
At the time of writing, Suzuki New Zealand has wiped $2000 off