CROSS PURPOSES

‘Drivers filling up in Inverclyde are getting a bad deal’

I USED to consider the Suzuki S-Cross SUV on the dull side although contact with owners told me they were happy with the model and the Japanese brand’s reputation for reliability.

While the Vitara SUV remains my favourite Suzuki, I have now taken a liking to the S-Cross.

An all-new S-Cross reached these shores in January – with considerably more visual appeal than its predecessor. A chat with Pearson of Wemyss Bay sales manager Kenny Hyde revealed it was the fastest-selling new Suzuki since Inverclyde’s oldest car dealership was awarded the franchise.

The new S-Cross was introduced as a mild hybrid with a 1.4 Boosterjet petrol engine, manual and automatic transmissions, and in front-drive and AllGrip four-wheel drive guises.

Suzuki have just added a full hybrid, this time employing a 1.5 petrol engine. It has a six-speed automated manual transmission. You can leave the transmission to go about its business or change gear using paddles behind the steering wheel.

The newcomer is offered in the same Motion and Ultra specifications as the mild hybrid, which costs from £24,999.

You pay £26,749 for the front-drive Motion full hybrid and £31,549 for the Ultra variant which comes with AllGrip. The latter boasts goodies such as leather upholstery, panoramic sunroof and a 360-degree camera, but Suzuki have not been mean with the Motion’s specification.

Introduction of full-hybrid technology has resulted in a reduced boot capacity of 293 litres.

Mild-hybrid versions of the S-Cross feature turbocharged engines which produce 127bhp while the full hybrids are normally aspirated with an output of 113bhp.

I recently tried out a full-hybrid Ultra. The automated manual transmission can be a bit jerky but I found changing one’s touch on the accelerator makes things smoother.

While decent to drive, the full hybrid is not as quick off the line as its mild-hybrid stablemate but it is capable of making good progress.

I was impressed with the new model’s economy. The full-hybrid S-Cross Ultra AllGrip returned an indicated 51.5mpg overall compared with the 41.1mpg achieved in the mild-hybrid S-Cross Ultra AllGrip automatic I wrote about in March.

SINCE my last article a fortnight ago, one of the key issues that I have continued to push has been that of supporting our economy and local businesses.

Given that we are living through a global cost of living crisis and still recovering from the pandemic, our local shops need our support more than ever.

All aspects of our economy have felt the effects of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and both of Scotland’s governments have stepped up to provide support, but there are measures we can also take at an individual level to help too.

One of these is to shop locally, where possible, in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

There is no shortage of great places in our community to get gifts for loved ones and with annual Small Business Saturday approaching it’s also a good opportunity to get some fantastic deals.

But it isn’t just about one day in the year – it’s about helping small businesses all year round and the benefits of this are clear.

It boosts local jobs, keeps money in our community and improves the health of our town centres.

Another issue I have been pushing on over the past fortnight has been forecourt prices here in Inverclyde, which continue to be the highest in Scotland.

Large retailers such as Tesco and Morrisons have stated to me that they operate a ‘competitive’ pricing policy and I think we can all accept a small price variation.

However, drivers filling up locally are getting a bad deal and it’s no wonder that so many have tried their best to fill up elsewhere.

Local prices are regularly 5p to 10p per litre more than the rest of Scotland and even across the West of Scotland. For instance, petrol in Kilbirnie’s Tesco costs 157.9p a litre, but in Greenock it’s 172.9p.

I reached out to retailers ahead of Stuart McMillan’s debate on this issue and little explanation was provided for these huge price variations.

I welcome the fact that the UK Government is looking into this matter further and recently cut fuel duty by 5p, but more needs to be done and I’m calling on retailers to do their bit too in supporting local drivers or, at the very least, not overcharging them.