Suzuki’s successful crossover

Suzuki’s improved S-Cross model offers a still-sensible but now more appealing package for buyers in the compact Crossover segment.

Everyone’s at it. Launching crossover vehicles, that is. The thing is, like almost any rapidly developing vehicle class, it often takes a little time to hit upon exactly the right formula.

Suzuki knows this better than most. Over the years, its various SX4 models were tidy little designs that never quite achieved the sales they deserved.

The first generation model was a little too small, shy, retiring and poorly promoted to set the sales charts alight the way its Nissan Qashqai competitor did.

However, Suzuki watched, learned and came back fighting with an SX4 S-Cross in 2013 that was a much more competitive proposition.

The latest model is that car in facelifted form. It’s lost its SX4 tag and its relatively inefficient 1.6-litre petrol engine, replaced by downsized one-litre and 1.4-litre “Boosterjet” turbo units.

The 1.6 DDiS diesel continues on. Suzuki has also sharpened the styling and improved equipment levels.

People bought the original version of this car because it was relatively cheap but it was only really affordable in a 1.6- litre petrol guise that condemned you to a thrashy, relatively inefficient engine.

That’s been sorted now. In place of that old 120hp 1.6, Suzuki now offers S-Cross buyers its “Boosterjet” petrol technology – either a 111hp one-litre three cylinder unit or a 140hp 1.4-litre four cylinder powerplant.

Even the one-litre variant’s 170Nm torque figure is more pulling power than could be mustered by the old 1.6 and of course, it’s much more efficient.

There are no changes on the diesel side, so it’s the same 120hp 1.6-litre DDiS VGT unit that was offered before, available with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard, with a twin clutch auto transmission also an option.

Suzuki has set the S-Cross up to ride fairly softly and that’s a good thing on roads like ours but they’ve also managed to include a respectable amount of roll stiffness, which means you won’t encounter lurching when cornering.

The optional ALLGRIP four-wheeldrive system features an electronically

Suzuki’s S-Cross has been revised and is now a proposition well worth looking at.