Maruti’s most talked about car for the longest time was the M800. But for years, the most visible and most coveted vehicle was the Gypsy. Its connections with the Indian armed forces and rallying kept its cult alive. But, the only other sports utility vehicle in Maruti’s portfolio was the Grand Vitara – at the other end of the price spectrum. Naturally, there has been a fairly big void in Maruti Suzuki's portfolio within the mid-priced sports utility vehicle category.

The current rage for a compact SUV has pretty much been ignored by Maruti Suzuki, although the others have joined the race with their own small SUVs or sports-style vehicles. With buyers' increasing preference for the SUV body style, the market leader is making its move finally with the new S-Cross.

Design

The S-Cross is based on a new platform, though the erstwhile SX4 platform was also conceived to be a crossover. But, in its earlier Indian avatar, the SX4 was the rarer sedan version of the car. In most other markets, the SX4 was a mini multi-purpose/ crossover vehicle with either a Suzuki or the partner’s badge – the Fiat Sedici. In fact, the term Sedici means ‘16’ in Italian, which was roughly derived from the 4X4 capability of this compact car.

The original was designed by Giorgietto Giugiaro of Italdesign and was first introduced in 2005. The SX4 and the Sedici were meant to be crossovers with rounded edges and un-SUV-like poise. While there are hatchbacks trying to masquerade as SUVs with oversized body side cladding and a raised stance, the SX4 retained its unique crossover looks. The earlier model's design in hatchback form would likely have found very little acceptance in this market, where buyers today are keen on an upright, stout stance of a SUV.

The new S-Cross attempts to remedy the situation somewhat. There are still some elements of the previous SX4's design that is visible in the front of the new S-Cross, especially the headlamps, but much of the new car's design is fresh. The S-Cross' design is about as aggressive as a Maruti has ever gotten. There is a lot of crossover flavour to the design with the body side cladding and fake aluminium under-guards at the front and the rear. The raised bonnet, stalked door mirrors and the skid plates on the sides add to the crossover looks of the S-Cross. We personally liked the rear design of the new car. The triangular tail-lamps and the upright stance of the rear is more akin to crossover design.

There is a lot of equipment that is new in the S-Cross. The headlamps get HID (high intensity discharge) lamps with auto-on function and LED position lamps. There are disc brakes on all four wheels, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror, new 16-inch alloys and cruise control.

Cabin

When it is launched, the S-Cross' biggest plus point is likely to be the quality of the cabin. The dashboard and door panels feature a layered style. A simple hexagonal centre stack fascia frames the touchscreen infotainment system and mid air-conditioner vents. The steering wheel is the Suzuki wheel, which we have seen in many of the company's newer cars. The S-Cross' features controls for the infotainment system and cruise control.

Maruti Suzuki designers have opted to give the cabin a very European flavour and so dark grey, black and matt silver accents form the interior theme. Twin dial instrument cluster features blue lighting, while the rest of the controls sport yellow back-lighting. The front seats are very comfy and the rear seats offer a two-step reclining feature for finding an even more comfy position. Seat positions are high-set both at the front and the rear. Depending on the trim, the seats get double stitched leather and the steering is also leather wrapped.

The cabin is well insulated and quiet, though under hard acceleration, engine noise does sneak in, with the rpm needle crossing the 3,500 mark. Boot space is 353 litres with the rear seat in reclined position. Knee room at the rear is about as much as the competition's, but shoulder room on offer seems to be more.

Overall, the cabin is driver-focused, and with soft-touch plastics and excellent fit and finish quality, this is finally a Maruti that really has a premium feel. During our test drive of the S-Cross the only feature in the cabin that underperformed was the navigation system which had outdated maps.

Performance

The S-Cross is being offered with two engine options, and both are diesel. The surprise here is that for the first time, there will be no petrol mill for a Maruti model. Both the engines are also Fiat diesels - one being the 1.3-litre and the other is the 1.6-litre multijets. Of course, in the S-Cross these bear the torque based nomenclature and so are called DDiS 200 and DDiS 320.

DDiS 200's 1,248cc engine generates 66kW of power and 200Nm of torque and the engine is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

We only got to test drive the other model - the DDiS 320 with its 1,598cc engine. This engine is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission and it puts out a peak power of 88kW and 320Nm of torque. The engine is expectedly very refined and has an excellent mid-range. There is a bit of turbolag initially, but once the needle crossed the 1,400rpm mark, there is enough pulling power available all the way to the redline at 5,000 rpm.

For the first time, the S-Cross also features a self-adjusting clutch and as a result it is very progressive and comfortable to use. The Suzuki gearbox is also a smooth shifting unit with the shift quality also aided by a fairly short stick. Dead pedal area is a little tight next to the centre tunnel, but is still a great help.

Bottomline

The S-Cross' ride quality is good on most road surfaces. With the raised suspension tuned for being pliant on bad roads, there is quite a bit of wheel travel on really uneven surfaces. But, it doesn't get unsettled, though it can get a bit jarring over really bad potholes. Steering assistance is good at slow speeds and the wheel tightens up at higher speeds. Steering precision is adequate, though it lacks in feel.

The driving dynamics of the S-Cross is let down only by the tyres that the car came shod with. The 205/60 R16 lacked grip and kept squealing through most turns on the highway from Mumbai to Nashik, where we test drove the car.

The S-Cross is a big step for Maruti Suzuki and the company is pushing its retail strategy to the next level by showcasing the new premium crossover only in its NEXA showrooms. These showrooms are being set up even as we go to print and are expected to redefine car retailing. So you may need to head to a NEXA showroom or ask to be chauffered to one to place your order.

We expect the S-Cross' prices to start from about ₹ 7.5 lakh and go up to ₹ 11.5 lakh.

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