Maruti S-Cross Petrol Automatic Mild Hybrid Review: Glance Into Key Features, Price, Tech Specs And More..

The S-Cross is a crossover and actually is more suitable for a petrol engine considering it is aimed at a more city based usage than a rugged SUV.

You can argue that very few car-makers can do small petrol engines as good as Maruti Suzuki. Right from the Zen to the Esteem to the engines for its new generation small cars like the Swift- Maruti knows best when it comes to small capacity petrol engines. Its 1.2l engine still remains one of the most fun and also amongst the most efficient. Move higher up though and the demands get more diverse with the need for fuel efficiency still being there but now customers also want performance plus refinement. Anyone paying Rs 10 lakh plus wants it all when it comes to selecting a petrol engine. There is also to be considered that rivals are launching turbo petrol engines which claim to get both the mileage as well as performance on target. The Creta and Seltos duo especially have changed things in the mid-size SUV space with DCT gearboxes and numerous engine options plus at the entry-level there is the refreshed Honda WR-V which offers both diesel and petrol not to mention the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300, Tata Nexon and others. So how does Maruti counter this? By re-launching its most premium crossover with a sole 1.5l petrol engine option. Unlike the previous one there is no diesel on offer but the S-Cross does gain an automatic option now. The S-Cross is a crossover and actually is more suitable for a petrol engine considering it is aimed at a more city based usage than a rugged SUV. The petrol engine is the 1.5l motor which makes 105 bhp and 138Nm. This is also a lot more powerful over the old S-Cross with its 1.3l diesel. Also just like the other Maruti cars with this engine, the S-Cross petrol gets the smart hybrid system which increases efficiency and provides torque assist. To drive the petrol S-Cross immediately seems like a much better idea with a lot more refinement. It is refined and smooth in the city stop-go traffic and another important point is that the new S-Cross now gets an automatic option which is a 4-speed one along with the manual. We drove the 4-speed auto and it is smooth at low speeds and in crawling city traffic. The engine is paired well and the refinement plus the smoothness of a petrol makes the driving experience much more relaxing. No doubt the new S-Cross is a lot more relaxing and easy to drive plus the automatic works well in city use, which you will appreciate. The 1.5l petrol does not rev as much as the 1.2l in the Maruti range but for a crossover it works quite well with comfort and ease of use being more required. Add in the fact that the steering is quite light which along with the slightly sedan-like driving position-makes the S-Cross easy to place on our roads and traffic. However when you want more and push this car then the 4-speed automatic feels a bit slow and while there is manual control, we would have liked paddle shifters offered in some rivals. It cruises well at high speeds though but the gearbox is a bit slow to react overall. Fuel efficiency is important for any Maruti be it a Rs 4 lakh one or a 12 lakh one. In case of the S-Cross, thanks to the mild hybrid system, the efficiency is way more than other petrol SUVs at this price. In-fact at nearly 19 kmpl it is better than some hatchbacks! In terms of the design the S-Cross stays the same as the car got a facelift only a year or two back. What has changed is the much more intuitive Smartplay studio infotainment system. The equipment list gets all the goodies you want like cruise control, 16inch alloys, auto headlamps, nice looking leather seats and more. That said a sunroof, connected tech or rear ac vents would have been nicer as this is the segment norm. The S-Cross petrol now starts at Rs 8.3 lakh but the top-end automatic seen here is Rs 12.3 lakh. Now for the money there are more feature rich compact SUVs or more fun to drive ones but the S-Cross petrol should be considered if you want efficiency, space and ease of use considering the automatic is tuned for the urban use in mind. Sure the lack of a diesel might be a turn off for some or the lack of features which all other SUVs seem to be flaunting these days but at heart it remains an affordable and spacious crossover with good efficiency so in that aspect it is good value.