Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Petrol Booking Open Ahead Of August 5 Launch

With the BS6 upgrade, the Maruti crossover loses out on its diesel engine

• Bookings can be made at NEXA dealerships or online for an initial payment of Rs 11,000. 

• The India-spec model gets a petrol engine and an automatic option for the first time.

• Comes with the same set of features except for Maruti’s latest 7-inch touchscreen.

• Base-spec Sigma variant likely to be discontinued. 

• Prices expected to start from Rs 9 lakh.

Maruti Suzuki has started official pre-bookings for the petrol-powered 2020 S-Cross ahead of its August 5 launch. The 2020 Maruti S-Cross was first showcased at Auto Expo 2020. It is likely to be offered in three variants: Delta, Zeta, and Alpha while the earlier base-spec Sigma variant could be discontinued. It can be booked either through dealerships or online platforms for a token amount of Rs 11,000.

What are the major changes?

The crossover’s 1.3-litre diesel engine will be replaced by a BS6 1.5-litre petrol unit with mild-hybrid tech as seen on the recently facelifted Vitara Brezza. This unit produces 105PS of power and 138Nm of torque and comes paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard with the option of an old-school 4-speed automatic. Maruti is expected to offer the mild-hybrid tech only with the automatic transmission as seen on the facelifted Vitara Brezza. There won’t be any diesel option for now. 

Will there be any feature additions?

Since this will be just an engine upgrade, the S-Cross will remain as is inside-out. In fact it received its mid-life update just last year. The equipment list will also remain the same with features such as LED projector headlamps, LED tail lamps, cruise control, and 16-inch alloy wheels. However, the 2020 S-Cross will now offer Maruti’s latest 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

With the expected discontinuation of the base-spec Sigma variant, the S-Cross is likely lto be priced from Rs 9 lakh. It continues to go up against the likes of the Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Mahindra Scorpio, and Nissan Kicks. The Skoda VISION IN and VW Taigun will also rival the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross once they are launched in early-2021.