Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Petrol Vs Rivals: What Do The Prices Say?

Maruti’s flagship SUV offering has become more affordable thanks to a new petrol engine and it now gets an automatic option as well

The Maruti Suzuki S-Cross has been around for five years now and it was recently launched in its BS6 avatar as a petrol-only offering. It is now powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine with mild-hybrid tech mated to a 5-speed manual and gets the choice of a 4-speed automatic transmission for the first time. Maruti has not given it any cosmetic updates and the only feature update for the new S-Cross is the latest version of its 7.0-inch touchscreen SmartPlay infotainment system. With its new BS6 compliant petrol powertrain, the S-Cross renews its rivalry with the likes of the Renault Duster, Hyundai Creta, Nissan Kicks and Kia Seltos.

Since the new S-Cross is a petrol-only offering, let’s see how its prices compare against the petrol variants of its closest rivals (all prices, ex-showroom Delhi):

• The new S-Cross has the lowest starting price among its rivals. It is also the most affordable choice if you want an automatic variant.

• The Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Nissan Kicks get the choice of two petrol engines. However, only the Seltos and Kicks offer their turbo-petrol engines with a manual transmission.

• Renault does not offer the BS6 Duster with a petrol-automatic variant yet. But it’s expected to get a 1.3-litre turbo petrol along with an optional CVT in the coming weeks. The Duster with a turbocharged petrol engine was showcased at the Auto Expo 2020. 

• Among manual offerings, the Kia compact SUV’s prices are the highest, reaching  well over the Rs 16 lakh mark. 

• The top-spec S-Cross petrol-manual variant is still more affordable than the mid-spec Creta and Seltos. That said, the two Korean cars are still decently equipped in these middle variants.

• The S-Cross with a manual transmission is also more affordable than the Kicks’ entry-level turbo-petrol variant.

• Maruti has managed to price the S-Cross petrol-automatic quite aggressively to undercut all its rivals by a few lakh rupees. Even the top-spec petrol-auto undercuts the entry-level automatic variant of the Nissan Kicks petrol-CVT by Rs 1.06 lakh.

• Hyundai and Kia’s 1.5-litre petrol gets the option of a 6-speed automatic, with prices starting at over Rs 14 lakh. Their 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine gets the choice of a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic which is far more expensive than the S-Cross’ 4-speed torque convertor.

• The Maruti S-Cross is the least powerful offering here even when compared to the rivals’ naturally aspirated (NA) engines. It develops just 105PS and 138Nm. However, its the only to use a mild-hybrid tech to improve its fuel efficiency. The ARAI claimed figure for the petrol-powered S-Cross stands at 18.55kmpl for the manual variants and 18.43kmpl with the automatic.

• Hyundai and Kia share their engine options. The 1.5-litre petrol engine is tuned to an output of 115PS and 144Nm while the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine makes 140PS and 242Nm.

• The Creta’s 1.5-litre petrol gets the choice of a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. Unlike the Seltos, it only offers the turbo-petrol engine with a 7-speed DCT.

• The Renault Duster gets just a 1.5-litre petrol engine that makes 106PS and 142Nm while mated to a 5-speed manual. This engine is also available with the more affordable variants of the Nissan Kicks.

• The Nissan Kicks is currently the most powerful compact SUV on sale thanks to its 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine that produces 156PS of power and 254Nm of torque. It is offered with the choice of a 6-speed manual and a CVT.

Read More on : S-Cross on road price