Maruti Suzuki S-Cross V/s Ford EcoSport

Update: 05 August, 2015, Maruti has launched its first crossover, S Cross in the Indian auto market today at a price tag of Rs 8.34 lac, ex-showroom, New Delhi. Check more on the S Cross launch.

Maruti Suzuki will soon join the league of Renault, Ford and Hyundai in the compact SUV segment by launching its first ever compact crossover- the S Cross. The compact SUV from India’s largest passenger carmaker will be tested against the likes of Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and soon to be launched Hyundai Creta. We have already covered the comparison of S Cross with Renault Duster and Creta, so let's check out how the crossover stands its ground against the offering from Blue Oval- Ford EcoSport.

Exterior 

Since EcoSport is a sub 4-meter compact vehicle and S-Cross is not, the latter thus has an edge over the former. Maruti Suzuki S-Cross with the dimension of 4300mm x 1765 mm x 1590mm (LxWxH) looks massive when standing side by side with EcoSport which has an exterior dimension of 3999mm x 1765mm x 1708mm (LxWxH). But at the same time, Ford EcoSport with its sub 4-meter badge gets excise duty cut benefit helping automaker to maintain its price range and thus eventually keeping the moderate size of a compact SUV.

Read more on Maruti S Cross

The S-Cross gets comfortable knee room courtesy to its larger wheelbase of 2600mm compared to EcoSport's 2520mm. The ground clearance of EcoSport is 200mm while that of S-Cross is 180mm which do give a feeling that S-Cross will likely to get some issues with bad Indian road conditions, especially with the higher speed breakers. All-in-all, the S-Cross is bigger and spacious than EcoSport! Period.

Under the Hood

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross at least at the time of launch will only be offered with the diesel powertrain. The offering from Maruti Suzuki in diesel will be the 1.3-litre and the peppier 1.6-litre. The fuel efficient 1.3-litre gives an output of 90PS @ 4000rpm with 200Nm of torque @ 1750rpm. The engine is coupled to 5-speed manual gearbox. On the other hand, the 1.6-litre engine churns a max power output of 120PS @ 3750rpm and peak torque of 320Nm @ 1750rpm. For better performance, the engine in 1.6-litre gets 6-speed gearbox. 

EcoSport on the other hand, is offered in both petrol and diesel, but here we will only discuss the diesel one. The 1.5-litre engine gives an output of 91PS @ 3750 rpms with peak torque of 204Nm @ 2000-2750 rpm. The engine is coupled to 5-speed manual gearbox.

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross being a crossover gets more plus point while EcoSport lacks in certain aspects but undoubtedly will be more affordable than S-Cross even with Maruti Suzuki’s cut-throat price strategy.

Read the Full Comparison of Creta vs Duster vs EcoSport vs S Cross vs Terrano vs Safari Storme vs Scorpio