S-Cross: Should You Buy or Not?

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.

Fifteen Thousand! That’s the pre-booking number Hyundai registered all over the country before it launched Creta on 21st July. And I am sure that by now plenty of us might have seen it running on the roads. And God! It looks gorgeous. That tall stance, indented projector headlamps, striking rear with those sleek taillamps, a floating roof line, those massive 17-inch diamond cut alloy wheels, each of this appeals you to take a glimpse of it over and over again. After all, it belongs to that compact SUV segment that get’s the whole host of cars like Duster and EcoSport. Both of these have recorded such numbers in their times.

This said, Maruti too wants its fair share in the compact SUV segment and its gladiator for this colosseum-proportion segment is S-Cross, arriving on August 5th. As Maruti is marketing this car as a premium crossover, it has arranged the NEXA dealership platform to shed the ‘cheap-car-maker’ stigma from it. A tag that has followed it since forever. But, with the advent of NEXA and S-Cross, this might just change for them. Here are some points that might help you decide whether to buy it or not.

Looks?

Jaipur: At a glance, the S-Cross is a MIGHTY piece of metal, plastic and glass. Mighty projector headlamps, mighty taillamps and mighty dimensionally-4300 mm long-30 mm longer than Creta and shorter than Duster by a mere 15 mm. That is epic for a car that look more like a hatchback, rather than an SUV. Happily, Maruti is marketing it like a crossover, a premium one. It looks different and stays away from the wanna-be SUV image, as it is crossover and was made like one, from scratch.

Also Read: Post Creta launch: S-Cross Still Promising?

On the downside, S-Cross looks a bit conservative and lacks that showmanship like the Creta or EcoSport or that macho Duster image. And then, beefy looks are not everyone's piece-of-cake which are plenty in S-Cross.

Interiors?

It’s black-black all through! Maruti has kept the inside all black with hints of silver plastic trims at place. The use of black has made the interiors less tacky and more sporty, though at a glance you won’t find them that attractive. But, step inside and you will find a couple of layer of quality plastic on the dash and the paneling. The dash includes a central portion composed of soft touch while the top and bottom layers are textured. Maruti is showcasing the car at some select cities and everyone is welcomed to experience it. Moreover, there is the touchscreen navigation system and cruise control.

Now, as the interiors are all black, they are prone to heat up in hot summer days and for the ones who prefer beige over black, an all black cockpit could be little bothering.

Engine?

In this area, the company has decided to ditch the petrol option and is offering only diesel. Two diesel motor are available to choose from, the familiar 1.3 litre DDiS200 and an all new 1.6 litre DDiS320. The former one produces 90PS of power while the latter develops 120PS. Also, both the engines are good on mileage, the 1.3 L reads figure of 23.65 kmpl while the 1.6 L returns 22.70 kmpl. The DDiS320 motor is very lively, class leading torque of 320 Nm, and would attract enthusiasts. To keep such power in control, the manufacturer has provided disc brakes in all four-brakes.

The 1.6 liter may be available with higher trims only that equals to more money while the 1.3 litre might feel underpowered.