There seems to be more and more SUVs on the road, whether this is entirely personal choice on behalf of the buyers, or clever marketing, is a very debateable point. SUVs do get a bad press and it’s unfair as not all SUVs fall into that category of overly large gas guzzlers. There are many smaller versions, and even the larger ones now come with self-charging or plug-in hybrid as part of the power deal.
Suzuki has a long and well-deserved reputation for making very capable off-roaders but have of recent years moved into SUVs with two wheel drive. Whether you’re looking at the Ignis, Vitara or S-Cross they all have the option of 2 or 4-wheel-drive. The S-Cross has just been relaunched in new mild or full hybrid form.
Priced from £26,099 even the lead-in model is bestowed with a particularly generous level of standard equipment. The list includes adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors with rear view camera, led lights, powered, heated and folding door mirrors along with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Two trim levels and the option of 2 or 4-wheel-drive, manual or automatic gears and mild or full hybrid.
My test model was the top-line Ultra model in full hybrid form which means a 1.5-litre normally aspirated engine and automatic gears. The standard equipment list is even more generous than the lead-in model, as it should be with a £32,649 price tag, and includes a super, full length sliding panoramic glass roof. There is a distinctly more upmarket feel, the Vitara is well built but uses a lot of not very tactile plastics on the interior, to new Suzuki models and the S-Cross is no exception. There’s a clean layout and everything from the auto gear shift lever to the touchscreen works crisply.
On the road it’s smooth, refined and quiet, unless you floor the accelerator when the automated manual gearbox does become vocal. This is a characteristic of this kind of gearbox but the S-Cross is far from being the most vocal in my experience. It’s a different style of driving that’s soon second nature. Performance from the 1.5-litre engine isn’t sparkling (go for the manual 1.4-litre boosterjet which is much quicker) but that said it feels anything but pedestrian.
Suzuki produce some very underrated cars in my view and the S-Cross, despite the cost at the flagship end of the range meaning it’s up against stiff competition, is certainly one of them.
News by Mark Slack
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