Suzuki S Cross up to the challenge

Suzuki’s latest-generation turbocharged engine remains as impressive as ever, Bob Nettleton says of the Suzuki S Cross AWD Hybrid. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

A major styling refresh three years ago breathed new life into the ageing Suzuki S Cross SUV first launched in 2012, and it's continued to be a solid seller on the strength of the well-executed update.

Clever visual enhancement such as a raised bonnet line and hexagonal gloss piano-black grille created a more muscular appearance than its rather dowdy-looking predecessor. However, beneath the shiny new look, it shares the same tried and true drive trains and chassis as its predecessor with a few updates and improvements along the way.

This second generation S Cross is marginally larger with a tad more passenger and load space. Despite the modest gains in this area, they were enough to make it the largest member of the Suzuki family. It’s now relinquished that mantle to the bigger Vitara EV launched here recently. This largest Suzuki now has a more substantial price tag to go with its up-sizing with a $54,995 starting price for the 2WD. You need even deeper pockets — around $19k should do it — to upgrade to the flagship AWD.

Completely new from the ground up, this is one of the most important new models ever for the company as its first full-electric vehicle, heralding an exciting new chapter in Suzuki’s history.

Made in its new the state-of-the-art plant in Gujarat, India, the Vitara is already making its way to over 100 countries to lead the Suzuki charge into a brave new EV dawn. It’s off to a decent start, having been named as a contender for the 2026 World Car of the Year.

While this new SUV breaks away from the traditional company mould visually, it’s a good fit with Suzuki’s hybrid and standard petrol engined models. The e-Vitara comes in two options — a 61 kWh battery two-wheel-drive with an estimated all-electric range of up to 430km on a full charge and a 61 kWh battery Allgrip all-wheel-drive with a range of up to 396km. Those ranges aren’t class-leading but good enough to ensure the Vitara has a positive impact on on the rapidly growing compact EV SUV market.

It’s up for the challenge with its sleek lines, digital-first cabin, intuitive controls, and light and spacious interior. It has all the features to push its case with buyers, including a heated steering wheel, wireless charging, and adds a colourful touch customisable ambient lighting on the front door panels and centre console.

These days the S-Cross has been trimmed back to just the high-spec JLX turbo hybrid in either two or AWD form. The latter features Suzuki’s well-sorted and capable AWD with four selectable driving modes activated by an easy-to-use push-and-turn dial. The best bet for every day use is Auto mode. It prioritises fuel economy and switches to AWD if any wheel spin is detected.

SEAMLESS TRANSITION

The S Cross AWD I drove has transitioned seamlessly to hybridisation built around Suzuki’s well-proven 1.4 litre Booster jet turbo engine. It’s a two-horse race when it comes to choosing an S Cross, with the front-wheel-drive JLX retailing for $43,995 and an extra $2k for the same model in AWD. With our demanding roads, terrain and weather the AWD is a far more compelling proposition and should have much stronger prices second hand.

Suzuki’s latest-generation turbocharged engine remains as impressive as ever. This forced-induction power plant has minimal turbo lag thanks to a compact turbocharger fitted directly to the cylinder head. 95kW of maximum power, 235Nm of low torque is just the ticket on undulating roads. A good power to weight ratio keeps things moving along nicely out on the open road and in urban driving.

The slick and thoroughly efficient six-speed automatic is well suited to the hybrid engine. They some how seem made for each other, in isolation it’s an engine and transmission, but they very much operate as one to make this one of the better-driving compact SUVs in it class.

Front seats offer a generous 929mm of legroom and there’s 814mm in the rear — that’s more than respectable for a smallish SUV. Up to 440 litres of boot space is available with the 60-40 split-folding rear seats.

The test vehicle had an all-seeing and all-knowing upgraded 360-degree view camera system. Four cameras are linked to the 9-inch display. This provides a 360-degree view and 3-D opening view, enabling you to check the vehicle surroundings from the display before driving off.

The JLX fascia runs Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, and voice recognition. A rear cross-traffic alert system is great when manoeuvering out of parking spaces where vision is limited.

The robust suspension is well suited to our challenging roads, and increasingly unpredictable weather. Bump-absorbing qualities are generally good, although over more heavily pot-holed and rut-invested roads it does shed some composure, and becomes a bit noisy. Comfort appears to have been prioritised over outright grip and road holding.

The handling is competent, well balanced, and reacts quickly to effectively counter road ructions caused by more severe road surface deviations. At higher speed over undulating roads and through tight corners the test vehicle felt a little outside its comfort zone, and you learn quickly to adjust your pace over winding roads accordingly.