India is primarily a hatchback market but the sales graph is not growing at a rate it was in mid 2000s. And the reason is that more potential being shown in compact SUV segment thanks to cars like Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster. In the price range of Rs. 6-12 lakhs, you have all kind of cars on offer from hatchbacks to Crossovers to sedans, SUVs and MPVs. Still, Indian Buyer tend to stick with hatchbacks as they find them budget friendly and well suited for family of 4-5 persons.
Besides affordable price range and Kitna Deti Hai (mileage) philosophies, customers also and always look for space, premiumness and practicality but want all that in decent pricing. Hence, Automobile industry came up with new segment called Crossover when Fiat launched country first ever crossover Adventure. Following the same footsteps, Volkswagen launched Cross Polo and Toyota with Etios Cross but both of them failed to justify the crossover tag.
Last year, Fiat launched Avventura which was based on Punto which can be regarded as a perfect example for a crossover. Now, India’s no. 1 carmaker Maruti has entered the bandwagon with S-Cross and the company exhibiting it as a premium Crossover. Our experts went for a short spin of S-cross a while ago and found it a promising product in the segment though impeded by the high price range. In this section, we are here with some negative and positive aspects of S-Cross, so without further ado let’s go through it:-
High:
- Step inside the S Cross and it feels like no other Maruti on sale till date. It has an all black theme with presence of silver detailing all around adding the feel good factor to it. And, the quality of materials and finishing is best we have seen on any Maruti till date.
- Maruti S-Cross is one of the spacious crossovers in the market which is underpinned by practical interiors and supportive seats with spot on cushioning and bolstering. Rear Bench is the highlight which is good enough to lodge three adults with ease.
- Maruti has gone all out in justifying S-Cross’ premium tag by packing it with features like 7 inch touchscreen Smartplay infotainment screen with Navigation, USB, Aux-in support, automatic climate control, leather seats, keyless go, reverse parking camera and many more.
- The DDis 1.6 litre diesel engine is another strong point of S-Cross which helps it to achieve a ton in 11 seconds. Besides initial turbo lag, the engine delivers an impressive performance on highways while agile chassis make overtaking maneuver smooth and quick.
- When it comes to safety, S-Cross gets disc brakes at all four wheels, dual front airbags and ABS (anti-lock braking system) as standard across all variants.
- Maruti Suzuki’s excellent after sales service just puts icing on the cake as the company has the largest service and sales network in India.
Low:
- In India, Styling of a Crossover remains a subjective concern as it looks like a rugged version of their hatchback siblings, be it Cross Polo, Etios Cross and even Hyundai i20 active. Following the same trend, S-Cross also looks like an extended version of a hatchback, so don’t expect it to be an off roader or a compact SUV.
- S-Cross’ design looks quirky and reminds of SX4 to an extent. The car isn’t a head turner though there is couple of nice elements but overall it’s too insipid in our opinion.
- Maruti’s journey in the premium segment isn’t good at all as cars like Kizashi, Vitara and even SX4 failed to attract buyers. Even though, Maruti has tried to equip S-Cross with all the bells and whistles one can wish for. But in the process, Maruti has overpriced the vehicle by 1-2 lakhs which itself is a challenge.
- In past we have seen that the customers are not willing to pay a million for the premium Maruti. So, in a bid to make customers pay, Maruti could have given an automatic gearbox option or Suzuki’s all Grip AWD system or petrol engine to S-Cross.
- The Crossover is equipped with the same steering wheel of Swift but lacks feel and also response isn’t great for the premium vehicle.
