Suzuki S-Cross Turbo Prestige Quick Review

The Suzuki S-Cross is the Japanese carmakers entry into the crossover segment, offering car-buyers an option for those who don’t want something as small as the Swift, but more city-friendly than the Vitara. It’s recently facelifted nose have some polarized, while the ‘Boosterjet’ 1.4-litre turbo four-cylinder engine, which is the same as its older sibling the Vitara, offers a more enjoyable drive.

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STRENGTHS

• Its punchy engine produces 103kW/220Nm, resulting in a sporty-like drive and an unexpected creamy smoothness. It’s got exceptional performance and that’s its best feature.
• It’s airy and spacious interior is one of the best designed of the Suzuki range, despite the plasticky feel in areas. Compared to some of its competitors, the S-Cross also offers a decent size boot – at 430 litres, it’s bigger than its small SUV sibling, the Vitara.
• The dash and steering wheel offer really easy and accessible controls. Although the infotainment system isn’t without faults and can be a little glitchy.
• Naturally, the S-Cross comes with Suzuki’s impressive reputation for reliability.

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WEAKNESSES

• One of the downfalls of the S-Cross is its noise over rougher roads. Most of that comes from the cheap tyres, which makes the car less than what it is. We suspect a better set of tyres would eliminate one of the S-Cross’s biggest downfalls.
• Despite recently receiving a facelift to its nose, the S-Cross’s exterior design is polarizing. The rear remains completely unchanged and the front, while different to its predecessor, is a little bland.
• The S-Cross doesn’t come with an all-wheel drive option, which only gets a cross next to its name because it’s considered a small-SUV and SUVs should always have AWD as an option, at least.
• While the S-Cross comes with plenty of gear, and was awarded a five-star ANCAP rating, it doesn’t come with any additional active safety gear. That means no autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring or even adaptive cruise control, even in our top-spec Turbo Prestige.
• The Suzuki S-Cross does have a firmer ride, which the suspension gives away over rougher road surfaces.

ANY RIVALS I SHOULD CONSIDER?

The Mazda CX-3, Holden Trax, Toyota CH-R or the Peugeot 2008.