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By Charl Bosch

Motoring Journalist


Suzuki goes aggressive with all-new (SX4) S-Cross

Aside from Europe, the S-Cross will also go on sale in India, where it will reportedly serve as styling influence for the next generation Vitara Brezza.


Quietly withdrawn from South Africa before receiving its only mid-life facelift four years ago, Suzuki has revealed the all-new S-Cross, which, in certain market, retains the SX4 prefix.

Riding on a development of Hamamatsu’s global C-platform rather than the Heartect used by majority of its mostly Indian sourced models, the Hungarian built S-Cross debuts a new styling language not seen on any current Suzuki thus far.

Sporting almost identical dimensions to the outgoing model, the S-Cross measures 4 300 mm in overall length with its wheelbase stretching 2 600 mm, height 1 585 mm and width 1 785 mm. No details regarding boot space was divulged.

New Suzuki S-Cross
Rear fascia has Mitsubishi Outlander styling elements.

Styled more aggressively than the Vitara with elements of the facelift SX4 S-Cross lingering in the design of the grille, the S-Cross sports a split-like LED headlight design contrasted by a thinner full-length chrome bar resplendent with the Suzuki logo.

Riding on up to 17-inch alloy wheels, the rear fascia mirrors not only that of the previous generation Mitsubishi Outlander and current Peugeot 5008, but also the long since discontinued Saab 9-3 SportKombi, especially the look of the clear lens LED light clusters.

Inside, the interior appears marginally updated from the SX4 S-Cross, with the main differences being either a seven-or-nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and new air vents.

ALSO READ: Suzuki Swift Sport loses spark as Europe receives mild-hybrid tech

A slightly revised instrument cluster also features, with spec, depending on the market and trim grade, consisting of a panoramic sunroof, surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and push-button start, Blind Spot Monitoring, a reverse camera and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Underneath the bonnet, the S-Cross retains the 1.4 Boosterjet turbocharged engine from the Vitara and Swift Sport, but with the addition of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that drops power from 103 kW to 95 kW and increases torque from 230 Nm to 235 Nm.

Transmissions consist of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic with drive either going to the front wheels as standard, or to all four via Suzuki’s AllGrip all-wheel-drive system. Top speed is rated at 195 km/h with the former taking 9.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h from standstill and the latter 10.2 seconds.

New Suzuki S-Cross
Interior has seemingly been carried over from the previous S-Cross with only small changes.

Going on sale next month in Europe, the S-Cross, in the United Kingdom, starts off at £24 999 (R528 779) for the entry-level Motion with the top-spec Ultra retailing from £29 799 (R630 308).

While sourced from Hungary, the S-Cross is also expected to enter production in India sometime next year with its styling, according to Autocar India, set to be applied to the all-new Vitara Brezza Maruti Suzuki will be unveiling in 2022.

For now though, no plans to bring the S-Cross to South Africa have been

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