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

Quietly withdrawn from South Africa before receiving its only mid-life facelift four years ago, Suzuki has revealed the all-new S-Cross, which, in certain market, retains the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

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.

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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.

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