​The Maruti Suzuki S-Cross is here! Price starts at Rs 8.34 lakh

The much-awaited, first-ever cross over model from Maruti Suzuki has finally been launched. The S-Cross was launched in the capital today amidst a glitzy ceremony at a top 5-star hotel in the city.

The S-Cross crossover sport-utility vehicle in the country will be sold at a starting price point of Rs 8.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director of Maruti, said, “Maruti Suzuki is evolving to changing customer needs. We have to enter new areas, open up new opportunities and offer new and better products to customers.”

With its newly-launched S-Cross SUV, Maruti is aiming to give a stiff competition to its rivals like Hyundai Motor Co.’s Creta, Renault S.A.’s Duster, Ford Motor Co.’s EcoSport, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Scorpio and XUV500.

The SUV measures 4.30 meters in length, 1.765 meters in width, 1.59 meters in height and 2.6 meters in wheelbase. The S-Cross has a ground clearance of 180 mm, and all variants come with 205/60 R16 tyres.

Looking at the design aspect of this SUV, the S-Cross gets a dual-chrome grille up front, and rather toned down 16-inch alloy wheels. The rest of the car looks identical to the model sold in Europe. The dashboard is identical to the European S-Cross. In addition to this, the S-Cross will be offered with two diesel engines sourced from Fiat. The entry-level is 1.3-litre MultiJin the 90 PS/200 Nm tune matched to a 5-speed manual transmission.

According to Indianautosblog.com: "The 1.6 litre engine settles into a quiet idle and NVH levels are indeed commendable. To put these levels into perspective, the NVH of the S-Cross 1.6 feels a tad more refined than a Swift diesel."

"Flat out, the S-Cross 1.6 will hit 100 km/h in 11.3 seconds, claims Maruti. What we can tell you is that this engine needs time until 1,750 rpm to get a move-on. Progress between 1,750-4,000 rpm is extremely punchy, and dare we say addicting. However, below this point, this unit feels bogged down, forcing one to downshift for overtaking maneuvers," it said.

The S-Cross is the first product to be sold through the new Nexa brand of showrooms which Maruti says, “will offer a premium experience to potential buyers.”
(Image: www.zigwheels.com)