CROSS PURPOSEFUL (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_suzukis-cross_2022

By Jonathan Crouch

Suzuki's S-Cross now gets an extra slice of visual pizazz. Jonathan Crouch drives the revised version.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 73

Suzuki's S-Cross compact SUV gains a sharper look and more equipment and offers a choive of either mild hybrid or full-Hybrid petrol powertrains. Even in the mild hybrid model, the electrification claims to deliver a 20% running cost improvement. Plus there's plenty of space for a crossover of this size, lots of kit for the money and, unusually in this class, the option of a proper lockable 4WD system in the top versions.

Backgroundword count: 165

Suzuki must find it frustrating to see other brands doing so well in the thriving Crossover market. The Japanese maker has, after all, been offering products of this sort for some time, most notably the first generation SX4 model, originally launched way back in 2006, easily pre-dating the original Nissan Qashqai that most people think pioneered this class of car. That very first SX4 was a little too small, a little too shy and retiring and a little too poorly promoted to set the sales charts alight the way its Nissan competitor did, but Suzuki watched, learnt and came back fighting. As a result, in 2014 we got the SX4 S-Cross, a much more competitive proposition and a model that's gradually evolved. In 2020 it gained mild hybrid assistance for its 1.4-litre Boosterjet petrol engine and in late 2021, the looks were facelifted too, creating the car we're going to look at here, a compact SUV but a particularly spacious and really quite efficient one.

Driving Experienceword count: 362

This S-Cross now offers two petrol engines. The more affordable, the 1.4 Boosterjet Hybrid (which is actually a mild hybrid and offers 129hp) comes with manual transmission. If you want an auto (actually a 6-speed automated manual), you'll need the 1.5-litre Full-Hybrid 114hp unit. Both engines can also be had with ALLGRIP AWD. Let's start with the cheaper 1.4-litre version. You may be familiar with the way that mild hybrid engines work but just in case not, here's a quick re-cap. Basically, energy that would otherwise be lost when braking or cruising off-throttle is harvested via a kinetic energy recovery system and sent to a small lithium-ion battery that here has been placed beneath the front passenger seat. This is used to drive a belt-driven 'ISG' unit (an 'Integrated Starter/Generator') and power the engine's stop/start system. Suzuki's current 48-volt set-up can also deliver a couple of other important benefits. The first is something quite unusual amongst current mild hybrids - the ability for this car to idle and even coast on full-electric power, though only below 10mph. The other benefit here is something supposed to be now quite common amongst mild hybrid models - the ability to 'torque-fill' under acceleration to compensate for turbo lag. Which is just as well because this S-Cross Hybrid's 'K14D'-series engine was reduced in power a little when the MHEV tech was added to it, plus the car's electrified tech adds 65kgs of extra weight (in the case of the ALLGRIP 4WD version). But at the same time it gained 5Nm of torque (235Nm in total). The 62mph sprint takes 10.2 en route to 118mph. Let's move on to the 1.5-litre Full-Hybrid variant. Here, the engine is combined with a 33bhp belt-driven electric motor generator powered by a tiny 0.84kWh battery. All the power is fed through a 6-speed automated manual gearbox, which you can expect to feel somewhat slow and clunky until you learn to lift off between ratio changes. There's an 'Eco' mode to improve frugality, but you might not want to engage it too often because it restricts throttle response and even in its normal drive setting, this car is no ball of fire.

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