Maruti Suzuki showcased its updated petrol-only S-Cross BS6 crossover at Auto Expo 2020
Maruti Suzuki has chosen the petrol way going forward by ditching diesel variants across its product portfolio. Products which were previously available only in diesel formats (such as the Brezza and S-Cross) come only in petrol avatars after being updated to BS6 emission standards. While Maruti Suzuki has already launched the BS6 Vitara Brezza at a starting price of Rs 7.34 lakh ex-showroom, the S-Cross petrol BS6 has been added on its official website.
Maruti Suzuki showcased the petrol-only BS6 S-Cross crossover at Auto Expo 2020 alongside its entire range of BS6 products. Compared to other models, the company was a bit held back in updating its flagship product. In fact, owing to this delay, Maruti Suzuki could not sell even a single S-Cross unit in February 2020 despite being the most successful brand in India.
Meanwhile, the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown that started around mid-March has created immense losses in India’s automotive industry. Car sales in March 2020 were the lowest in recent history and automakers faced declines in the range of 40% to even 95% compared to the same month, a year before. Maruti Suzuki witnessed a sales drop of 47.43%.
The new BS6-compliant Maruti S-Cross employs a 1.5-litre K-Series four-cylinder petrol motor that makes 104bhp and 138Nm of torque. This comes mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed TC automatic transmission. The front-wheel-drive powertrain also boasts of SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) mild-hybrid technology which promises good fuel economy without compromising on performance.
It replaces the proven BS4-compliant 1.3-litre DDiS motor that made roughly 89bhp and 200Nm of torque while coupled to a 5-speed manual. The power plant was sourced from FCA Group. The very last unit of the 1.3 SDE MJD (Small Diesel Engine – Multi-Jet Direct Injection) rolled out from FCA’s Ranjangaon (Pune) manufacturing facility on 23 January 2020 — know more details of the iconic diesel mill.
The Maruti S-Cross initially came with a strong 1.6-litre diesel motor as well. It churned out 118bhp and 320Nm of torque with a 6-speed manual gearbox. However, since the demand was relatively poor (in Maruti Suzuki standards), it was discontinued in the last BS4 version. Maruti Suzuki is apparently working on BS6-compliant diesel power plants and plans to introduce the same sometime next year.
Maruti Suzuki’s flagship crossover does not have a direct rival but several alternatives in segments above and below. This includes the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Kicks, Renault Captur, Hyundai Creta and even the Kia Seltos.