Maruti Suzuki launches facelifted S-Cross at Rs 849,000

Four days after it revealed the new version of the S-Cross hatchback, Maruti Suzuki India today launched the facelifted avatar at a starting price of Rs 849,000 going up to Rs 11.29 lakh.

The four variants (Sigma: Rs 849,000, Delta: Rs 939,000, Zeta: Rs 998,000 and Alpha: Rs 11.29 lakh) are aimed at reviving the fortunes of the premium crossover in the domestic market.

The Maruti S-Cross rivals the likes of the Honda BR-V, Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster and Nissan’s Terrano in the Indian market. 

Launching the facelifted S-Cross, Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki said, "The S-Cross, in its newest form, is an important milestone in our journey of transformation. The all-new S-Cross comes with an all new fascia that is bold and aggressive. By equipping DDiS200 with Smart Hybrid, we have been able to bring down emissions in the all-new S-Cross to as low as 105.5 gm/km. We are confident that S-Cross will strengthen Maruti Suzuki’s position in the premium urban segment.”

Launched in July 2015, the S-Cross has sold a total of 53,590 units till end-August 2017, with the best monthly sales coming in August 2015 when 4,602 units were sold. Importantly, the S-Cross was the first model to be retailed from Maruti Suzuki’s premium Nexa retail channel, which now also sells the Baleno hatchback and the Ciaz sedan.

Now, Maruti, which is riding a huge wave of consumer demand for some of its models like the Baleno and the Vitara Brezza, aims to give flagging sales of the S-Cross brand and the Nexa flagship a boost by launching a facelifted version that comes clad with a new face, a host of tweaks and, for a first time, a mild-hybrid system. While bookings have opened for this model, official prices will be announced in a couple of days, most likely on Dassera (September 30)

With the updated S-Cross, Maruti aims to resolve some of the weak areas of the outgoing model, styling being one of them. At the front, the S-Cross facelift gets a revised grille, which now bears multiple vertical chrome slats along with a chunky chrome surround. The changes also include a redesigned front bumper, as well as the hood, which now gives a butch appeal to the S-Cross, flaunting two muscular lines atop. 

Moving away from the erstwhile bi-xenon setup, the S-Cross, in its Alpha trim, now also gets a much more contemporary and efficient LED setup for the projector headlamps, while LED DRLs continue to be offered as integrated units inside the lamps. The rear, too, sees the inclusion of LED elements into the tail-lamp cluster. 

The refreshes to the side see the replacement of the regular alloys with 16-inch machined rims, which look quite smart; and the tyres have now been upsized to boast a 215 section patch, a 10mm increment from the 205/60 ones doing duty earlier. 

The wider set of rubber comes supplied by JK Tyre, which has developed the new 'UX Royale' series specifically for the S-Cross. The difference in ride, handling and road noise is quite apparent, with the new tyres improving on all fronts, along with sporting an aesthetically better tread pattern as well.

On the inside, the updated 7-inch touch screen SmartPlay infotainment system now gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality, and also gets a piano black finishing around the screen. The garnishes inside the cabin have also now moved to get a subtle tone of dull grey, from the earlier plain brushed aluminium finishing.

Only a 1.3 diesel and with mild hybrid tech
With the facelifted model, Maruti has decided to totally discontinue the 1.6-litre diesel engine option. The S-Cross now just sticks with the ubiquitous 1.3-litre diesel motor, which also powers other cars from the company's stable. This engine develops 90bhp of power and 200Nm of peak torque. The crossover also now comes equipped with the company's Smart Hybrid mild hybrid system, offering regenerative braking and automatic start-stop features.

“We do expect the new S-Cross to add volume to our flagship product of the Nexa chain. The earlier version was selling around 2,000-2,500 units a month and with the new one, we expect to do more than that," said RS Kalsi, senior executive director (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India, as per PTI.

It is understood that Maruti and its suppliers have invested Rs 100 crore in development of the upgraded version of the S-Cross.