Suzuki S-Cross review

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It’s refreshingly simple in nearly every aspect, but does that stand in the way of its competitiveness?

In a world where cars are becoming more complicated and tech-laden, the Suzuki S-Cross is something of a novelty.

Its spec sheet has the option of a manual gearbox, its engine range isn't too dissimilar to that of the previous generation and the infotainment touchscreen is only up to 9.0in in size.

Each of these accolades, or lack thereof, flies in the face of the standard given by conventional rivals such as the spacious Ford Puma, boldly styled Kia Sportage, trendy Volkswagen T-Cross and space-age Peugeot 3008 - all of which come with more technology than many owners know what to do with.

Make no mistake, the S-Cross is a car that is approaching the autumn of its production run and will be superseded by an electric successor in the coming years (namely the eVX), but does its attitude to simplicity put it on the back foot in the here and now? Let's find out.

The Suzuki S-Cross range at a glance

The Suzuki S-Cross range opens with the mild-hybrid Motion model, which comes equipped with adaptive cruise control, a 7.0in touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and heated seats. It draws its reserves from a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine and a 48V integrated starter-generator (ISG), or you can have it with a full-hybrid powertrain for a couple of grand more. This combines a 1.5-litre normally aspirated petrol four with a 140V battery and six-speed automated manual transmission.

The only other model is the Ultra, which adds a four-wheel drive mode, a 9.0in touchscreen, a 360deg parking camera, sat-nav and a panoramic sunroof.

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All cars get 17in alloy wheels.

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DESIGN & STYLING

Suzuki S cross rear corner

The bluff front end with square LED headlights make this generation of S-Cross look far more confident and bold than the previous ones. The rear is all but unrecognisable from the cars of yore, too, incorporating an oh-so-fashionable light bar. Suzuki has even gone to the trouble of restyling the glasshouse over the previous model, with a different shape to the rear quarter windows. It's all change on the outside, then, but the interior has sadly had a lot less attention lavished on it, as we will come to.

Under the skin, every S-Cross is electrified. You can have a mild hybrid, which uses a 48V electrical system, so the ISG can add some meaningful power to the crankshaft under initial acceleration, unlike the cheaper 12V systems found in cars like the Nissan Qashqai. 

The mild hybrid produces 127bhp and 173lb ft, with the ISG contributing up to 13bhp and 39lb ft. But instead of providing additional power at higher revs, it does so at lower revs, while the petrol engine is still building power, to make the delivery feel more immediate. The result is a top speed of 121mph and a 0-62mph time of 9.5sec.

The full hybrid, meanwhile, produces 116bhp and 101lb ft for a top speed of 108mph and 0-62mph time of 12.7sec.

The mild hybrid is available with a six-speed manual gearbox, while the full hybrid gets a six-speed automated manual, both of which we will come to.

Suzuki is also fairly unconventional in that it offers four-wheel drive on all of its cars with the exception of the Swace (which is a rebadged Toyota Corolla Touring Sports). Yes, even the titchy Suzuki Swift and Ignis can be had with four driven wheels. In larger cars like the S-Cross, four-wheel drive is more common, but it’s rarely available on the cheaper and lower-powered models.

INTERIOR

7 Suzuki S Cross 2022 road test review cabin

The S-Cross may externally look dramatically different from the model it replaced, but save for the more modern infotainment system and a little bit of rubberised material on the dashboard, the interior looks largely as it did in 2013.

Back then, we described it as “cheap and cheerful but convenient and credible too”. About 75% of that still applies. It still feels cheap – very much so – and it’s still convenient and credible, but in the context of other cars available in the here and now, it’s about as cheerful as a funeral. A number of years ago, that may have been the norm outside the premium manufacturers, but today even at the cheaper end of the market, Dacia shows that it’s possible to delight with modern design and the odd interesting material texture or colour without compromising usability or inflating the price.

It all looks very drab inside the S-Cross, but at least the ergonomics are sound. The seats are decent enough. You sit high, with a commanding driving position that will be comfortable for most people thanks to plenty of adjustment in the steering column and seat. There's no adjustable lumbar support, but that didn’t pose an issue for most testers even on long drives.

Adults on the back seat will have reasonable leg room, as the S-Cross is slightly more generously spacious here than even the Qashqai, but head room is tight with the panoramic sunroof that comes as standard with Ultra trim. The backrest is adjustable, but the difference is so slight that it’s barely apparent in the photos.

The rear-seat environment of the S-Cross also feels very barren. There are no ventilation openings and no USB ports, which is quite a major omission in a family car. The boot is also adequate but no more. It’s smaller than the Qashqai’s and, other than a movable boot floor and a 12V power port, has no special features like hooks or dividers.

The lane-keeping assistance doesn’t always seem to work on country roads, especially those with faint white lines, but it doesn’t intervene unnecessarily. Meanwhile, on the motorway, it's very competent at centering the car. The adaptive cruise control works reasonably well, too. And if none of these systems is to your liking, they can be easily neutered using physical buttons on or to the right of the steering wheel.

Suzuki S-Cross infotainment system

Suzuki developed a completely new infotainment system for this S-Cross, but it’s still far from brilliant, being devoid of features, fast response times and graphical quality. 

However, the built-in functions are actually quite logical to operate, and the navigation is better than on some much more expensive cars, with clear directions and an easy way to select alternative routes.

And as you would expect in any modern car, there is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and both are wireless as standard. Frustratingly, there is no option of a wireless charger, so you will still have to plug in your phone to stop it from dying on a longer journey. Even wired charging ports are less than abundant, with just one USB-A port and one 12V port in the cabin.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Suzuki S cross front three quarter

One area where the S-Cross surprises in a positive sense is the performance. With just 127bhp and an official 0-62 time of 10.2sec, the mild hybrid sounds, frankly, slow. However, we timed one at 9.6sec from rest to 62mph.

That’s still hardly electrifying, but it generally feels more than adequate, and it’s the result of a kerb weight of only 1.3 tonnes and electrical assistance that lends useful muscle in the low range.

Up to fourth gear, the S-Cross is also quicker in-gear than the 1.6-litre turbo petrol Nissan Qashqai that we tested in 2021, which had considerably more power, at 156bhp, but only a 12V mild-hybrid system.

That’s reflected in our subjective impressions of an engine that’s always willing and torquey. It doesn’t sound particularly happy to be revved out, becoming quite coarse at high revs, but in normal situations it was passably refined.

We spent most of our time with the manual gearbox, and the three-pedal version is the one we would recommend for its light but precise and positive action: it truly is an unexpected delight. The clutch feels slightly spongy with a short travel but is easy to use, and the pedals are perfectly set up for heel-and-toe rev-matching.

The full hybrid is your only option if you want an automatic gearbox. It uses an automated manual system that Suzuki refers to as Auto Gear Shifter (AGS), and it’s a rotter. It’s extremely jerky when left to its own devices, slamming gears home so hard that you're left lolling around in your seat. The system is exasperated by the powertrain’s lack of torque, as the lack of rotating power means it often needs to drop a gear or two to make meaningful progress.

You can smooth it out by locking it into manual mode and using the paddles behind the steering wheel, as well as lifting off the throttle between changes, but that does almost defeat the point of an auto.

The brakes are good enough for most situations that will be asked of them, with pedal progression in normal driving that is good enough to inspire confidence.

RIDE & HANDLING

Suzuki S cross rear

Few people will buy a family-friendly, value-segment crossover for its handling prowess, yet a lot of rivals come with a remarkably stiff suspension set-up, ending up with neither convincing ride comfort nor particularly engaging handling. The S-Cross bucks that trend with surprisingly supple suspension.

This means that the S-Cross rides extremely well compared to its immediate rivals at this price point. As well as soft springs, all S-Crosses come on fairly small (17in) wheels. At low speeds, some sharp road imperfections can be felt, but once you pick up the pace, the S-Cross glides along very serenely.

Sadly, handling is nothing to write home about. Roadholding is adequate at best and the steering can be quite light and mute. When you row the car along a bit harder, the steering does weight up slightly, but there’s no hidden dynamic allure to be found here.

As expected with the soft suspension, there's plenty of body roll for a modern car, but that does allow the chassis to remain largely unperturbed by bumpy roads. Ultimately, it’s reasonably well damped and doesn’t get floaty, so it’s no real cause for complaint.

One of the S-Cross’s distinguishing features is its Allgrip four-wheel drive system. Suzuki is proud of the fact that it offers 4WD in combination with both manual and automatic gearboxes. Indeed, 4WD is a rarity among similarly priced cars and is usually available only with one transmission option.

Allgrip, while useful, won’t be a necessity for most people. But if you live in an area that gets a decent amount of snow in the winter or if you plan light off-roading on unsealed tracks or grass, it’s good that Suzuki is offering you a relatively affordable 4WD option.

On the road, you would be hard-pressed to feel the system working. This is still a predominantly front-driven car and doesn’t have the power to encounter traction issues on normal asphalt. There is a selector button on the centre console to switch between Sport and Automatic 4x4 modes, or to lock it in 4WD, but the difference between Auto and Sport is hard to detect.

There are some areas of the S-Cross's drivability that are less successful, and one of those comes with regard to the amount of road noise it produces. It’s particularly apparent on the motorway. It’s certainly not engine noise that’s the issue here: the S-Cross is fairly long-geared and cruises at 2300rpm at 70mph in top gear, but there is considerable road noise while it does so and a little bit more wind noise than in more expensive competitors.

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MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Suzuki S cross lead

The S-Cross may fall short of many rivals with its handling and interior quality, but then it’s also a good deal cheaper than most. The model range is exceedingly simple. There are two engines, and you choose between two trim levels, Motion and Ultra. Other than fancier paint and an automatic gearbox, there are no separate options.

At around £27,000, Motion has most of what you might need. For around £5000 extra, Ultra adds four-wheel drive, a 360deg camera, part-leather seats, a panoramic sunroof and a 9.0in touchscreen with sat-nav.

To get a similar level of equipment to Motion trim on the Qashqai, you have to go for one of the top specs, which cost more than £34,000. 

Suzuki also claims its big strength is its dealer network, the trust its customers have in the brand and the cars’ reliability. For a brand that is confident in its cars’ dependability, you might expect more than a three-year warranty, but it did place joint third in both the latest What Car? Reliability Survey and the Institute of Customer Service’s Satisfaction index. In other words, there’s every chance that an S-Cross will be painless to own.

It should also be pretty cheap to run. Suzuki claims some rather ambitious fuel consumption figures: 53.2mpg for a manual front-wheel-drive car or 47.8mpg for an Allgrip car. Those sound unrealistic in the real world, but during mixed driving, we tested a 1.4-litre Allgrip car and actually averaged 49.1mpg. An economy run yielded over 50mpg and even when thrashing it for the acceleration figures, it refused to return less than 27mpg.

VERDICT

Suzuki S cross verdict

The S-Cross is simple in terms of its line-up and powertrains, but it’s not the best family-sized crossover you can buy. In fact, it lags behind rivals in most of the ways that will give you a good first impression of a car.

The interior is conspicuously cheap and antiquated and it doesn’t offer much in the way of connectivity, the car isn't particularly engaging to drive and even the space on offer is worth only qualified praise.

However, when you live with the car for a while, you start to see why people are very satisfied with Suzuki ownership and keep coming back to the brand. Everything you need is provided, and that provision even extends to a comfortable and unpretentious ride, as well as economical powertrains that still make it feel up to date. The S-Cross manages to combine relatively peppy performance and good drivability with very creditable economy and a low purchase price, so it covers the basics rather well.

It’s easy to sniff at the S-Cross. It has little to offer either the car enthusiast (other than easy heel-and-toe gearchanges) or the aspirational car buyer and it doesn’t offer as much in the way of interior technology or refinement as its key rivals from Nissan or Kia. But that leaves a fair few people who are after functional, dependable, keenly priced transport that has all the safety features you might expect from a modern car - even today. And the S-Cross aces that brief.

Murray Scullion

Murray Scullion
Title: Digital editor

Murray has been a journalist for more than a decade. During that time he’s written for magazines, newspapers and websites, but he now finds himself as Autocar’s digital editor.

He leads the output of the website and contributes to all other digital aspects, including the social media channels, podcasts and videos. During his time he has reviewed cars ranging from £50 - £500,000, including Austin Allegros and Ferrari 812 Superfasts. He has also interviewed F1 megastars, knows his PCPs from his HPs and has written, researched and experimented with behavioural surplus and driverless technology.

Murray graduated from the University of Derby with a BA in Journalism in 2014 and has previously written for Classic Car Weekly, Modern Classics Magazine, buyacar.co.uk, parkers.co.uk and CAR Magazine, as well as carmagazine.co.uk.

Jonathan Bryce

Jonathan Bryce
Title: Social Media Executive

Jonathan is Autocar's social media executive. He has held this position since December 2024, having previously studied at the University of Glasgow before moving to London to become an editorial apprentice and pursue a career in motoring journalism. 

His role at work involves running all of Autocar's social media channels, including X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn and WhatsApp. 

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As a road tester, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews and comparison tests, while also managing the magazine’s Drives section. Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s in-depth instrumented road tests.

He loves cars that are fun and usable on the road – whether piston-powered or electric – or just cars that are very fit for purpose. When not in test cars, he drives an R53-generation Mini Cooper S.