Suzuki S-Cross

• Report 1: We welcome the Suzuki S-Cross to our long term fleet
• Report 2: Less time in the lay-by than expected…

Report 1: We welcome the Suzuki S-Cross to our long term fleet

We'll be living with the latest mild hybrid version of the Suzuki S-Cross for the next six months. So what are our first impressions?

Date: 11 September 2025 | Current mileage: 1153 | Claimed economy: 49.5mpg | Actual economy: 45.5mpg

Well this’ll be interesting: a larger, more spacious and slightly more standard equipment-heavy all-wheel drive SUV than Suzuki’s Vitara, which bounds into the fray in a market every bit as crowded as that of its smaller sibling, leaving the S-Cross jostling for position - and your attention - with the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Kuga, Peugeot 3008, Seat Ateca, VW Tiguan and Mazda CX-5.

Suzuki says that, after its latest session with the design department, the S-Cross ‘now looks right’. Where the front end is concerned it’s hard to disagree with those chunky, gently pugnacious looks. But in profile the car is a somewhat less enthralling proposition – especially on unfashionably small 17-inch wheels that at least offer the promise of less gristle in the blancmange when it comes to ride quality. 

And for me, despite the full width light bar which is becoming a ubiquitous hallmark of the SUV world, the back end just doesn’t bring enough heft to the car, leaving it looking more teetering than properly planted. The whole, then, though dramatically different from its predecessor, is several Yorkie bars short of emulating the clean, rugged good looks of the latest Vitara.

On board, a more modern infotainment system and a gentle soft-touch upgrade to the dashboard materials aside, the interior is pretty much as we left it at birth in 2013. For many, that will be a Good Thing – proper switchgear for air-con et al, even if it does leave the interior looking somewhat behind the curve compared to many rivals.

Suzuki has developed a completely new infotainment system for the latest S-Cross. It’s delivered via a seven-inch touchscreen in the lesser of two available trim levels – Motion, and a nine-inch screen in posher Ultra trim. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are fitted as standard across the board, but there is no option of wireless charging, so you’ll probably have to plug your phone in anyway on longer journeys. Alas, charging points are scarce, with just on USB-A port and a 12V port in the cabin.

It may look a tad drab inside the S-Cross, but the ergonomics can’t be faulted; at least not from the driver’s perspective. The front passenger seat has no height adjustment, and the elder hooligan complains that his hair is constantly assaulted by the rolling screen under the huge sunroof. That aside, the front seats are comfortable and, because Suzuki has managed to get it just right, the lack of lumbar support adjustment isn’t an issue. As to the entirely modest degree of lateral support, I’ll report back on that…

There’s plenty of legroom for adults in the back seats, but once again that panoramic sunroof - standard with Ultra grade – makes headroom somewhat tight. The split-folding backrest reclines through two positions, but that doesn’t really compensate for the absence of air vents or USB ports astern. The 430 litre loadspace is adequate and its movable floor useful, but there are no little touches like emergency slop curry hooks or partitioning dividers.

As to versions: there are just two powertrain choices for the S-Cross; a 129PS 1.4 litre turbocharged mild hybrid engine with a six-speed manual gearbox and a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, and a 115PS, 1.5 litre full hybrid with automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.

Neither engine is especially sprightly on paper, the mild hybrid reaching 62mph from a standstill in 10.2 seconds, the full hybrid an even more relaxed 12.7. Top speed for the former is 121mph, the latter just 108. WLTP fuel consumption and emissions figures are 49.5mpg and 131g/km for the mild hybrid engine, and 55.3mpg and 116 g/km for the full hybrid.

Then there are two trim levels – Motion and Ultra. Motion has most of what you need, but an extra five grand affords you Ultra, which adds four-wheel drive, a 360 degree camera, part leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof and a larger 9-inch touchscreen with sat nav.

However, the full hybrid is only available in Motion trim, and if you want all-wheel drive, it must be with Ultra spec’. So the four model line comprises: 1.4 mild hybrid, front-wheel drive Motion, from £23,999; 1.4 mild hybrid, front-wheel drive Ultra, from £26,499; 1.4 mild hybrid, all-wheel drive Ultra, from £28,299; and 1.5 full hybrid front-wheel drive Motion, from £25,749.

And if all of that seems something of a bargain it’s because, at the time of writing, Suzuki is offering £4050 off every model in the range.

We’ll be living with the 1.4 mild hybrid, all-wheel drive for the next few months, with the missus, two hooligans and the evil-smelling dog guaranteed to be adding their sixpence-worth of feedback on life with the car. Initial impressions? No nonsense, frill-free family motoring that’s surprisingly good fun to drive, and a speed limit warning bong that’s almost impossible to turn off. Stand by to stand by…

Report 2: Less time in the lay-by than expected…

Turning off the speed limit warning in our Suzuki S-Cross is proving a far more long-winded process than it shoud be...

Date: 6 October 2025 | Current mileage: 1897 | Claimed economy: 49.5mpg | Actual economy: 43.2mpg

Just how much time you spend in a lay-by tailoring the Suzuki’s infotainment system and safety features to your needs really depends on how much you’re prepared to put up with. Pairing the phone, for instance, is every bit as much of a doddle as we’ve come to expect from today’s cars, though the Suzuki S-Cross does display a worrying tendency to forget that you’ve actually done it, and randomly require that you repeat the process.

I don’t tend to use Apple CarPlay because it likes to take over once activated, and I have no beef with the technology - such as navigation – provided by the car’s infotainment system.

What I do have a major beef with, however, is the fabulous, technicolour faff involved with switching off the speed limit warning bonger. Killing the lane-keeping nanny is easy - simply press and hold a button on the dash until your fingertip goes numb and the little logo turns orange.

But the speed limit warning is buried in a litany of unintelligible acronyms disguised as a menu on the information screen between the deliciously analogue speedometer and rev counter. Scrolling through said menu involves twisting and then pressing a prong that sticks out of the instrument binnacle like the pre-
chewed cap of a cheap biro. The sort of thing we used to use to reset the trip odometer in our Austin 1100s.

Thing is, when you twist it it doesn’t feel as if it’s rotating at all and when you press it there’s a similar lack of positive action. It makes the whole exercise feel something of a lottery, with an equally slender chance of winning. This one random knob rather ruins the pleasure of being confronted with a dashboard which sports a proper array of old fashioned knobs and knockers, all of which simply do what it says on the tin.

Happily (because I really can’t be arsed to mulch about trying to shut it off), the speed limit warning bonger only just manages to do what it says on the tin. You can set the volume so low (more faff but only the once) that - the S-Cross specialising in that old Japanese stalwart, thinsulation – it’s quickly overcome almost entirely by wind noise as speeds build.

Setting up the climate control is a blissfully switch and button-oriented experience. And while that does leave the radio and sat nav entirely reliant on screen stabbing, the thoughtful - nee accidental? – placement of a little blank panel between the air vents under the screen makes an ideal resting place for a couple of other digits to stabilise your index finger on the move, giving you a better than even chance of actually hitting what you aim for…