Suzuki S-Cross Review 2024

The Suzuki S-Cross is a no-nonsense family SUV that's keenly priced, generously equipped and offered with a gutsy mild-hybrid petrol engine and four-wheel drive. Is it worth considering as a cut-price rival to the Nissan Qashqai? Check out our 2022 Suzuki S-Cross review to find out.  

The Suzuki range is an interesting but odd one in 2022. On the one hand you have the genuinely innovative Ignis and the loveable, popular Jimny, but at the other end of the scale there's the half-hearted rebadged Toyotas, the Swace and Across. 

So where does the Suzuki S-Cross fit in? Well, thankfully it isn't just a Toyota with a different badge on the boot, it's a bespoke family SUV from the Japanese brand that's moved into a new generation. 

At least, that's what we're told. In reality the new S-Cross is curiously identical in dimensions and profile to the old model, badged SX4 S-Cross. It's probably better to think of this as a heavy facelift of a car that, under the skin, is now the best part of a decade old. It's fresher-looking, sure, but we wouldn't call it attractive...

That's a bit of a worry when you've got a well-stocked arsenal of newer SUV rivals to choose from. There's the Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Grandland, for example, along with the Skoda Karoq, Volkswagen T-Roc and Toyota C-HR. 

So why plump for the Suzuki? Well, check out the price. Yes, £25k hardly makes it a Dacia Duster, but for that you get a generous list of standard kit and a decently powerful engine with a mild-hybrid system. Even the fully-loaded model, which also gets four-wheel drive, is under £30k. 

Granted, there are some compromises to be made. Despite a suite of new convenience and safety technology on-board the cabin does look pretty drab and dated, with plenty of hard black plastic, old-tech displays and even a manual handbrake, which isn't very 2022. 

What's more, the engine is quite noisy while getting up to speed, and that raucous din is replaced by a fair bit of wind and road noise on the motorway. The handling isn't much to write home about, either. 

Still, there's a nice honesty about it, with a simple and button-heavy interior layout, plus a pretty smooth ride, especially compared to high-spec rivals with big wheels. What's more, Suzuki has a strong reputation for reliability, and with a kerbweight a good 200kg less than most rivals it's pretty good on fuel. The four-wheel drive model should be pretty capable in the rough, too. 

Overall, while there are certainly more polished and refined alternatives out there, there's some straightforward appeal to the humble Suzuki S-Cross. 

Looking for the previous generation? You'll want our Suzuki SX4 S-Cross (2013-2021) review. 

Suzuki says the new S-Cross is more practical than its predecessor, although its external dimensions have remained the same. That means it's smaller than many of its competitors, while the Suzuki S-Cross's boot capacity is 430 litres. There's a false boot floor, too, should you need to hide away any possessions.

That boot capacity is behind that of larger rivals, but competitive with the Volkswagen T-Roc and better than a Toyota C-HR. You also get a pair of deep cubbies either side of the adjustable boot floor, plus a removable luggage cover and some tie-down hooks. Folding the seats its done easily via buttons on the seat backs, leaving a pretty flat floor. 

Those back seats aren't especially clever, with no sliding function and a 60/40 split, but the backrests do recline. Once you're there space is acceptable rather than impressive - headroom is quite limited and the panoramic roof on top-spec trim means six-plus footers will struggle to get comfortable. Legroom and shoulder room are decent enough, but it's far from the most accommodating family SUV.

There's less to complain about in the front, with decent headroom even with that sunroof and a comfortable driving position. Storage is good, too, with big door pockets, two cupholders and storage under the centre armrest. 

The Suzuki S-Cross's dimensions make it 4,300mm long, 1,785mm wide and 1593mm tall. Funnily enough that's precisely the same length and width as the old car, but Suzuki has added some roof rails to make it taller. All-new, eh?  

This isn't a Suzuki strength, and the S-Cross is no different. You do get part-leather trim on Ultra spec and some stitched faux leather on the dash, but much of the rest of the cabin is hard, shiny and scratchy plastic, bar the odd low-rent silver painted plastic bit. 

What we will say in its favour is that nothing feels horrendously flimsy and the S-Cross seems a bit more built to last than, say, a Dacia Duster. But that's hardly singing its praises. 

There are two infotainment offerings in the Suzuki S-Cross. The entry-level Motion model gets a 7-inch touchscreen with DAB radio and Bluetooth, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity to mirror your smartphone's screen and apps. 

Upgrading to Ultra trim gets you a bigger 9-inch screen that also adds built-in sat-nav. We've only tried the latter, which is bright and clear enough but is quite slow to respond to inputs. We'd like some physical shortcut buttons rather than the touch sensitive ones, too. 

Still, the sat-nav actually works quite well, and on Ultra trim with the 360-degree camera fitted you get a handy preview swivel around the car on start-up, letting you spot your pesky neighbour's cat before you drive over it.

Keep it simple, stupid: with two trim levels and one engine options, choosing your Suzuki S-Cross isn't a drawn-out affair. 

At £24,999 the entry-level Motion trim is at least £1,000 cheaper than a basic Qashqai, and a good couple of grand cheaper than some other alternatives. That might not sound like much, but the cheapest Qashqai doesn't have anything like the same kit list as the S-Cross Motion. 

At £29,799 the S-Cross Ultra might seem like a big jump up, but as well as the extra equipment you also get four-wheel drive as standard.

Both Suzuki S-Cross models are available with a choice of manual or automatic gearbox, with the latter costing an extra £1350 over the manual. The only other option available is metallic paint, which'll cost £550.

It's a good job that the sole engine choice is a decently efficient one. You can thank the low kerbweight of the Suzuki S-Cross, which is comparable with smaller family hatchbacks. 

Fitted with the six-speed manual gearbox and front-wheel drive you'll get an impressive 53.2mpg combined on the WLTP cycle from the 1.4-litre Boosterjet unit. The standard 48-volt mild-hybrid system probably makes up a few miles-per-gallon of that figure. 

Opting for four-wheel drive reduces the combined figure to 47.8mpg. That again reduces to 46.3mpg for the automatic, but those figures are better than a considerable number of similar rivals. 

Insurance groups are expected to be low as they are with other Suzukis, while the mild-hybrid assistance qualifies you for a £10 discount on the standard-rate VED (road tax). 

The Suzuki S-Cross is no heavier than a typical family hatchback, and isn't as tall as many SUVs. That means it feels pretty nimble, especially around town where its light steering and compact dimensions make it a doddle to zip through traffic. Visibility is good all-round, too.

The suspension is softly tuned, which combined with a modest wheel size means potholes and speed bumps are shrugged off nicely. It doesn't deal as well with sharp impacts at higher speed, which jolt through the body a bit, while it bobs around a bit on undulating roads. 

Ultimately the handling lacks the kind of composure you see in the Skoda Karoq, the Nissan Qashqai and even the Toyota C-HR. It pitches and rolls quite a bit if you do push it, and the steering lacks a sense of connection.

Our four-wheel drive test car did have enough grip when pushed, however. Plus, it's plenty stable enough on the motorway. The biggest problem at those sort of speeds is the amount of wind and road noise that permeates the cabin at those speeds. 

Your engine choice is limited to, well, one. There's no diesels or fancy plug-in hybrids here, just Suzuki's well-proven 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with 48-volt mild-hybrid system bolted to it. 

With 130PS and a peppy 235Nm of torque allied to that light weight, the Suzuki S-Cross is a peppy performer. 0-62mph is claimed to come up in 9.5 seconds, but it feels a bit quicker than that, with a punchy mid-range.

Unfortunately our test car was allied to the six-speed automatic gearbox - a six-speed manual is available and would be our choice. The automatic's changes aren't the smoothest, while it kicks down too easily at higher speeds and spoils the refinement. 

Ah yes, the refinement. That this engine has been around for some years is pretty evident when you floor the throttle. There's a level of raucous noise and vibration that you just don't get in similar SUV rivals. Better to keep to a more modest pace, where it's less intrusive. 

While two thirds of buyers are expected to stick to the front-wheel-drive model, Suzuki's 4x4s do have a reputation for being more capable in challenging conditions than mainstream competitors.

The Suzuki S-Cross Ultra's Allgrip four-wheel drive system gives the driver the ability to select between four different modes: auto, sport, snow and lock. The latter will lock the differential and help the driver extract the car from snow, mud or sand.

Euro NCAP hasn't crash tested this generation of Suzuki S-Cross, but the previous generation model (which we suspect shares a very similar structure to this car) scored the maximum five stars for safety. 

The sheer amount of standard safety kit is promising. As well as a suite of airbags and automatic emergency braking, you get traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance. Many rivals don't offer all that until you climb up the trim levels.  

The Suzuki S-Cross's unbraked towing capacity is 1200kg, which is only really enough for a rather small caravan or trailer. 

Suzuki S-Cross is offered in just two trim levels: Motion and Ultra.

The entry-level Suzuki S-Cross Motion comes equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated front seats, front/rear parking sensors and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Standard driver-assist features include Traffic Sign Recognition, Blind Spot Monitor and Adaptive Cruise Control with speed limiter.

The top-spec Suzuki S-Cross Ultra adds 17-inch polished alloy wheels, leather seats, navigation, a panoramic sliding sunroof and a 360-degree camera. Significantly, the S-Cross Ultra also comes with four-wheel drive as standard.