Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Discontinued | End Of An Era!

Maruti Suzuki finally pulled the plug on the S-Cross in the Indian market. The S-Cross was on sale in India for 7 years and Maruti sold over 1,60,000 units of this crossover. While this is not a huge number compared to others, the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross was still a special car. Here’s a tribute to the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross now that it has been discontinued!

• Maruti Suzuki S-Cross – The Maruti with the most engines

Over a period of 7 years, the S-Cross came with 4 different powertrains. It started off with the iconic 1.6L diesel (118HP, 320nm) manual that oozed torque and was considered one of the punchiest Maruti cars in India. This was replaced by a 1.3L diesel (89HP, 200nm) 2 years later in 2017 which was supported with a mild hybrid system. Throughout the time, the 1.5L petrol (103HP, 138nm) has been consistent and was given an automatic gearbox in 2020. Overall, in 7 years of its life, the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross had a 1.6L diesel manual, a 1.3L diesel manual, a 1.5L petrol manual, and a 1.5L petrol automatic.

• Why it didn’t sell that well?

1,60,000 units is not a huge number for a Maruti car. Especially over a period of seven years. The S-Cross definitely didn’t sell as well as other Maruti cars, and this wasn’t because of the pricing. The diesel engine never got an automatic counterpart and this was probably the reason a lot of buyers didn’t consider it. At the time this car was on sale, most buyers in this price range preferred a diesel car, and the 1.6L engine on the S-Cross was very well appreciated. Moreover, Maruti did not actively work on updating the S-Cross when they should have. 2019 would have been the right time for Maruti to give this car a proper upgrade. Right when the new Creta and the Seltos were launched in India. 

• Why was this car iconic?

Well, the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross was an iconic launch because of two reasons. It was the flagship product from Maruti and it was the most premium Maruti India had ever seen. Secondly, the S-Cross was the car with which the NEXA brand was introduced. Today, NEXA exclusively sells premium Maruti cars in India through a separate dealer network. Some of the cars sold via NEXA dealers are Ciaz, Baleno, Ignis, and the XL6.

• The global S-Cross

  Globally, the Suzuki S-Cross has been updated and is already on sale. The new S-Cross gets a completely new look. With this one, Suzuki had tried to make the car look more up-to-date and they have also added multiple features. Some of the new tech on the global S-Cross includes a panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera, ADAS features for added safety, and a heads-up display as well. It also gets new connected car tech, dual-zone climate control, and heated front seats.

• Is it coming back to India?

As of now, there’s no sight of the S-Cross making it back to Indian roads. Globally, the facelifted S-Cross has already replaced the existing model. In India, Maruti plans on replacing the S-Cross with the new Grand Vitara that was recently launched in India. It gets the same set of features that the global Maruti Suzuki S-Cross gets apart from a few ADAS features. The Grand Vitara is based on the same platform as that of the global S-Cross and it also gets the same hybrid engine. If the S-Cross does come back to India, it will be a very tough challenge for Maruti to make sure the pricing is right. They will have to ensure that it doesn’t really interfere much with the Vitara. The Creta, Seltos, Taigun, Kushaq, and Astor will be a direct competition for this crossover. 

Considering that the Vitara brand is pretty strong in India because of the previous Vitara Brezza, Maruti will most likely not bring the S-Cross to India. however, it would be a very nice addition to the otherwise monotonous compact SUV segment. Moreover, with the updated tech and ADAS features, the S-Cross would be too expensive to be sold in India for this particular segment. 

Do you think that the S-Cross should come back to India? Let us know in the comments below!