ON THE ROAD: SOMETIMES you come across a car you just don’t want to give back. It doesn’t always follow that it’s fast, flashy and expensive – sometimes it can be a little more ordinary.
That was the case with the S-Cross. It’s not a design classic, it’s not going to have your pulse racing, but, for me, it provided everything I needed.
Suzuki’s first crossover – available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive – it is distinctive enough to stand out in the car park or on the school run.
But it’s not show and no go – we went out on the snow-covered North York Moors in our 4WD test car and found its 1.6 litre diesel engine was more than up to the job. Nought to 62mph comes up in 13 seconds and its top speed is 108mph.
It’s a little loud under acceleration, admittedly, but I wasn’t overly perturbed and it tackled the hills and bends and unpredictable movement of wandering sheep with ease.
ON THE INSIDE: OK, you’re not paying top dollar for the S-Cross so there are compromises to be made with the interior.
There’s a lot of plastic, albeit broken up with silver trim, and items such as the stereo appear a little outdated. But on the whole, I had few complaints.
Vision was good in whichever direction you looked and the seats were kind of the posterior, a comfort given the terrain we tackled.
WHAT DO YOU GET: THERE are three trims to choose from – SZ3, SZ-T and SZ5. All come with seven airbags and ESP as standard.
DAB radios are fitted to all SZ-T and SZ5 models.
Our test car was an AllGrip SZ5 and included engine auto stop start, front and rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, three-spoke leather steering wheel, electric front and rear windows, gear-shift indicator, keyless entry and start, leather upholstery with heated front seats, double-sliding panoramic sunroof and dual zone automatic air conditioning.
In addition, there was front fog lamps, rain-sensing front wipers, electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors, removable double luggage area floor, satellite navigation, 17ins alloys, rear privacy glass, Bluetooth and chrome design pack.
HOW PRACTICAL IS IT: ROOM in the front and back wasn’t an issue – however, I only had three averaged sized children in the rear.
The boot had 430 litres of space with the 60:40 seats up and 875 litres with them down. The boot itself is excellently shaped and our dog had plenty of room to stretch out.
The fixtures proved extremely durable, though they required a thorough clean after our adventures.
The four-wheel drive system adds to the car’s practicality – proof you don’t need a big off-roader to take on the inclement weather.
RUNNING COSTS: SUZUKI say it should be possible to more than 60mpg on the combined by cycle from the S-Cross. We managed slightly less, but it still represented a good return. CO2 emissions are 119g/km. The car comes in the C tax band.
VERDICT: PROVED ideal for my family requirements.
ALTERNATIVES: SKODA Yeti, Nissan Qashqai
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