BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A SUZUKI S-CROSS HYBRID FROM OSV: https://bit.ly/3qhHX8D

Suzuki's S-Cross compact SUV gains the brand's mild hybrid tech in uprated 48-volt form. And at the same time, also gains a fresh 'K14D'-series version of the company's 1.4-litre Boosterjet petrol engine. The electrification claims to deliver a 20% running cost improvement but otherwise, the S-Cross recipe is much as before. So there's plenty of space for a crossover of this size, lots of kit for the money and, unusually in this class, the option of a proper lockable 4WD system in the top version.

Background

Electrification is a fact of automotive life these days and one day soon, every model from every brand will feature it in some way. For the moment though, only one manufacturer has applied electrified power to every car in its line-up and its identity might surprise you: Suzuki. This sounds all very forward-thinking but first you need to appreciate a few caveats. We're not talking about full-electric or plug-in models here; Suzuki doesn't have any of those. It doesn't even have a Prius-like full-Hybrid powertrain.

'Hybrid' in this case means what other brands call 'mild hybrid' technology. With this, unlike with those other forms of electrification, the car can't ever run on electric power alone at normal driving speeds. But harvested electrical energy can be used to marginally improve efficiency. The brand introduced this tech in 12-volt form back in 2016 with its little Swift and Ignis models. Now, it's uprated the system to 48-volt status and fitted it to its slightly larger cars, including the S-Cross compact SUV, which is our subject here.

Driving Experience

You may be familiar with the way that mild hybrid engines work but just in case not, here's a quick re-cap. Basically, energy that would otherwise be lost when braking or cruising off-throttle is harvested via a kinetic energy recovery system and sent to a small lithium-ion battery that here has been placed beneath the front passenger seat. This is used to drive a belt-driven 'ISG' unit (an 'Integrated Starter/Generator') and power the engine's stop/start system. Suzuki's old 12-volt mild hybrid package didn't do a lot more than that but this improved 48-volt set-up can also deliver a couple of other important benefits. The first is something quite unusual amongst current mild hybrids - the ability for this Suzuki to idle and even coast on full-electric power, though only below 10mph.

The other fresh benefit here is something supposed to be now quite common amongst mild hybrid models - the ability to 'torque-fill' under acceleration to compensate for turbo lag. Which is just as well because this S-Cross Hybrid's new 'K14D'-series 1.4-litre Boosterjet petrol engine has less power than the unit of the same size it replaces (127bhp rather than 138bhp), plus the car's electrified tech adds 65kgs of extra weight (in the case of the ALLGRIP 4WD version). But there's now more torque (up from 230 to 235Nm). The 62mph sprint takes 10.2 en route to 118mph. There's no longer an auto gearbox option. And that proper lockable ALLGRIP 4WD system is optional on the top-spec 'SZ5' variant.

Design and Build

There are no visual changes with this S-Cross model's switch to Hybrid power. It's been on sale since the end of 2013 and the version we have now is the model that was facelifted at the end of 2016. It remains a mid-sized 'Qashqai'-class SUV that's a little larger than the norm, 4,300mm in length but somewhat forgettable in looks. Suzuki has its similarly-sized but slightly more dynamically-styled Vitara SUV if that's an issue.

Inside, the generous 2,600mm wheelbase length frees up plenty of interior room (the 430-litre boot is one of the biggest in the class) and there's very decent rear seat space too. Though the bench doesn't slide, the backrest reclines though a choice of two angles. The twin sunroofs of the top SZ5 model do rob a few centimetres of headroom though.

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