The most important bit of equipment in the S-Cross, however, has to be the new 1.6-litre DDiS diesel engine that makes its début under the stoutish bonnet of this crossover. Mated to a fairly slick shifting short-throw six-speed manual gearbox, the S-Cross’ 1.6-litre mill, which Maruti Suzuki have christened 320 DDiS based on its torque output, generates 120 PS and 320 Nm. Fire it up and there’s the distinct feeling that in terms of refinement the 320 DDiS would sit somewhere between Hyundai’s 1.6-litre diesel engine and Honda’s 1.5-litre i-DTEC, the latter being the less refined of the two. It’s also a powerful unit, one that is capable of propelling the 1,270-kilo bulk of the S-Cross to 100 km/h in just 11.78 seconds and then on to a top speed of 174.75 km/h. It’s decently efficient, too, returning an overall fuel economy of 14.5 km/l.
What mars all this, however, is the engine’s more than generous turbo lag, which shows while conducting in-gear acceleration tests. Allow the engine revs to drop to about 1,000 and then stamp down on the throttle and all you get is motion. No, not acceleration, but motion. That is, until the needle on the tachometer starts climbing beyond 1,800 RPM. Post that, there’s a sudden rush of grunt that might even catch you unawares. Keep the engine revving beyond that lag zone and you’ll be richly rewarded with smooth acceleration, but that turbo lag can be quite bothersome when you’re driving across the city through peak traffic. The fact that the clutch is on the heavier side of life doesn’t make matters easy either.
