A new look makes it almost unrecognisable from the old, and it has new assist and safety tech, but how effective overall is this third refresh?

A READY admission from Suzuki’s distributor is that the S-Cross has always lived in the shadow of the volume-selling Vitara sports utility.

The reason? They say it’s the styling that’s never quite hit the mark. Kiwis prefer  Vitara’s more robust look. S-Cross, meantime, has all this time suffered from its lower bonnet line and quite conservative rear.

So, even though S-Cross is bigger than Vitara on the outside and roomier on the inside thanks to a 100mm longer wheelbase, it simply hasn’t sold as well. Not that it has really mattered in these Covid-19 times, because the Whanganui distributor hasn’t been able to access the vehicle for most of this year anyway.

But now there’s a freshly facelifted version, more readily available. And chances are that S-Cross will become a lot more acceptable to New Zealand tastes, because its styling shortcomings have been well and truly addressed.

Front design is now a lot more substantial, featuring a piano black grille with a chrome centre bar. At the rear, the tail-light combinations integrate horizontally with centre garnish to give an improved appearance of width. Larger, more angular black wheel arch mouldings accentuate impression S-Cross is taller than before.

JX and JLX levels of specification are on offer, the first in front-drive only at $35,990, the higher-trim in front-drive at $38,990 and all-wheel-drive at $40,990. In the previous range, with us since 2017 (so a year after it released which was, in turn, two years after global production began) the starter was a JLX manual front-drive at $28,990 and an auto came in for $30,990 – these with a 1.6-litre that’s now defunct - and an all-drive 1.4 was $34,990.

The main visual difference comes down to their wheels, JX has silver painted hoops, JLX takes polished items. Either way, they run 215/55 R17 Continental tyres.

The facelift doesn’t change the car’s dimension, yet it certainly looks larger. And that’s resulted in confidence among the Suzuki NZ marketers that this time around it will achieve a much improved sales performance.

“We have always had the challenge of Vitara and S-Cross being positioned at very similar levels,” said the company’s general manager of automotive sales Gary Collins.

“The changes to S-Cross will allow us to cover a wider range of SUV purchasers and compete with a broader mix of competitors.”

No changes have been made to the engine or driveline, which means the vehicle continues to be powered by Suzuki’s 1.4-litre turbocharged BoosterJet engine, mated to a six-stage automatic, that introduced five years ago.

It’s a good unit that offers 103kW of power and 220Nm of torque, which is easily sufficient grunt for a model weighing up to 1265kg.

It also offers sound fuel economy – combined figures of 6.6  litres per 100km for the front-drive model and 6.9 L/100 for the AWD version under the 3P-WLTP method, and that keeps CO2 emissions to 138 and 145 grams per kilometre respectively, within the neutral sector of the Clean Car programme.

Unfortunately, being a turbocharged car means the S-Cross has to run on at least 95 octane petrol. Seen prices at your local service station lately?

Suzuki NZ technical manager Rodney Brown said he thought the S-Cross power steer might be slightly lighter than before. During a short drive through the outskirts of Napier the steering did indeed feel light – it does with all Suzukis.

Conditions were a little too wet to push things along but the AWD version’s AllGrip Select system feels secure. This has four drive modes. Auto which switches to AWD only when slippage is detected, Sport which allocates extra torque to the rear wheels and improves engine response, Snow which enhances stability and traction, and Lock which delivers maximum torque to the rear in sticky situations.

Overall S-Cross remains as it has been during the eight years it has been around; it’s an easy vehicle to drive, and the driving position continues to feel good. The driver’s seat offers 51mm fore/aft movement and 59mm of height adjustment, and the seating itself is comfortable. Seats in the entry JX version are cloth and in the JLX they are leather, and with both models the front seats are heated.

What helps keep S-Cross relevant is that it now has a stronger safety specification. A forward detection system using cameras, sensors and radar provides lane departure warning, weaving alert, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, with a stop/go function that’ll hold it at a stop in traffic, though relies on the vehicle ahead moving again within two seconds, else it’ll disengage.

New-generation infotainment systems arrive. JX features a seven inch Clarion touchscreen with Bluetooth, Apple Car Play, Android Auto and reversing camera. JLX has a nine inch Pioneer system with seven speakers, a 360-degree camera and satellite navigation.

Collins said the facelift has allowed Suzuki NZ to reposition S-Cross above the Vitara in status and price.

“That makes sense. S-Cross is larger than Vitara, and it now has the most comprehensive range of features when compared to any other Suzuki model.

“We believe it has the potential to sell in quantity. But ultimately, whether than happen will be controlled by how many we can source.”