Suzuki, who produce some neat, inexpensive cars are one of the few companies that don’t yet have a fully electric car. That gap be filled in 2024, but for now the Japanese manufacturer has a good range of mild and fully Hybrid cars available.
Prior to Covid I always enjoyed our trips to England and Wales for Suzuki new car launches, but recently the nice people from Suzuki UK came to Athlone to launch the full Hybrid version of their S-Cross.
The S-Cross could be described as a larger version of the Vitara, which is Suzuki’s best-selling model in Ireland. The 1.5-litre engine in the full Hybrid was initially introduced in the Vitara Hybrid model last year.
Colour is so important when buying a new car and the pictures you see here are of a red S-Cross, but when I went to pick up my test car at the Automotive Team’s offices in Sandyford, it was a Henry Ford-black. I was a little underwhelmed with the colour, but I suppose black never goes out of fashion.
There is a lot to like about Suzuki cars and they are one of the few manufacturers that continue to give us a good old-fashioned handbrake.
The SUV is designed to rival the most accomplished cars in its class, including the Peugeot 2008, VW T-Roc and Toyota C-HR.
The new S-Cross Full Hybrid in its Motion trim comes with a plethora of goodies as standard. They include keyless entry and engine start, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, 17-inch painted alloy wheels, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control with speed limiter.
You also get heated front seats, seven-inch display screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, lane departure warning and prevention, blind spot monitor, and traffic sign recognition. What more could you want?
On the dash you get good old-fashioned controls for the air conditioning, and you won’t need an IT degree to find your favourite radio station.
I love the impressive black front grille. At the back there is a good chunk of glass between the rear window and the boot door, similar to the MG4 that I drove the previous week. A decent sized boot, but no spare wheel, as that space is taken up by the Hybrid technology. The boot space is 293 litres, which can be expanded to 665 litres by lowering the rear seat-backs.
In the past Suzuki was seen as producing cars for the older generation. Nothing wrong with that I am in now in that category myself. But I think this S-Cross should appeal to young and not so young motorists alike. I’m thinking of young first-time drivers who may be having problems using the clutch, as the full hybrid version is automatic.
The S-Cross is produced at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary. The new model is also five-star Euro NCAP rated, with seven airbags fitted as standard.
The car certainly has a chunky, solid look to it. I liked it and would recommend a test drive, whether you are 25- or 65-years young. Suzuki now has 24 dealers countrywide.
Prices start at €30,465 for the 1.4-litre Mild Hybrid, while the 1.5-litre full Hybrid version that I drove will cost you €31,895. Two options for finance for the full Hybrid. If you want to go the PCP route the deposit is €6.5K and then 36 monthly payments of €323. For Hire Purchase the deposit is 13K then 37 monthly payments of €533. Road tax is €190.
