The new Suzuki S-Cross has an Italian heart. The second generation of the Japanese manufacturer’s SUV was designed at the Suzuki style centre in Turin, the only one of Suzuki’s four design centres in Europe. The proposal by the Italian design team convinced the Japanese designers most of all for its originality and character. The front end features a piano black grille, the large Suzuki S and a horizontal chrome trim, the shape of which is continued by the full LED headlights.
The front and rear skid plates with a silver finish and the plastic elements in the squared-off wheel arches accentuate the adventurous spirit of the model, making it more of an SUV than the previous generation on sale since 2013. The alternation of concave and convex surfaces and the oblique course of the window line give impetus to the side and guide the eye towards a rather squared-off tail with the horizontally raised headlamps. The designers have equipped the S-Cross with a wide range of eight colours.
The cabin is rational with all controls within easy reach. Dark-coloured surfaces dominate the environment, but they do not detract from the brightness of the interior thanks to a not-too-high waistline that generates large glass surfaces. At the centre of the dashboard is the new 9 inch display, which is floating and no longer embedded in the surface, while lower down is the physical controls compartment dedicated to climate control. The new infotainment system has a redesigned interface and is compatible with Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
With a length of 4.3 metres, a width of 1.8 metres, a height of 1.6 metres and a boot capacity of 430 litres, the Suzuki S-Cross is built in Hungary on the same platform as the previous generation and is positioned above the Vitara. In Europe, it will be available exclusively with hybrid engines: we drove the S-Cross in Italy, powered by a 1.4-litre petrol engine supported by a 48-volt mild hybrid, which is available with front- or all-wheel drive.
