Maruti is surely going to have it and that too very soon. The mixed bag of crossover and SUV, the S-Cross, is spied testing for the first time in India. The spy shots were captured in Manali.
Unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo 2014, the S-Cross is heard from the sources to reach the showrooms early next year.
However, the black cladding around the spied test mule refrain us from seeing through the other side to bear witness to the changes made between the production-specific version and concept.
It is no surprise that S-Cross is sold in other countries with Suzuki’s ‘Allgrip’ all-wheel-drive system, but doesn’t know what would happen when it will come to India, speculated to have option of two-wheel drive only.
Other gimmicks that are stated to stick to this new car of Maruti will be the LED daytime running lamps and 16-inch alloy wheels, for the top-end variants at least. Inside the cabin, there could be two-tone trims for a slight premium feel, where number of gadgets to be lugged for adoring it further like that of Hyundai. Steering speculated to be shared with the other Maruti models in relation to keep the cost in check, for its traditional Indian customers.
Under hoods expectations of the 1.6-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine lays stronger vibes. This time too it will be the Fiat to supply this unit to the Maruti, which is enticed to churn out 118bhp of peak power and 32kgm of torque, after mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Hopefully at the launch, S-Cross is expected to be priced at around Rs 13-14 lakh, which will raise the competition of Maruti against the segments’ favorites like the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and some versions of the Mahindra XUV500. It would be safe to say, this will be the first time Maruti is penetrating the compact SUV/crossover segment with a not so rugged but a quite sophisticated option. Let’s wait and watch what will be the results, because till date this Indian carmaker had only succeeded in selling vehicles upto the range of Swift, not beyond than that, so the S-Cross will probably be a challenge to the Maruti sales team.
Image Courtesy: Autocar India
