Maruti Suzuki pulls plug on S-Cross in India

Maruti Suzuki has finally taken the S-Cross off the shelf in India. Introduced back in 2015, the S-Cross was Maruti’s flagship crossover and was also the first model to be retailed via the brand’s Nexa dealership chain. With the launch of the new Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, the writing for the S-Cross was on the wall, and this has now been officially confirmed as the brand has taken the model off its website.

• S-Cross was Maruti’s first Nexa branded product
• Sold with four powertrain options in seven years
• Replaced by the Grand Vitara in India

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross: Over 1.69 lakh units sold to date

The S-Cross was introduced in the Indian market in August 2015 as Maruti’s first flagship offering and also as a rival to the Renault Duster and the Hyundai Creta, which were gaining popularity at that time. At launch, the S Cross was sold with two diesel engine options – the tried and tested 1.3-litre Multijet engine good for 89hp, and a more powerful 1.6-litre diesel good for 117hp. While both units were sourced from Fiat, the 1.6-litre diesel was unique to the S-Cross as opposed to the 1.3-litre engine that was seen on multiple Maruti, Fiat, Tata, Premier and even Chevrolet models in India. 

The S-Cross received a mid-cycle update in 2017 that included a more upright BMW-like nose. The larger 1.6-litre diesel engine was put to rest and the 1.3-litre diesel was the only powerplant available, which now boasted Maruti's mild-hybrid tech, now known as Smart Hybrid. Maruti never offered a diesel-automatic version of the S-Cross, which made it less appealing for midsize SUV buyers as rivals like the Creta were offered with one.

In April 2020, the S-Cross, like all other Maruti products, switched to a petrol-only powertrain, as more stringent BS6 norms took effect. A 1.5-litre K-series petrol engine with mild-hybrid tech was introduced in the S-Cross and Maruti also added the option of an automatic gearbox to it, five years after it was launched in the Indian market. 

Summing it up, in its seven-year lifespan in India, the S-Cross was offered in four engine-gearbox combinations – 1.3 diesel-manual, 1.6 diesel-manual, 1.5 petrol-manual, 1.5 petrol-automatic.

Since its launch, Maruti Suzuki has sold around 1.69 lakh units of the S-Cross, which isn’t really a big number for the brand when compared to its other products. Some key reasons for the comparatively lower sales of the S-Cross were the lack of a diesel-automatic throughout its life cycle and also more of a large-hatchback-like design, which was not considered by the buyers over the more upright looks of its rivals.

S-Cross replaced by newer model abroad, Grand Vitara in India

The outgoing S-Cross received a full-model change, with the new-gen crossover already on sale in many European markets. However, for India, Maruti Suzuki introduced the Grand Vitara midsize SUV, which has been co-developed with Toyota. To know more about the Grand Vitara, read our review. We also recently tested the Grand Vitara’s real-time fuel economy and you can read about its pricing, variants and features here.