[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by needforspeed88

One can only dress up that 1.3 litre engine so much. I mean seriously 5 speed gear box coupled with copious amounts of turbo lag in a car which costs 12.5 lakh rupees on road is simply impossible to digest. Maruti seriously has to look at its engine portfolio because currently every product bar Alto, Wagon R, Celerio and Omni is powered by the same engine albeit in a 90hp tune in higher models.

It is 14 lakhs on road for the top end alpha in BLR. The 1.5 L engine from Maruti would come with 100-110 bhp similar to the engine in Nexon. That would solve the engine issue.
For now, yes 14 lakhs on road for the top end seems pricey. But then Toyota Corolla sells for 20L with a 1.4 Diesel that makes 90 bhp. Same engine as in Etios Liva but with a VGT

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by needforspeed88

Maruti seriously has to look at its engine portfolio because currently every product bar Alto, Wagon R, Celerio and Omni is powered by the same engine albeit in a 90hp tune in higher models.

I doubt if it would happen in the near future, even the 1.5L diesel would take its own sweet time to mellow.

The 1.3 MJD has been put through lakhs of kilometers on lakhs of vehicles, it is one seriously reliable engine after the Toyota's 2.5 D4D and followed by the Renault's K9K. I remember taxi walah's buying the Zest,Bolt,Vista,Dzire tour primarily for the reliability of the 1.3 MJD's, Tata should in a way thank Maruti for making the engine omnipresent. Many(outside team-bhp) do not even know that the 1.3 MJD is designed by Fiat-GM.

[smuniswami]

Dear all,
I have a doubt to be clarified!
i.e. How to remove the rear seat base in S cross alpha version?
Thanks.

[r0nit7]

I don't get what the fuss with the 1.3L engine is all about. Obviously, it did not make monetary sense for Maruti to import the 1.6L engine after Fiat decided not to localize the same and instead head straight onto the 2L engine for their own Compass & future engine orders from Tata et al. And it wasn't like the 1.6 variants on the earlier version were setting the sales charts on fire either (around 5k units in a couple of years I hear). Simply put, its demand vs margins.

PS - Saw the new face-lift S-Cross y'day, approaching me on a single lane road - felt like I was about to get bit
(No offence meant!)

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by r0nit7

I don't get what the fuss with the 1.3L engine is all about. Obviously, it did not make monetary sense for Maruti to import the 1.6L engine after Fiat decided not to localize the same and instead head straight onto the 2L engine for their own Compass & future engine orders from Tata et al. And it wasn't like the 1.6 variants on the earlier version were setting the sales charts on fire either (around 5k units in a couple of years I hear). Simply put, its demand vs margins.

PS - Saw the new face-lift S-Cross y'day, approaching me on a single lane road - felt like I was about to get bit
(No offence meant!)

Allow me explain what the fuss is all about. The fuss is that Maruti launched a crossover with a beautiful 1.6 engine over and above the price of a SUV like Creta. Even our review calls this out - almost everyone feels that it was overpriced by 1.5 - 2 lakhs. Due to this pricing many people in many cities, especially like Bangalore which charges a high rate of tax, it went out of the affordability of many, especially the enthusiasts. A very loaded car with brilliant interiors and handling only failed because of the bad pricing. As a consequence, it lost out on sales. Finally Maruti realized the mistake (which they never admitted) and reduced the cost by about 1.9 Lakhs within months of launching the car. Now, think about why a manufacturer would do that. But by then, its fate was sealed just like the Honda Jazz (When it was launch went through the same pain). Thus no sales translated into no demand and hence it being removed as an offering. If the launch doesn't go well, then it's very difficult to recover.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

Allow me explain what the fuss is all about

Add to that extremely poor croc brained dumb nincompoops sitting in the marketing & sales team, who don't know how to sell a car using it's USP. The ads...less said better that don't talk anything on its unique features or even at the base forgot to explain what cross over means & leave for folks to think Polo & Etios are real crossovers!!

[NFS2024]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

Allow me explain what the fuss is all about.

I think price was not the only factor that did not help in Scross 1.6 sales.

Equally and more important was the way the car looked or did not look, like a proper Crossover or an SUV after paying so much.

It was like neither here nor there. This was one of the deciding factor as well for people in not buying the Scross 1.6

[Sawyer]

Only recently did I notice after studying a car for a while from close, how big/rugged the S Cross is compared to Baleno and the rest of that segment. I was impressed, and thought that when the 1.6 version gets a slick - as in non AMT - autobox, it would be a worthy car to invest in.

Now I find that all that is left is big/rugged. Pity.

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by aargee

Add to that extremely poor croc brained dumb nincompoops sitting in the marketing & sales team, who don't know how to sell a car using it's USP. The ads...less said better that don't talk anything on its unique features or even at the base forgot to explain what cross over means & leave for folks to think Polo & Etios are real crossovers!!

Agreed. The NEXA was new at the time of the launch and the concept of Crossover was just new to many in the market. It was pitted against the Creta in most reviews and ads and I believe that led people to look at it more from an SUV perspective and not a cross over. Naturally, its disappointing when compared this way. Then the pricing killed it completely.

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Equally and more important was the way the car looked or did not look, like a proper Crossover or an SUV after paying so much.

It was like neither here nor there. This was one of the deciding factor as well for people in not buying the Scross 1.6

The car is definitely a proper crossover, if you ask me. Just that many didn't know what a cross over means. Looks are subjective and many would have been impressed with the interiors and the engine performance. Majority of them would have test drove the 1.6 for sure and would have been extremely happy with it.

The other factor was it was hard for many to digest premium from Maruti. Trust me, when I told my friends and family that I upgraded to an S-Cross from Maruti, almost all of them were very surprised since I had a Honda city previously. Talk about perception! This is the exact line I heard - You downgraded from a Honda to a Maruti??

The facelift offers nothing exciting for the interiors apart from the Android auto and some subtle changes here and there in the interiors colours. The facelift also doesn't get the new steering wheel! I personally think that the Zeta front face looks better than the alpha. Sure enough it looks a bit more ferocious or more SUV-ish in the new avatar, but is that what this crossover is supposed to showcase? I think NEXA & Maruti have a confused strategy with this car which is otherwise brilliant in that segment.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by sudeepg

I think NEXA & Maruti have a confused strategy with this car which is otherwise brilliant in that segment.

The S Cross will not stay for long in India( believe the first Autocar review had it and subsequently the Powerdrift review confirms it).

A proper C/SUV ( feature rich, AT,7 seater ?) is in the making to cater to this segment.

[abhi]

The only thing that kept me away from the new S-Cross is the lack of an automatic of some sort. Add another 1L to the top variant, it would have beautifully fit in my budget.

I feel it may sell better than the older model this time around.

[iFuel]

There are a few theories that I have read on this forum for where the downfall on this cross over was. To me frankly, the car or x-over was just lame, timid and a no looker. You would have to squint hard and stretch your eyeballs to see this car amongst the many that are on the road. Nothing about it said 'look at me'. For the amount of money they asked, it made no sense when it was hard to notice the very first day out of a showroom.

This facelift is doing nothing on that front either, just making a little change to the grill and itsy bitsy things around won't wake this from it's grave. The concept per se doesn't work in India. Either people buy a hatch, sedan or a SUV(and the many iterations that call themselves SUV). No one gives a heck what a corssover is, nor did anyone care for what wagons were, they all tried and failed. Maruti tried a few, Skoda did, and a few others. India was never a market for cars that help you pack for a picnic and look like a grandma on wheels. This is exactly what the s-cross is, it's a plain grandma. Putting on new shiny dentures is not going to change that fact.

Most people I know buy a car for what it looks and offers, looks being paramount here, the neighbours need to see it. I buy cars for whatever reasons I do, looks make up an important aspect. We went to Nexa when Baleno was launched, and we saw this s-cross as well, and try as hard as I may, I could not convince my parents in law to buy this. At their age they said this was a damn plane Jane. They liked the Baleno and bought it, money was not even a factor. It looks good was the statement and it was a Maruti (every car they have is a Maruti). Every friend of mine has the same opinion, what does this look like. This has no where to show I spent 10+ on this. Convince them as much as you like, and you can bring your arguments of engine, features, etc etc.

The fact of the matter as I have felt and it is my opinion is simple, this looks like a dud. And that is what it did in the market. That ridiculous Brezza is a better looker, sorry to say that. And that is selling like hot cakes, even though s-cross had a lot more to offer. You all can write a thesis on other theories, it just doesn't work when you pay 10+ on a car that looks barely 2ft by 4 feet and goes past you and you won't even blink and yawn.

[Leoshashi]

Since most of the pics of the new S cross we have seen so far are in Blue, presenting the Alpha variant in Premium Silver shade that I spotted yesterday.

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Since most of the pics of the new S cross we have seen so far are in Blue, presenting the Alpha variant in Premium Silver shade that I spotted yesterday.

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Thanks - looks like a very different silver shade from what is normally sold

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Thanks - looks like a very different silver shade from what is normally sold

It's the same premium silver shade which was available in old S-Cross. Yes, this silver is very much different than other silver cars by different manufacturers. Premium silver colour looks like 80 percent silver + 20 percent grey