Brand new small SUV from Suzuki will feature a mild hybrid drivetrain, with a full hybrid variant to follow later in 2022

SINGAPORE

Suzuki revealed an all-new car to the world in a virtual, online launch today. The Suzuki S-Cross is an attractively styled SUV that’s about the same size as the Honda HR-V. The launch edition will be powered by a 1.4-litre, turbocharged engine with a 48-volt mild hybrid booster. It features a switchable four-wheel drive system that Suzuki calls the Allgrip Select.

It’s been announced that the car will be made exclusively in Suzuki’s Hungarian factory in Magyar at the moment, and will go on sale in Europe before the end of 2021. The S-Cross will then be progressively rolled-out in the rest of the world, with Singapore likely getting the car sometime in mid 2022.

Suzuki claims that the car is designed to maximise interior space in a small package, and will seat five adults comfortably while still maintaining a 430-litre boot space.

The cabin will have a nine-inch, high-definition display screen, LED head and taillights, plus a full suite of active safety features including blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. A panoramic sunroof is also available as an option.

Suzuki also sells the smallest SUV you can buy in Singapore

The car’s 48-volt mild hybrid system claims to be able to lower fuel consumption by reducing engine torque and compensating with the electric motor. When quick acceleration is demanded, the 10kW starter-generator motor, along with the 127 horsepower petrol engine, work together to deliver quick and responsive power. It’s still only a mild hybrid drivetrain though, so cannot run on the electric motor alone.

Though it’s not officially stated, the S-Cross appears to be powered by the same drivetrain that’s found in the Euro-spec version of the Suzuki Swift Sport.

The four-wheel drive variant of the S-Cross accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 10.2 seconds, while the lighter two-wheel drive version does the same in 9.2 seconds.

Fuel economy is rated at 5.8l/100km for the two-wheel drive S-Cross, and 6.1l/100km for the four-wheel drive variant.

Singapore is likely only getting the six-speed automatic transmission, though a six-speed manual is available in some parts of the world. Whether or we are getting both four and two-wheel drive versions of the car is still up in the air, with Singapore’s Suzuki distributor Champion Motors informing us that available variants and price details are still too early to make a call on. 

The brand’s president, Toshihiro Suzuki, stated at the launch that every new Suzuki available in Europe now features mild hybrid tech, and in the later half of 2022 the S-Cross will be the second car in the Suzuki lineup to gain a ‘strong hybrid’ variant. The first will  be found in the 2022 edition of the Suzuki Vitara.

This is the car that the Suzuki S-Cross has to battle against

Essentially Suzuki’s proprietary petrol-electric technology, the S-Cross hybrid system to be launched in late 2022 will combine a petrol-powered engine with a single Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and Auto Gear Shift (AGS), which is a self-shifting gearbox with an automated clutch. 

Like any current-generation true hybrid drivetrain, Suzuki’s version will be able to cruise in EV mode. 

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