Suzuki S-Cross review: Worth buying in 2023?

Cutesy family SUV grows up

In years gone by, Suzuki has tried to make the S-Cross SUV stand out in a crowded marketplace, and in order to do so, gave it cutesy, bulbous, hatchback-like looks. However, that only served to make the car look a bit, well, odd, and as a result, it stood out for all the wrong reasons.

With the new S-Cross, freshly overhauled for 2022, the firm has changed tack, and the latest car's look is much more conventional, with boxier lines and straighter edges on the details. To accompany this more grown-up look, Suzuki has given the car a higher quality interior, and bags of luxury and safety kit, all for an impressively affordable price.

In this CarGurus UK review video, Rebecca Jackson ponders whether the latest S-Cross has what it takes to compete with super-talented and super-popular rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 3008, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson.

Let CarGurus help you find your next car:

▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 –Intro
00:40 – The new looks
01:06 – Boot space
01:20 – Interior and infotainment
02:57 – What is it like to drive?
05:19 – Verdict
05:54 – Wrap up

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#cargurusUK #RebeccaJackson #SuzukiSCross

[keithcharman]

I’ve got a 2016 s cross. It’s done 100k miles and only had tyres, wiper blades and a battery. It still returns fuel economy at nearly 50mpg. I’m impressed and happily have another.

[GafferY]

Just ordered one, my third S-cross. Super reliable, easy to drive, works well on narrow Highland roads and has a great 4 wheel drive system which I need in winter (no treatment on some of our local roads). The new car is a big step forward. Personally, I think an SUV without 4 wheel drive is a strange choice. The Suzuki multi mode drive system works really well.

[melvynjollysmith]

I have a 2016 petrol, I will have to replace at some point. But I dare not buy any of the popular makes. Do people not do any research before buying? Who cares about soft touch plastics.
Give me reliability. Windscreen wipers had to be replaced at 5yrs old. Love it. A new S Cross methinks.

[Battery-boy]

Why do they never mention reliability on these reviews the reliability of the Suzuki is far superior to any Nissan and a lot of other manufacturers

[fotoseyhan]

I bought a brand new Scross 4x2 in November 2023.
My wife and I love driving it, we are so glad buying it.
It is not very sotisphicated inside, unlike its rivals.
We prefer manual handbrake, for example.
Japanese cars are concrete and strong, they say..
I hope so..

[bondjamesbond]

Suzuki keep the engineering as simple as possible without compromising safety, driving enjoyment and customer satisfaction. These are the reasons that Suzuki always perform well in customer satisfaction and reliability surveys. The 1.4 Booster jet engine is a peach. Long term a very good buy.

[TomekLeeChan]

Suzuki is a great car brand! And also, the looks of previous one was to me very nice, compared to it's predecesor.

[jeffreyberry]

i bought a 2016 S Cross to replace my aging 2009 Nissan Tiida and i love m, y S Cross

[brianhughes]

I have just bought a week ago, an S cross motion AGS, which has the 1.5 engine, and the AGS semi auto gearbox. I watched numerous reviews before deciding, and one the main things I found, no two were alike, and some of the contradictions perplexed me. I wanted an automatic due to knee problems, having previously owned several over the years, and some of the negative comments concerned me regarding the AGS, so I asked for a test drive. I had expected jerky gearchanges and odd gearchanges, but found zero in my test drive, so I bought it. Now, after a week, I have decided some people do not know how to use a semi automatic. I can make it change gear, (not using the manual gearchange), with ease. For example changing gear going uphill, I just ease my foot of the pedal, and it changes up, or going down hill, simply lifting my foot of it changes down a gear. I have found it as smooth as any semi auto I have had in the past. Maybe they have reprogrammed the car since the AGS was released, but I love the car. It is the full hybrid, and like the ULTRA version tested in this review, it is not just a souped up starter motor, it has over double the battery voltage of the mild hybrid version, and can drive in "EV" mode for short distances, depending on conditions, as well as providing a meaningful boost accelerating, or simply assist cruising up to 40mph to save mpg, depending on battery charge etc. All in all, a great car for the price, and I am pleased my doubting some of the negative comments made in many of the reviews I watched.
Finally, without the sunroof, (which the motion version does not have), as it consumes about two inches of headroom, so the motion version is fine for most average people.

[calikid]

I own a USDM Suzuki Aerio SX rare yellow color I love my little hatchback. 210k miles original engine and trans and still going awesome car.

[mharbun]

Went to look at a few cars yesterday, this car wasn't even on my radar. The sales rep took me to have a look, absolutely surprised but what good car it is. definitely going to be my next car very pleased he had the foresight so show me this car. Great review made me feel confident that this is a good car, meets my needs perfectly!

[Coordinator]

After 4.5 year in a allgrip topspec vitara i just bought a top spec s cross allgrip automatic 1400 turbo. What a hidden gem, this car is just brilliant. No nonsence motoring and at 5 l/100 km or less.

[petertysoe]

I've just ordered one! The icing on the cake is that it will be delivered in March - unlike other manufacturers who are quoting 6-12 months lead time.

[squod]

Well done. I'm so sick of seeing VW, /Audi sales talk.

It's like all the woke car brands are getting all the attention. Which is a shame.

[colrees]

Another excellent review from Rebecca, informative, intuitive and precise. I really like the car and will definitely shortlist it when I change mine in a year or so!

[janjcks]

I have just bought a 2023 sx4 and i really love it, love the light steering, i had an MG before and the steering was reaaly heavy. I like the highlevel ride height.the car was 2 yrs old when i bought it. Fuel economy is brilliant

[marcussebastian]

This car looks bad ass. Great styling. Well done Suzuki 💪

[CastleKnight]

I think it looks great for a family SUV and I’m looking forward to seeing what Suzuki will do to refresh their Vitara model next.

[philryan]

Hi there, I bought mine at the last Easter weekend they were doing a special I went for the 1.5 automatic motion in the metallic red I found it very comfortable particularly on our dodgy roads at the moment. We actually bought three cars I purchased the SX Cross my wife went for a swift and my sister know about the Ignis so the Suzuki dealership in in Lincoln did quite well out of us that day. Cheers Phil from Newark.

[Raprada]

I wasn’t really paying attention to the video until the voice of the reviewer seems more and more familiar, and OH MY GOD I’S REBECCA! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you! Glad to see you’re still doing car reviews, keep up the good work!