Suzuki S-Cross 2022 Review

The big news for the new 2022 Suzuki S-Cross is its fancy new design, which arguably transforms the small SUV from a cute little runabout to a more contemporary and sophisticated model.

Oh, and there’s a colossal price increase that comes with it, pushing the entry price for the S-Cross up by $10,000…

Two model grades are still offered, but they’ve risen from $30,490 and $31,990 (both plus on-road costs) respectively to $40,490 and $44,490 plus ORCs for the Suzuki S-Cross Allgrip and S-Cross Allgrip Prestige.

Given that the ‘new’ SUV from the Japanese brand is essentially a heavily facelifted vehicle based on the same platform architecture as its predecessor, with the same 2800mm wheelbase, the same 430-litre boot space and a carryover 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, you’d expect the extra dosh would net you Audi-level swag, right?

Well, sort of.

Standard features on the base-grade 2022 Suzuki S-Cross Allgrip include 17-inch alloy wheels, tinted rear windows, cloth seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry/start and a 7.0-inch central touch-screen with sat-nav, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear-view camera and digital radio.

Automatic wipers and LED headlights are in there as standard too, as are heated front seats along with heated and folding exterior mirrors.

The Suzuki S-Cross Allgrip Prestige adds a bigger 9.0-inch central touch-screen with a 360-degree parking camera (complete with a useful transparent car mode), wireless Apple CarPlay, an impressively large panoramic glass sunroof, leather trim on the sides of the seats and polished 17-inch alloy wheels.

That sounds like a lot of gear, but to put things in perspective you can get the Hyundai Kona N Line Premium for less money (from $43,200) and a variety of features not offered in the top-spec S-Cross: power-operated and ventilated front seats, a bigger, more modern 10.25-inch central touch-screen, a fully digital driver’s display, an electric park brake and a wireless phone charger.

So why the massive price rise for S-Cross? It’s true that new cars are becoming more expensive every month due to the rising cost of logistics, components and manufacturing, but Suzuki says the S-Cross replaces the Vitara as its new flagship, is now all-wheel drive (previously only 2WD) and comes with lots more features.

Aftersales support is neither class leading nor trailing, backed by Suzuki’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and five years’ roadside assist.

It also comes with a five-year capped-price servicing program.

The 2022 Suzuki S-Cross has a good level of safety tech and both model grades come with seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning and weaving alert, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, auto-dipping high beam headlights and front and rear parking sensors.

It features adaptive cruise control, but there’s no active lane keep assistance system.

The central touch-screen operating system is an improvement on the previous model, but the lack of a physical volume dial is a shame and sometimes the touch response time is a little laggy.

While there’s no fully digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver, the S-Cross does include a small 4.2-inch digital display wedged between analogue dials that offers up the usual trip computer info such as fuel consumption, distance to empty and so on.

It would have been nice to see more than just one USB-A port up front, while rear seat passengers miss out on USB ports altogether.

There’s no air vents in the back seat area either, but a fold-down arm rest is provided.

The 2022 Suzuki S-Cross is powered by the same 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder as its predecessor, churning out exactly the same power and torque at the same engine speeds: 103kW at 5500rpm and 220Nm from 1500-4000rpm.

Combined with a six-speed automatic transmission, the S-Cross is lively off the line but the carryover engine doesn’t rev particularly quickly. As such, it takes a little while to build up steam when attempting overtakes at freeway speeds.

All models are fitted with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters that provide a bit more control over the engine, but the gearbox doesn’t offer the sort of rapid shifts you find with dual-clutch transmissions, as seen on the Hyundai Kona and Kia Seltos.

The 2022 Suzuki S-Cross sips 6.2L/100km on the combined city/highway cycle and we recorded just under 6.9L/100km on our launch drive, which isn’t too shabby.

Notably, the new model is not as efficient as its predecessor, which returned 5.9L/100km, owing to the previous car’s lighter weight and front-wheel drive layout.

Mild-hybrid versions of the S-Cross are offered overseas and it’s understood Suzuki Australia is working to bring hybrid models to Australia in the next couple of years.

Small SUVs have essentially replaced hatchbacks and have everyday A-to-B driving duties as their main remit – and in this respect the 2022 Suzuki S-Cross does a fine job.

The perky engine, good sight lines from the driver’s seat and absorbent ride that delivers good comfort levels by smoothing out bumpy road surfaces work in its favour.

Although small SUVs don’t have to be special to be popular (hello MG ZS!), some are more engaging than others, and in this respect the Suzuki S-Cross falls short.

Handling dynamics are merely okay. It’s not the sort of vehicle you can confidently accelerate through tight corners with, but if nothing else it does have a bit charm and that stems from its adventurous persona.

With 175mm of ground clearance, it’s got 5mm less than its predecessor and can’t match the Subaru XV’s 220mm, but on a basic off-road course (a modified MX track), the new S-Cross showed plenty of resolve.

Three drive modes are provided: Auto, Sport and Snow. The first two are essentially 100 per cent front-wheel drive, especially at pedestrian speeds, but chuck it into snow mode and hit the ‘lock’ button and the torque splits 50:50 between the front and rear wheels, which makes challenging approaches, well, less challenging.

We did bottom out a couple of times, but overall the S-Cross performed better than expected off-road, while graded dirt roads at higher speeds proved no problem for the Suzuki either, exhibiting predictable, surefooted handling.

During the national media launch drive a few smaller issues detracted a little from the experience, such as the trip computer adjustment, which is a thin dial drilled into the instrument cluster, and while you get power windows all round, only the driver gets auto up/down.

Some of the cabin plastics have a pretty scratchy and low-quality appearance, which might have been okay when the S-Cross was priced at $30,000. But at $45K, we expected more polish…

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the new 2022 Suzuki S-Cross, and I reckon a lot of buyers will find it to be a charming small SUV with an adventurous spirit.

It’s fairly well equipped and has decent all-round capability.

But as soon as you cross-shop the S-Cross with excellent rivals such as the Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30, it struggles to compete on price and spec.

In many ways, it feels like a last-generation vehicle, which it essentially is…

At the end of the day, there’s plenty to like about Suzuki’s new AWD flagship, but ultimately it underdelivers on equipment and is overpriced.

How much does the 2022 Suzuki S-Cross Allgrip Prestige cost?
Price: $44,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 103kW/220Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 145g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested