Safe Bet

There is a famous quote by Jack Nicholson in the film, A Few Good Men, which is apt for Maruti Suzuki’s efforts to resurrect the S-Cross, ‘Roll the dice and take your chances’. This could very well be the last straw for this crossover. Going by the current trend, the country’s most successful automobile manufacturer has decided to drop the diesel engine and go only with petrol. The 1.5-litre gasoline motor, which also powers the Ciaz, the Brezza and the XL6, has a lot going for it in terms of both, refinement and fuel efficiency, but sadly, history hasn’t been kind to the S-Cross brand since its launch in 2015. In fact, Maruti’s thunder was stolen by the runaway segment leader, the Hyundai Creta. In 2017, Maruti decided to press the refresh button and give the crossover a more aggressive look. It certainly was a vast improvement over the plain-Jane design, but by this time competition had become even more fierce with a whole new range of SUVs, including the sub-4 metre ones entering the market. Now, with Maruti Suzuki putting all its eggs in one basket, will this topsy-turvy year go easy on them? Only time will tell.  We will