2023 Suzuki S-Cross review: Australian first drive

Suzuki has revamped the S-Cross. Although it’s largely the same car under the skin, the 2023 Suzuki S-Cross gets a fresh interior and new, more expressive mini-SUV styling.

Beneath the surface you’ll find the same 1.4-litre turbocharged engine as before, only now it hits the pavement through Suzuki’s AllGrip all-wheel-drive system.

Step inside and you’ll find even more new features with a new 9.0-inch infotainment screen and 360-degree camera, the latter a first for Suzuki Australia.

As with so many new cars, price has been revised upwards, though the mechanical changes at least offset part of the increase. But is it enough to keep the S-Cross competitive in a packed small SUV class?

The 2023 Suzuki S-Cross range comprises two models: officially called the S-Cross AllGrip and S-Cross Premium.

Pricing for the entry-level S-Cross starts from $40,490 rising to $44,490 for the S-Cross Premium, both before on-road costs.

Both variants are powered by a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine (shared with the Suzuki Vitara and Swift Sport) making 103kW and 220Nm. A six-speed automatic is standard, as is switchable all-wheel drive with Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock settings (more on those further down).

The base S-Cross ships with cloth seat trim, 17-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, keyless entry and start, automatic LED headlights, rear privacy tint, dual-zone climate control, 7.0-inch infotainment and more. Stepping up to the Premium adds a panoramic sunroof, leather and cloth seat trim, a 9.0-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay, polished alloy wheels, and a 360-degree camera.

While tech like the 360-degree camera and upsized (and definitely improved) infotainment are good, the S-Cross now sits some $7000 above an all-wheel-drive Vitara with the same turbo engine, and in top spec is $12,500 more expensive than the outgoing (albeit two-wheel drive) S-Cross Prestige.

If you’re familiar with the old S-Cross, or any number of other Suzuki models, you’ll easily spot the family resemblance inside the new S-Cross.

The dash design is largely carried over; however, the panel that faces the passenger has a new stitched crashpad with a soft-touch insert, and the centre stack has been completely reconfigured to accommodate the larger infotainment screen. The air vents have been moved down, and the screen sits higher and is easier to read.

A new face for the instrument dials and a new colour display between the analog tacho and speedo have also been added, and seat trims have been revised. The cloth trim in the S-Cross is nice enough, but the leather and fabric in the S-Cross Premium is a little more contemporary than the old S-Cross’s mix of real and faux leather.

There is still plenty of hard plastics, on the top of the dash and tops of the doors, but places you’re likely to rest your elbow are padded. Even with these solid plastic finishes, the cars we drove at launch felt well screwed together with no flimsy or loose parts and no rattles.

The driver and front passenger get decent space. The seating position is upright affording good outward visibility, but the seat height isn’t so low that you need to drop into it. Slim front pillars are great for visibility too.

Dual-zone climate control is standard, with an easy to use push-button panel and knobs for temperature control. The centre console houses two cupholders and a narrow lidded bin, plus there’s a small space for keys or wallets just ahead of the gear selector.

The rear seats aren’t as spacious as the fronts. If front occupants concede some space leg room is decent, but head room is slim for taller occupants. Think of the second row as ideal for kids and just-in-case transport for adults. There are no air vents or USB power for rear occupants either.

Boot space remains the same as before with a generous 430L of space. A frontrunner in the small SUV class.

With the rear seats folded there’s up to 1230L available. A dual-position boot floor that can also be propped at an angle adds a touch of versatility too.

Two slightly different infotainment systems occupy the middle of the dash in the 2023 Suzuki S-Cross.

In the case of the entry-level S-Cross, there’s a 7.0-inch touchscreen display equipped with satellite navigation, AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth, and wired smartphone connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This screen is easy to use and graphically simple, although its overall polish is let down a little with huge black bezels around the screen and no knobs for volume or tuning.

The S-Cross Premium steps things up slightly with a 9.0-inch screen and a more integrated look with smaller bezels. The system is equipped with all the features of the base model, plus adds wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay (but not Android Auto, which is wired only). A multi-angle 360-degree camera is also fitted to the Premium in place of a reverse camera only on the base model.

Suzuki’s interface also allows access to functions like trip computer details. Voice recognition is also equipped, but requires a set commands (not conversational ones) and on test, even closely following the provided prompts, the system had a fairly significant failure rate.

Despite this new S-Cross being largely based on the underpinnings of its predecessor, the previous ANCAP rating does not carry over. As such, the 2023 Suzuki S-Cross is currently unrated at the time of writing.

Standard safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning, weaving alert (also known as fatigue detection), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear park sensors, plus two ISOFIX and three top-tether child seat mounts.

Newer vehicles to market have also added tech like lane-centering and lane-keep assist, more advanced AEB with intersection intervention, and a centre airbag to prevent occupants from clashing in the event of a collision, but for now the S-Cross goes without these more advanced safety features.