Suzuki S-Cross running costs and reliability

2022 onwards (change model)

Running costs rating: 4 out of 54.0

Suzuki S-Cross review 2022 - front cornering shot, blue car, autumnal road

Suzuki S-Cross review: rear seats, black upholstery

Written by Luke Wilkinson Published: 22 April 2024 Updated: 22 April 2024

Miles per pound (mpp) ⓘ

Low figures relate to the least economical version; high to the most economical. Based on WLTP combined fuel economy for versions of this car made since September 2017 only, and typical current fuel or electricity costs.

Petrol engines	6.8 - 7.8 mpp
Hybrid petrol engines	7.1 - 8.0 mpp

What is miles per pound?

Fuel economy ⓘ

Low figures relate to the least economical version; high to the most economical. Based on WLTP combined fuel economy for versions of this car made since September 2017 only.

Petrol engines	46.3 - 53.2 mpg
Hybrid petrol engines	48.7 - 54.3 mpg

View mpg & specs for any version

Mild hybrid is impressively economical
Full hybrid disappointingly so
Bulletproof reliability record

What are the running costs?

You have two engines to choose from – a 1.4-litre mild hybrid and a 1.5-litre full hybrid. The former comes with a manual gearbox as standard and a choice of either front- or four-wheel drive.

Officially, the front-wheel drive manual will clock 53.2mpg, while the four-wheel drive model claims 47.8mpg. We averaged around 44mpg during the six months we spent with our four-wheel drive long-term Suzuki S-Cross, no matter how we drove it. That’s very good going.

Suzuki S-Cross running costs — In real-world driving the full hybrid isn’t that much more economical than the mild hybrid.

Suzuki says the full hybrid model will achieve 54.3mpg in front-wheel drive form and 48.7mpg in four-wheel drive form. These improvements are very marginal, though – and, during our time with the car, we extracted almost identical figures as we did from the mild hybrid.

We’re not convinced the full hybrid system is worth the extra cash, especially when you consider the massive performance penalty you’ll pay. You’re probably better off sticking with the mild hybrid and driving more carefully.

Servicing and warranty

Suzuki ranks very highly for customer satisfaction, so we expect servicing will be a painless affair. The company says every version of the S-Cross should be serviced every 12,500 miles and it offers a service plan to spread the cost of maintenance for all Suzukis up to six years old.

Suzuki also introduced a new warranty package for its new cars in April 2023. Every new Suzuki leaves the factory with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, but for each year the car is serviced at a registered Suzuki dealership, Suzuki will extend the warranty up to a maximum of seven years/100,000 miles.

That puts the brand in joint second place on the UK’s new car warranty market, alongside the likes of Kia and MG. In fact, the only rival that can do better is the Toyota Yaris Cross with its impressive 10-year warranty.

Reliability

Our long-termer was great
Suzuki has a good reputation
Previous car had one recall

We ran an S-Cross as a long-termer for six months. It had a hard life, covering thousands of motorway miles with loads of luggage on board – and it never skipped a beat. Our biggest concern was the hyperactive collision warning assist system, which is a very minor fault. It’s better being that way rather than flippant, we suppose.

The S-Cross’s engines and four-wheel drive systems have also proved to be reliable in other Suzukis. The 1.4-litre mild hybrid system is fitted to the Swift, while the 1.5-litre full hybrid is found in the Vitara – and we’ve heard no horror stories thus far. The previous-generation S-Cross also had just one recall back in 2016. The current car has had no recalls.