Maruti S-Cross petrol pre-bookings open unofficially, launch likely in June

Maruti Suzuki introduced the S-Cross petrol at the Auto Expo 2020. While the petrol powered model was slated to arrive sometime in March-April, the national lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19 forced the auto major to push back its launch plans to mid-2020.

Now dealer sources have confirmed to HT Auto that unofficial bookings for the upcoming petrol powered S-Cross have started. The token amount has been kept at ₹11,000 which is fully refundable.

With the latest update, the S-Cross will chuck its old BS 4 compliant 90 PS 1.3-litre mild-hybrid diesel engine which came hooked to a 5-speed manual unit. This diesel engine has been discontinued entirely from the company's line-up due to the unavailability of the BS 6 update.

Actually, Maruti Suzuki has decided to do-away with the diesel engines completely and chances are that it may not introduce any oil-burner option anytime soon in the future. As a result, it's converting all its previous diesel offerings to petrol, hence also launched the new Brezza in the petrol avatar a few months back. (Full details here)

In the new avatar, the S-Cross will employ a BS 6 compliant 1.5-litre petrol engine (K15B) that's known to produce 77 kW (104.69 PS) of power at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm of torque which peaks at 4,400 rpm. It's expected that the updated S-Cross will also feature Suzuki's Progressive Smart Hybrid dual-battery technology as standard.

For the first time, the S-Cross will get a 4-speed automatic transmission, while the 5-speed manual gearbox will be offered as an option. There're no available details on the fuel economy figures yet, but expect the S-Cross manual to return a mileage in excess of 20 kmpl.

Lower starting price and option of a petrol engine should possibly help the car get more traction in its segment. While the last known price of its diesel variants extended from ₹8.81 lakh* to ₹11.44 lakh*, the petrol offering should start at a slightly lower price point.

The S-Cross petrol is expected to arrive in the Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha grades, but the details aren't confirmed yet.

India's largest car maker also recently announced a 'Buy Now, Pay Later' scheme on select models to push sales since new car demand has fallen drastically over the last few weeks due to the nationwide lockdown. The company announced a partnership with Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Limited (CIFCL). (Full details here)