Maruti Suzuki S-Cross long term review: After 15,213km and 12 months

After three years of writing and talking about cars, motorcycles and everything in between â€" in the OVERDRIVE magazine, on the website, on the television show on CNBC-TV18 â€" the time has come for me to take a step back from my association. In this period, I've been lucky enough to lay my hands on some very extraordinary automobiles and also some that, well, were built on a budget. I drove an entry-level hatchback for over a year as part of our long-term tests. I spent my last three months with the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross, which sort of symbolises my journey. It's only apt as both of us are bidding farewell to OVERDRIVE at the same time.

I couldn't have asked for a better companion than the S-Cross for my prestige act. Why? Well, it saved me close to Rs 30,000 in one day. How? Well, it was to move me and my possessions out of Mumbai and to my home town of Vadodara. I never thought I was much of a hoarder. I couldn't possibly possess much after eight years of living in Mumbai. 21 bags and boxes! I guess a call to the movers was inevitable, right? Wrong. 810 litres of bootspace isn't very tangible when you read it, but it was enough (along with the empty front seat) to move all of my stuff across 450 kilometres. Compact SUV, they said?

810 litres of boot space with the middle row down was enough to move my luggage from Mumbai to Vadodara

Don't let the claimed range fool you, the S-Cross is very efficient

It's the S-Cross with the 1.6-litre engine and a 48-litre tank, I told myself. A full tank showed me a range of exactly 445km... door-to-door distance 474km... sigh... Won't make it without a refill, right? Wrong again. With the cruise control set to 100kmph (yes, must follow the law), I averaged 67.71kmph and 13.6kmpl! So basically, I moved from Mumbai to Vadodara in less than a quarter of what the movers would've charged me. And ladies and gentlemen, that is why amongst all the awe-striking vehicles I've driven, from Rollers and Ferraris, Bentleys to Lambos, Rangies to Maseratis, the handy compact premium SUV from India's first car maker will always be special. I've got my cue. Exit, stage right!

Total kms covered: 15,213km

Kms done since last update: 4,657km

Efficiency: 13.6kmpl

Fuel consumed: 342.42 litres