Suzuki has given its S-Cross SUV a ‘major facelift’ with a more distinctive and upright front end.

Offering a ‘stronger and bolder’ road presence, ground clearance is now slightly higher at 180mm versus 165mm, while a new headlamp design helps provide both higher efficiency and a ‘sharper look’ says Suzuki. At the rear, newly designed LED rear combination lamps are used to provide a cleaner and more contemporary style.

A new interior design includes an updated ‘soft-touch’ dashboard pad and newly designed seat fabric for SZ4 and SZ-T models. All SZ4 models come as standard with seven airbags, ESP, DAB digital radio, air conditioning, Daytime Running Lights (DRL), 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control with speed limiter, air conditioning, heated door mirrors, black protective skid plates and black wheel arch extensions.

SZ-T adds LED Projector Headlamps, sat nav, polished 17-inch alloy wheels, rear parking camera, front and rear parking proximity sensors, Dual Zone automatic air conditioning, front fog lamps, rear privacy glass, silver roof rails and silver rear skid plates.

Equipment for the range-topping SZ5 model includes Radar Brake Support (RBS), leather seat upholstery, heated front seats, double sliding panoramic sunroof and aluminium roof rails.

Suzuki’s Boosterjet petrol engine was first seen in the Vitara, with a 1.0-litre version following later in Baleno. This 1.0-litre Boosterjet technology now continues for the Facelift S-Cross. Offering the same level of power and torque of a much larger capacity normally aspirated engine (1.8-litre), the unit has an output of 111PS and offers nine per cent more torque than the outgoing 1.6-litre petrol, together with an 11 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and 10 per cent improvement in combined fuel consumption.

There is also a 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine with a 0-62mph acceleration time of 10.2 seconds for both manual and automatic transmissions and a maximum speed of 124mph. A 1.6-litre diesel (DDiS) engine can also be specified and has 320Nm of torque from 1,750rpm. The DDiS 2WD model achieves CO2 emissions of 106g/km.

The ALLGRIP system is now available on SZ-T and SZ5 models, with four driver-selectable modes for various road surfaces. Suzuki describes four-wheel drive as ‘detrimental to fuel economy and emissions performance’, however its ALLGRIP system enables CO2 emissions that are ‘remarkably low for a four-wheel drive SUV’ according to the Japanese company. CO2 emissions for the new 1.0-litre Boosterjet petrol engine with manual transmission come in at 119g/km for the 1.0-litre and 127g/km for the 1.4-litre. The optional automatic transmission equipped 1.4-litre model is one gram higher. The S-Cross with 1.6-litre DDiS engine and ALLGRIP has a CO2 figure of 114g/km.

The facelift Suzuki S-Cross goes on sale on 17th October, with prices starting at £14,999 OTR for the SZ4 1.0 petrol with manual transmission.