Is Maruti Suzuki S-Cross getting 1.5 litre diesel engine? Spotted testing sans facelift

While it is an open secret that Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker, is readying the facelifted avatar of its premium crossover S-Cross, it is probably for the first time that the model has been caught on camera while testing 1.5 litre diesel engine.

It was earlier reported that Maruti Suzuki is developing a new 1.5 litre engine and successfully tested the same in its premium sedan Ciaz. Now a report of MotorBeam claims that a prototype of S-Cross with a 1.5 litre diesel engine under the hood has been spied undergoing testing in the country. This indicates that the new engine could also find its way into S-Cross.

However, the intriguing bit is that the spotted test mule of S-Cross is the current version of the model and not the upcoming facelifted avatar. The new S-Cross is currently powered by 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre diesel units from the current model.

The 1.3-litre diesel motor churns out 89bhp power and 200Nm torque and 1.6-litre diesel engine tuned to pump out 118bhp and 320Nm. With the newly developed 1.5 litre engine, Maruti could be looking at replacing the 1.3 litre engine sourced from Fiat in the model. The new 1.5-litre diesel engine is being developed by Suzuki.

S-Cross, the first premium crossover of Maruti, is expected to get its facelifted model in September. Nexa, the premium showrooms through which the models have been sold, will start accepting bookings for the new S-Cross from September 1.

The new model has been unveiled globally and gets major rework on the face. It remains to be seen if the new engine will be a major addition in the new S-Cross.

Source: MotorBeam