Road tester Al Suttie checks out the revamped and robust Suzuki S-Cross compact crossover.

The remodelled looks on the S-Cross bring it into the mainstream

Monday

As comprehensive makeovers go, the update of the Suzuki S-Cross is in the Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen league. At its core, the S-Cross that arrived this morning is the same as the car that first arrived back in 2013, but there’s a great deal that’s different and new, as well. For starters, the looks are much less, er, challenging and, more importantly, there’s now mild hybrid tech on all models to improve economy and emissions.

Tuesday

First duty for the S-Cross is a routine trek across country to pick up some pet supplies. It does this without any effort despite bad weather and slippery roads, helped along by this test car’s Allgrip four-wheel drive. Rather than a trite road tester’s comment, I can safely say it really did offer some much-needed traction on the back roads where gravel had been washed on to the normal driving route. Also, the boot is a decent, if not big, size.

Boot space is decent

Wednesday

Into town today and the Suzuki’s sat nav is accurate when it comes to directions, but I’m very glad I programmed it while sat on the driveway at home. The delay between touching the screen with my finger and the system reacting is just too slow, which would make it a hassle to use on the move. The 9-inch screen in this Ultra model is clear and easy to read, which makes amends, but the interaction needs to be much better.

Thursday

Another day of flitting between destinations and I’ve paired my phone to use stored destinations via Apple CarPlay – much easier than the Suzuki’s own infotainment set-up. In defence of the S-Cross, the cabin feels very well put together, the driving position is good, and it offers fine all-round vision as the S-Cross is more SUV than crossover. For my 5ft 10in frame, there’s plenty of adjustment and space.

Friday

The mild hybrid power of the S-Cross is not something you’ll pay much attention to while driving the Suzuki. Electric assistance comes in and out of use with no obvious signs and the 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine has decent shove off the bottom of its rev range. Push it harder and it becomes a little rowdy, but there’s not much call for that when the S-Cross is happier as a cruiser than high-speed bruiser.

The cabin feels very well put together and the 9-inch screen is easy to use

Saturday

A rare day off from ferrying kids to and from sports activities today as I head out for a cycle with friends. This requires an early start and loading my bike into the S-Cross is simple. It does a good job of mooching up the A9 dual carriageway with a supple ride, but too much road and wind noise at 70mph is a disappointment in a car that otherwise feels well suited to longer drives.

Sunday

Suzuki claims 47.8mpg combined fuel economy for this S-Cross Ultra with a manual gearbox. During the week with the car, it’s been not far off that figure and returned 45mpg. That’s a good score by my calculations and comparing it to other cars over the same sort of use, which has been predominantly A-roads. If you need the four-wheel-drive ability, the Suzuki S-Cross is decent to drive and keenly priced, but too many rivals do too much more ably for it to move centre stage.