• Good passenger space
• Well-sized storage bins
• Below average boot size

How much space is there?

There’s enough room up front for the driver and passenger not to bump elbows. The seating position is quite high up, which makes it easy to get in and out of. Headroom is good, too, even with the sliding panoramic sunroof on the range-topping Ultra model.

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Rear-seat passengers also have little to complain about. Those wide rear windows and the massive panoramic roof also allow lots of light to flood into the cabin, making the space look bigger than it is. There’s plenty of legroom for two, but three fully grown adults may find it a squeeze on the bench.

Boot space and storage

The S-Cross’s boot is smaller than that of its main rivals. Suzuki says the mild hybrid model can hold 430 litres, which makes it less spacious than the Hyundai Tucson (620 litres), Peugeot 3008 (520 litres) and Nissan Qashqai (504 litres). However, it’s a good shape and the boot floor can be raised up to eliminate the load lip, which makes loading heavy items easy.

The full hybrid S-Cross has a much smaller boot, at just 293 litres. The difference in capacity is due to the hybrid system’s high-voltage battery pack – it occupies the normally empty space under the boot board. As a result, the hybrid model might be less suited to family life.

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Back to the positives. There are loads of storage bins dotted around the cabin, including door pockets large enough to hold litre water bottles, trays in the centre console for keys and a deep central armrest bin. There’s a handy smartphone tray under the climate controls, too, but it’s a little too shallow to hold the biggest flagship handsets. As such, you could end up ramming the gearstick into your phone when changing gear.

Is it easy to park?

If you’re struggling to get a hold of its size (which is understandable – it looks deceptively imposing in pictures), the S-Cross is around 10% longer, 9% taller and 3% wider than a Ford Fiesta. So, it isn’t huge, but it’s a good bit larger than a supermini.

All models come with front and rear parking sensors, as well as a rear parking camera. Top spec cars gain a 360-degree camera, giving you a bird’s eye view of the car when parking. What’s more, the door mirrors are wide and there’s loads of glass in the cabin, so it’s easy to place on the road.

Safety

• Not yet tested by Euro NCAP
• Two Isofix points in the rear
• Lots of standard safety kit

Euro NCAP hasn’t crash-tested the Suzuki S-Cross yet. For the time being, we can tell you a little more about the S-Cross’s safety equipment, following our experience running the car as a long-termer for six-months.

Specification highlights include seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, adaptive cruise control and a blindspot monitor. For the most part, Suzuki’s system’s work faultlessly – and its lane-keeping assist system is one of the least intrusive on sale.

However, we did spot an issue with the car’s autonomous emergency braking system. It can sometimes err too far on the side of caution. If you’re approaching a badly parked car, for example, it thinks you’re about to have an accident and will sometimes pressurise the braking system.