Report - Maruti to import 1.6L Fiat MultiJet engine for SX4 S-Cross in 2015

According to a report from Financial Express, Maruti-Suzuki will launch the new SX4 S-Cross crossover in early 2015.

Sources aware of the development confirmed that Maruti is indeed considering the S-Cross for India with two diesel engine options. While the base variants will be powered by the 1.3-liter Fiat MultiJet diesel engine (which powers the Swift, Ritz, Ertiga, etc), the more powerful 1.6-liter MultiJet engine will be offered on the higher variants.

So far, the 1.6-liter unit is not offered by Fiat, Tata or Maruti in any of their Indian offerings, and as a result, production or assembly of this engine does not take place in India. Hence, Maruti will be importing this engine from Europe initially, and may decide to locally assemble it if volumes justify.

The Suzuki SX4 S-Cross made its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year. Though its actually the next generation SX4 crossover, Suzuki has repositioned the older model as the 'SX4 Classic', while the S-Cross is priced and positioned in a segment above, competing with the Nissan Qashqai.

In the UK, the S-Cross is offered in petrol and diesel variants. The petrol engine is a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated unit developing 120 hp and 156 Nm of torque. The 1.6-liter MultiJet diesel engine produces 120 hp and 320 Nm of torque. While the petrol is offered with a 5-speed manual and a CVT, the diesel gets only a 6-speed manual transmission.