RIDING high on the success of its S-Cross which was first launched in 2013 and quickly became one of its top sellers, Suzuki has given the popular compact SUV a serious revamp for 2017 that includes new engines and a smarter interior.

Priced from £14,999 for the entry-level SZ4 1.0 petrol – a new engine to the line-up – the other engine choices include another newcomer, the 1.4-litre Boosterjet petrol engines or the well-thought of 1.6-litre DDiS diesel, which now boasts fuel consumption of 68.8mpg on the combined cycle.

The Boosterjet turbo engines give you 109bhp from the 1.0-litre engine, while the 1.4 has 138bhp.

There's more distinctive and upright front end styling and ground clearance is now slightly higher at 180mm versus 165mm, for better 'farm road' capability. That's thanks to larger wheels as much as any design changes, but on the road these soak up the bumps better too.

Suzukis can be a little spartan inside, but this has been addressed in the latest S-Cross models, especially those further up the spec' sheet, with a much more opulent feel about it.

The 2017 range will come in three levels of trim – SZ4, SZ-T and SZ5 – with all having seven airbags, ESP and DAB radio as standard. They also have alloy wheels, air-conditioning, cruise control, and Bluetooth connectivity.

The mid-range SZ-T has SatNav, silver roof rails, dual-zone aircon, more speakers, keyless entry, automatic LED 'projector' headlights and wipers, parking sensors, reversing camera and auto-dimming interior mirror.

Moving up to the SZ5 gets leather upholstery, heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, brake support, adaptive cruise control and a more complex audio system. Choosing the 1.6 diesel 4×4 SZ5 gives you the top of the range for £24,349.

Suzuki's AllGrip system of four-wheel-drive can be had with all three engines and has four driver-selectable modes for driving on a range of surfaces.

From a tax point of view, CO2 emissions are lowest on the diesel two-wheel-drive model at 106g/km and that means the annual VED charge is just £20 – even the 4 x 4 version has just 114g/km. That's almost the same as that achieved by the 1.0-litre petrol two-wheel-drive model.

The 1.6-litre DDiS engine is quite torquey, thanks to a variable geometry turbocharger which also helps deliver low fuel consumption and low particulate emissions. It also makes it quite fun to drive too.