They are evidently very clever indeed, the boffins at Suzuki.

In the same way as Kirk, Bones and Spock successfully messed up the space/time continuum, the designers of the SX4 appear to have run riot with the otherwise accepted Rules that link fuel used with  miles travelled.

Having filled the Suzuki’s tank I noticed, with a tinge of disappointment, that the estimated Range from that point was around 290 miles. A passable, but probably optimistic, figure, I suspected (as many of these digital readout figures prove to be.)  I was clearly going to have to spend more time than ideal in a normal week’s driving, in filling stations.

Setting off for an overnight visit to East Anglia, my mind was already planning for where on the journey I would need to stop to refuel.

But then the Suzuki seemed to take a sideswipe at Newton’s Laws.

As I drove further and further East, the Range figure refused to yield.  Fifty miles, a hundred miles and even two hundred miles in, the forecast hovered resolutely just below the 300 ‘more miles’ mark.

In truth, only as I neared home on the return journey, some 350+ miles later, did the gauge finally accept the existence of Sir Isaac’s calculations and  begin to recede; albeit very slowly even then.

And the journey summary proved it: an average of 59.8mpg, for eight hours of mixed motorway and A-road driving, with a smattering of country lanes at each end, all undertaken without any dawdling, is a truly remarkable feat, of which Suzuki can be rightfully proud. As a double whammy, this miserly consumption places this car firmly in VED Band C, where tax discs cost £30 a year.  What’s not to like?

Whilst achieving this near-unbelievable frugality, this Suzuki packs in a range of exceptional features for a car at this price, including variable 4 wheel drive – either controlled automatically by the car itself or deployed at the driver’s discretion.  Having seen what they’d done about the fuel, I’d surely trust those same boffins to keep me in control in a slippery situation, any time.

Should the going get REALLY rough (or the side road be COMPLETELY unsalted) then I even had the ability to ‘lock’ the drive train; a surely very useful feature, and great to have “in the toolbox” as another winter approaches.

Well equipped, with intuitive satnav and entertainment system, and its vast sunroof, this car was a good place to spend time.  Cruise control, Hill Hold, speed limiters and well laid-out dashboard, with surefire roadholding and well-worked suspension dynamics, made for a surprisingly pleasing driver experience, especially in Sport mode.

As a good value, highly competent, rule-breakingly frugal Crossover, the SX4 S-Cross gets my vote.  And damned be those Laws of Physics…!

Tech spec:

Car Reviewed: Suzuki SX4 S-Cross SUV 1.6 DDis ALLGRIP SZ5

On the road price Price: £23,549
Engine: 4 cylinder Diesel, 1598cc
Max Power:120 ps @ 5700-6600rpm
Max Torque: 320Nm / 236 Lb ft@ 1750rpm
Max Speed: 108 mph
Acceleration: 0-62 mph in 13.0 seconds
Claimed MPG: Urban 54.3,  Extra Urban 72.4,  Combined 64.2
CO2 Emissions 114 g/km
VED Band C –  £30 per annum
Length 4300mm
Width 1765mm
Height 1575mm
Ground Clearance 165mm
Gross weight 1870 kg
Kerb Weight: 1305 kg
Luggage Capacity (max-min 875-430 litres

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