The Hyundai Santro came to India in 1998 with a humongous task on its hands.
Establish a relatively unknown Korean brand in the Indian automotive industry.
The Santro not only greatly exceeded expectations, but also went on to create the record of being
the quickest small car to sell one million units in a span of 16 years.
Before being discontinued, Santro had become such a household name in India, that when
Hyundai ran a name hunt campaign for its new hatchback, Santro emerged as the most popular
name with more than two lakh votes.
And finally, we've got our hands on the all new Santro and let's check out, if it
packs enough to live up to the Santro name and repeat the success of its predecessor.
The new Santro carries forward its iconic tallboy design in its modern iteration.
The face looks quite familiar with the grille and headlamps reminding you of some of its
elder siblings and even the discontinued i10.
The wide gaping black surroundings for the grille is unique with large fog lamps placed
just below the headlamps.
The side profile is rather quirky with two bold and distinctive character lines above
both wheel arches.
The beltline drops downwards after the B pillar to create a much larger rear window that gives
a sense of space and airiness to the passengers.
Surprisingly, Hyundai is not offering alloy wheels even on the top of the line Asta variant
and that's a big disappointment.
The rear styling is a little more sedate, with neatly designed tail lights and bumper
reflectors.
The exterior design might not be to everyone's taste, but interior will definitely impress
even the most critical car buyer.
The dashboard layout and quality of materials are a major step up from the segment standards.
The dashboard as well as the steering wheel get a dual tone treatment and the soft rubber
finish for the switches feel really up market.
The propellor design for the ac vents is a very tasteful touch but on the downside, the
vents cannot be shut to stop the airflow.
Power window switches are ergonomically placed near the gearstick and the AMT gearstick itself
is a treat to the eyes.
The new Santro comes in 4 variants.
D lite, Era, Sportz, Magna and Asta.
It's quite impressive that all variants come with ABS, EBD and driver airbag as standard.
This is the top of the line Asta variant and additionally gets a passenger airbag and a
7 inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
The Sports variant gets the same infotainment system with steering mounted controls but
misses out on reverse camera and parking sensors.
All variants get a 2.5 inch MID screen that displays all the necessary driver information.
Another interesting feature that all variants get, is Hyundai's Swachch Can that helps
keep the car as well as the country clean.
The AMT option comes in the Sports and Magna variants but unlike the manual counterpart,
the Magna AMT will get a music system with bluetooth connectivity.
The music system can be controlled with the Hyundai iblue application.
The Santro comes with quite a few useful storage spaces and bottle holders.
Driving position is upright with great visibility and good support from the seats.
It's quite easy to get in and out of the rear cabin and the elders in family are going
to be really happy about it.
The rear seat space is impressive for the segment standards and the flat bench means
three passengers can sit comfortably.
All except the base D Lite variant get rear ac vents, again an impressive, segment first
feature.
Boot space is good and practical for a small car and the rear seats can be folded to accommodate
large luggage.
The new Santro is powered by a 1.1 litre four cylinder petrol engine that develops 69ps
of power and 99nm of torque.
It's a nice and smooth engine that work well in city but out on the highway, the engine
loses steam and struggles to get you to three digit speeds.
And once you get to 120kmph, there's a continuous beep that's anyways a mandatory norm for
all new cars.
The 5 speed manual gearbox is great for a city car, with light clutch and smooth shifting.
Tall gear ratios are exactly right for an engine that revs cleanly till around 4000rpm
and you also get brilliant fuel economy.
Hyundai claims a mileage of 20.3 kmpl for the all new santro and I'm now getting 17.2
despite some fast driving, which is really, really impressive.
Hyundai has introduced its first ever automated manual transmission with the Santro.
The AMT gearbox is a very practical option for regular city commuters but is not devoid
of the inherent shortcomings of an AMT box.
It's not very quick to respond to throttle inputs and there is a pause between gearshifts
that causes what's called the head nod.
However, the AMT gearboxes need a bit of getting used to and you also have the option to shift
gears manually.
The most impressive aspect of the new Santro is its ride quality.
The suspension absorbs a great deal of impact without transmitting anything into the cabin.
Even noise insulation is brilliant for a car in this segment.
On the flipside, ride can be a bit unnerving at high speeds and even the steering feels
a bit disconnected as the speed rises.
But at the end of the day, the Santro is a city car and it excels brilliantly in that
scenario.
So that's the all new Santro for you.
Completely new and packed with latest tech and all sorts of goodies to give you great
value for your money.
But do you think this car has the charm of the Santro we all knew and loved and can it
replicate the same success.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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