A Costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006 - 2012). The Untold Story


Thread Starter #1
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
A sunshine story of sunrise and sunset

img (39).jpg

September 14, 2006.
Its the navratra season.
A season of celebration, and jubilation, of the great Indian Ram katha. The entire country is in festive mood. Garbas, raam leelas, durga pooja, and what not? Its a celebration of the great Indian cultural heritage. Its the celebration of the victory of goodness over evil. Its celebration time in our family, cause, like many of us, and thousands of petrolheads across bharat, its one of the most auspicious times to buy a car.

In the early part of the new millenium, we had purchased our first modern car-the cute and chubby Daewoo Matiz. It cost us INR 4,55,000 on road and it was a top end SP variant which featured many bells and whistles like power windows, rear wiper/defogger, power steering, powerful AC, superb space management, a radio cassette player with 2 speakers and that evergreen Italian design. Was a huge amount back then, but, it was an impulse purchase. But, the beginning of the end was inevitable. The company went belly up by 2002, and as years passed, finding spares were like searching for a needle in a haystack, and the car was also starting to age. It did 1.7 lakh pls kms, and, six and a half years later, it was time for her to bid goodbye.

The market had lots of options in store for us. To scrap it, or to exchange it? The car was running like new, and we had lots of fond memories with it, but, as they say, the show must move with the times. Mom, in particular, was very influential in this purchase, since we had bad luck in the past with both the companies (PAL-padmini) and daewoo (matiz) ceasing to exist.
Once bitten, twice shy perhaps?

img (7).JPG

That made us to began a search for its replacement, a search that proved to be painful, painstaking, and yet, full of ups and downs.
 
Last edited:

Akash1886

Honoured Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
11,936
Likes
14,774
Location
Delhi-NCR/ Mumbai
Re: A costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006-2012). The untold story

A sunshine story of sunrise and sunset
Man! How couldn't I make out that your story will be of the Santro. Never had the opportunity to see this one but I am sure that the way Punto has been kept even this would have been kept immaculately. Siddhart do share more about this one, I am hooked on to the thread. With Santro being discontinued recently, I still vouch for its front seats and the AC. This car had the power to even work very well with after market CNG fitment. If I am right, then it was Silver color?

Regards

Akash
 
Thread Starter #3
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
Re: A costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006-2012). The untold story

A costly gift. An affair to remember.

10345993_880726835294936_2932327450506115532_n.jpg

Ever remember your first date? Your first love? Your first feeling of a smell of a brand new car? The pain, and will to acquire it? And, the passion to maintain it? And, of course, to enjoy it?
Its what, these whole lot of instances, and the bonding we develop with these machines, define our stories. A car is an extension of a human's personality. But, at times, practical decision with tactical thinking often reaps rewards.
The Car market saw some exciting options but, finalizing the santro was never easy. Day in and day out, each and every petrol and diesel car had to be shortlisted, scrutinized, test driven and then a final decision was made.

The want for a new car
Machines have so much in common with humans. The more they are used, the more they age. And the more they age, the more expenditure they require. Buying a car is one thing, but getting a costly gift is another ballgame altogether. A costly gift where a shared six figure sum is in stake. One single mistake, and you wanna regret forever.
A new car means getting engaged to the body, married to the engine, enjoying the honeymoon with the chassis and drivetrain and spending bigwigs on maintaining her. Machines are built like the opposite sex. Often demanding, and less forgiving.

The diesel vs petrol debate
The diesel hatch market was ruled by only one car-the Indica, and its new turbo variant was launched in 2006. Despite of heavy running, my dad was always a petrol car lover and enjoyed its refinement, smoothness, zippyness, simplicity and lower maintenance costs. Perhaps, the word "dirty fuel" was always in his mind, and it was like a lost case of biting off more then what one can chew. So, out it went, from the radar.
The other car that was languishing in forgotten forearms of a paralytic doctor was the palio 1.9 diesel. It had a unique blend of stylish looks, outstanding quality, modern amenities like ECM controlled fuel pump and drive by wire throttle paired to old school IDI diesel engine, but concerns over its future and imminent discontinuation after the Tata Fiat merger meant that car was not even in radar. A classic case of a forgotten specie.

So, what next? Maybe the arrival of common rail tech in diesels (february 2007-swift diesel) was a case of "too little, too late"? Nope. It was just a family oriented decision that had a two step approach.
  • Be tactical but think practical.
  • Buy something which is there in the market at the right price at the right place at the right time.

10391374_880727118628241_416117379651144139_n.jpg

And then, we decided on a fixed budget.
 
Joined
Oct 6, 2011
Messages
212
Likes
71
Location
Chennai
Re: A costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006-2012). The untold story

Ah the Santro! My father decided to sell our Trusty old 2003 Alto after driving this car. He liked it more than any other small car he had ever driven. Sadly, We never bought any replacement for the alto [thinking].
 
Thread Starter #5
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
Re: A costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006-2012). The untold story

The diary of a petrolhead​

img (26).JPG

Decisions, confusions and answers.
A two step approach made our decision more easier. Our next car had to be a petrol, and had to be from one of the two biggest brands from the country. Either Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai. Both the brands made fairly good cars those days, and though budget was not set per se, the aim was to get an all rounder that was to be driven across the city of Delhi, with occasional trips to Haryana and Punjab at a latter part of its life. I graduated out of my college, and was preparing for my MBA along with doing an internship. So, considering the other long term expenses, we had shortlisted only three cars.
  • Hyundai getz 1.3 petrol (GVS/GLS)
  • Maruti swift 1.3 VXI (ABS was under consideration)
  • Hyundai Santro Xing XO

We never really considered the wagon-R, primarily because parents didn't like its shape, or the estilo, even at one time, the Indica Xeta was under consideration considering its price to features to space ratio but dad was apprehensive on reliability and resale quotient.
To our surprise, we had even test drove the palio 1.6 sport, and immediately fell in love with it. It was priced at 4.5 lakhs ex showroom, had a high tech powerful engine, space, eye catching design and safety, plus was equally comfortable with segment best ride and handling. However, things like the future of Fiat brand which was in transition with Tata, poor FE of 8-10 kmpl and potential issues with parts availability (the word practical cannot be ignored) was a big downer. Priorities in life demanded a simple and sensible car with good service and maintenance backup, rather than a good looking soul underneath. Any wrong decision and I'd end up getting a beating from a chappal's soul in the name of owning a car with giving more weightage to "heart" and "soul" over the "head".

The pythagorean triplets with a last minute twist

Swift 1.3 VXI
We went to Maruti dealers first on taking a look at the swift 1.3 VXI. ZXI was not a viable option as it was costly for me and my dad, VXI had an optional ABS and was within the 4.5 lakh price bracket. We took a test drive and immediately liked it. Its modern design, proven engine, fun to drive factor all backed up with superb maruti service, plus it also had great ride and handling for its time. Things like mediocre rear seat space and small boot was overlooked for style, but the dealer's refusal to sell us the car was a big dampner.
Selling the matiz was no easy task and the only way to get rid of it was to exchange it. The dealers of maruti located in east delhi and noida simply refused to acknowledge buying back a defunct car like the matiz and swift, being a waiting period model, further aggravated their attitude. This was another consideration which influenced our purchase. Maruti lost a customer because of its care a damn attitude.

Toss up between the santro and getz
Hyundai had rolled out a navratra offer wherein they were giving 9 accessories free with both the santro and getz models as their sales were tanked by the maruti twins. We decided to give Hyundai a shot, and a newly opened outlet-sunrise hyundai was starting its operations in mother dairy showroom. Owing to my limited knowledge and having a close contact with one of the salespersons in that dealership, the only option left was to buy from there.
We took a thorough test drive of both the santro and getz and the opinionsa were divided. While the getz was a more comfortable and a matured car with a dull engine the santro was a compact sized tall seating car with poor legroom but a zippy engine and better handling, though the getz had a better ride quality. Discounts on getz were less and the GLS model was touching 5.7L, not something my dad was willing to spend. We checked out the Santro, and the top end XO model was coming out to be 4.15L OTR without discounts, and it had all the features that we wanted, plus my driving pattern in Delhi city suited it more.

The last minute twist
While scouting through the brochure of the xing, I noticed that Hyundai was offering optional ABS on all the trim levels of the santro. It was a vital safety item and perhaps not everyone even knew about it. I asked gautam, the salesperson, and he too sounded apprehensive about it, cause it was a first enquiry for their dealership. I pestured him, cause 15,000 was not a big money, and we talked to Hyundai, and they told its made to order, and it will take a month for my car to arrive, provided I order a silver colour.

img (34).jpg

I gave a go ahead, and the best part-their pre owned car team drove my matiz and gave a positive about exchanging and offered 50k for it. Maybe it was a godsend that last week of july, and after a series of negotiations, placed the booking for our spanking new Hyundai Santro Xing XO with ABS.

Snippets from the brochure which I have

IMG_20150221_223952.jpg

IMG_20150221_224006.jpg

IMG_20150221_224019.jpg

IMG_20150221_224027.jpg

IMG_20150221_224053.jpg

IMG_20150221_224106.jpg
 
Last edited:

bhvm

Honoured Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2011
Messages
5,289
Likes
4,818
Location
Some Village
Re: A costly Gift. Hyundai Santro (2006-2012). The untold story

wow what a flair of writing you got bro!
just like your journey so far, this review is not just a review but a legend. the way you put it in words and slowly unfold the story Is very catchy.

wish you many Happy miles ahead bro!
 
Thread Starter #7
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
The story of Little miss sunshine

img (29).JPG

Dealer
Sunrise Hyundai, Patparganj

Date of booking
Early August 2006

Date of Delivery
September 14, 2006

On road price (approx)-INR 4,15,000

Deal offered:
  • 30k cash discount
  • seat covers
  • gear lock
  • floor mats
  • mud flaps
  • pioneer CD player with 4 speakers
  • Hyundai cobra autocop remote locking
  • car body cover
Accessories added later
  • Front fog lamps (nimbus Hyundai)
  • Black steel rims from i10 (samara Hyundai)
  • Hyundai OEM wheel caps (samara Hyundai)
Car plus:
  • Pioneer USB HU, later sony USB and B/T HU
  • JBL 4" front speakers
  • JBL GTO 948 rear oval speakers
  • kicker 200.4 4 channel amplifier
  • JBL bass tube (earlier a small JBL subwoofer)
Reliance autozone
  • K and N replacement air filter in 2010, later sold in early 2012 and replaced with stock air filter

What I liked
  • Tallboy design with easy ingress and egress.
  • Good build quality for a kei-car enough to withstand abuse.
  • Robust underpinnings.
  • High quality interior trim and fittings.
  • Superb torque in 3rd gear and amazing tractibility of 1.1 petrol engine.
  • Good gearshift quality.
  • tall rear seat suitable for elderly.
  • Proven reliability, durability and decent after sales service.
  • Some old school niceties like hydraulic power steering and dead pedal.
  • Easy and user friendly car to drive in city.
  • High resale value.
What I didn't like
  • Oddball design with an overdose of creases and curves.
  • Poor legspace management-cramped front legroom.
  • Bouncy and harsh rear suspension.
  • Average AC cooling compared to matiz, 80s type slider like controls were worse.
  • Inconsistent FE-hard driving often gives 8-9 kmpl.
  • High cost of labour at Hyundai's workshops.
  • Highway stability susceptible to crosswinds due to unaerodynamic design and tall height.
  • Inconsistent quality of service at many dealerships.

Kms driven in 6 years: 1,45,000
Date of sale: September 24, 2012
 
Thread Starter #8
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
And her journey began.

img (46).jpg

She came in the afternoon of september 14, 2006. But then, first love was first love. We saw our matiz for the last ever time, being driven into the basement, only ever to be seen again after 2 years, and later into a scrapyard at the end of its life cycle. But then, it did have a glorious past, and it was time to move on.
I particularly appreciated the overall quality and feel on the insides and the peppy torque delivery of the 1086 cc 63 bhp eRLX engine. Plus, a sweet gearbox, which was the weak link in the matiz. Quirky design she had, but it had one of the best taillight designs of that time. Only problem was the styling looked forced and excessive. On the first day, we performed the customary pooja, and I was learning to get used to its driveability, often cursing the ankle unfriendly throttle pedal setup, cause my heavy ankle often caused inadvertent wheelspins (the reason why OEM GPS 2 gave up only in 20k kms), testing its handling (sshhh, its a tall boy, so be careful of toppling), ride and stability (are you joking?) and getting accustomed to the CD player fitted by the dealer with the worst possible sound quality.....you know what life has in stake for you when you pay a minimal share on your costly gift. Compromises have to be made, but then, its a machine, and as time progresses, things can be done differently.
End of the day, an actor or actress will look the same behind the curtains with dark circles, crooked hair, oily skin, corny appearance only to be depreciated by the public in real life. Appreciation only lies in a makeup, isn't it?
But, a machine can undergo a makeover, step by step. You see, that's the beauty of a non living specie, a motor car. We create cars, and appreciate the nitty gritty things that come in as standard equipment. Its our sixth sense that decides what all optional extras can fit in. It requires careful planning, selection and execution. Just like filming the dance sequence in an exotic locale of switzerland or mysore colony, Mumbai.

img (9).jpg

The thinkings I had, and the learnings I made, will continue for a long enduring journey, in the chapters ahead. But, this was just a beginning, a beginning of a "different" relationship.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter #9
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
A journey of an ILLlogically logical design

img (36).jpg

I was never a fan of the Santro's design (pronounced saan-throw) ever since the car was launched in september 1998. The original was too gawky, too gimmicky, too cartoonish and ended up being a design mayhem. It was like a breath of fresh air, but was controversial to the core. Typically Korean quirkish of the mid 90s, this derived for India design was picked up from the Korean version of Hyundai's entry level car, the atos. The atos had a flat boxy rear and looked even worse, then compared to the Daewoo matiz, which remained a futuristic yet timeless design that time.
While the original was a topic of endless debates, Hyundai took a major step forward in utilizing the Indian talent in its first major face lift. This time, the facelift was not only for India, but at a global level, as the company's Chennai plant would be the sole plant for the exports.
The xinging arrival cometh.
June 2003 saw the arrival of a major facelift, and it was christened as santro xing. Export markets retained the atoz name, but it was called as atoz prime. The car got substantial makeover inside and out, and except for the doors and roof, every body panel was new. The large flat bonnet replaced the donald duck like curvilinear structure, a huge squarish bumper with p[rotective inserts at front and rear replaced the fragile looking round units, simple grille replaced the toothy ghost like original, and a modern, flat tailgate with smart looking taillights (design inspired by an older generation passat) completed the rear makeover. It was quite an improvement, and suddenly, the word "attractive and somewhat restrained" sounded more apt, though the side with those twin crease lines continued to ruin the show. The XO version came with large and flat internally adjustable outside mirrors, much better looking than the mickey mouse eared versions of the original, which were carried forward to the lowered versions.
The version which I had was a mix of XG and XS and few items like the adjustable rear head restraints, black rims with wheel caps, body coloured door handles, fog lamps, leather steering wheel etc were deleted along with a 20k price cut from the XS.

img (35).jpg

The car had a mix of robust underpinnings and compared to today's cars with a single dead axle at the rear, the santro had an isolated trailing arm design (similar to zen and matiz) at the rear which consisted of two rods connected to the opposite side by strong linkages with torsion beams and strong coil springs. Ride was never its forte, though. The front continued to be suspended with convectional struts, with an anti roll bar to control high speed behaviour while taking sharp turns.
At a time when many manufacturers began switching to EPS, the car continued to employ old school HPS, plus big windows all round ensured good visibility.
Build, for the course, was a strength, something which Hyundai's own modern hatches cannot match. It had a solid structure (for a kei-car), and was rattle free throughout its ownership period, something which even my punto cannot possess. The doors had a good thud sound, and were equipped with dual side impact bars for safety.
A little known but interesting fact is that the body in white had to be made more stronger to comply with the stricter European safety standards. Export models were equipped with dual airbags and a bumper mounted rear foglamp, which were not present on the Indian model.

img (7).jpg

Nobody ever bothered to give this car a "head turning" look as its so common on Indian roads, its like you get lost in a jungle in a sea of mee too designs. Plus, sales were at its peak, and hordes of people, at every town and city, every nook and corner, were purchasing santros due to its versatile and user friendly nature.
 
Thread Starter #10
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
Life, from behind the wheel.

img (23).JPG

A simplistic design can just make things simple. When you open a high set empire state building sized curvy door for a glimpse inside, the designer's creativity takes your imagination to a different level altogether. 72 months had passed, and I had a real difficult time thinking me on the footsteps of that designer. Life was full of wild imagination. Perhaps, wildest than I thought. But then, when you are behind the wheel of your costly gift, you begin to think deep into the imagination on things took shape at first glance.

img (30).JPG

The arc shaped instrument cluster.
The hooded round AC vents (which were more palatable than the curve in curve out design of the old santro).
The arc shaped upper lips and curves of the dash.
The front placement of the 4 inch speaker grills, to make you listen to bone jarring acoustics straight on your face.
The triangle. In fact, it has 3 triangles.
One for the hazard, one for the defogger, and another for the rear fog light (dummy).
Then, the centre console, for instance.
It has a rectangular shape.
A housing for a single DIN stereo, and below that, hold your breath, ladies and gentlemen, to take you to retro era. Slider controls for HVAC, straight from the 80s.
Err...to make amends for the errands, the AC on/off knob is a circle, with a rotary knob for a 4 speed blower.
Below that, is another circle, for a dummy 12V charging port/cigar lighter.
So, there you go, its influenced by pure mathemagical school of thought. Wild imagination, perhaps?
Or, how does it get wilder than this?
Got a costly heere/zewarat (jewellary) or any valuable item? Tuck beyond underneath the front seat, and you will see a tray popping out. The XS had on both the front seats, while the XO had under the co driver seat only. Not a concern, since one was enough. But, 1+ one was always better, isnt it so?
The front doors look sweet, just touch and feel the interior fabrics, the plastics, everything reeks of top quality. The magazine pockets are large, and are present in only front doors.
The rear doors are bare, plain jane, with just a lame handle to close it from inside. No pockets, no power window controls either.

img (29).JPG

The front seats in this car are large, comfortable but did lack lumbar support due to less bolster on the sides, compared to that perfect seats the palio and Indica had those days. To make matters worse, legspace management was poor, the high placed seats to compensate for somewhat lack of legroom. Made worse by the pedal placement, which caused pains to the ankles those days. But full marks to Hyundai for providing a handy dead pedal, something which today's costly cars don't possess.

img (28).JPG

Getting in and out at rear is equally easy, thanks to the tall (famously known as amby like) rear seat, again placed higher than the front seats, like a theatre. Maybe to compensate for the lack of warning systems that the car didnt have, by real time family monitering your speed. The bolstering is again average and underthigh support was an issue, something which was a forte of the rear seats of getz and Indica. Not surprisingly, legspace was below par, compensated by high placement of rear seats, made worse by the placement of power window switches behind the handbrake console. Many a times, we had to make fun by proclaiming it as "first car in class with leg operated window controls". operating it was a pain, you need to bend down and operate, often causing a backache.

img (31).JPG

All these quirks aside, the car did have amazing boot space for a small kei-car, with rear seats double folding to carry huge cargo.
Now you began to appreciate the nitty gritties of your costly gift, couldn't you imagine-why can't the world be so simple?
Its a designer's wild imagination to dial in public, you know.....
 
Thread Starter #11
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
The journey of dynamism, right from the bottom of the 12V heart.​

These are complex machines. Like, you pull open a lever located at the bottom right corner of the dashboard (look how lovely designed fragile piece of clipped plastic it was), hear a khad sound, and the face of the car, located above the wide grotesque mouth pops up. In other words, its called the bonnet.
People take ages to figure how to click clack the lock unlock pattern of the lever that keeps it in place, just like figuring out how to find a perfect ladki for shaadi. Its a costly affair, and we, the car guys, cant think logical. So there she is, pop her up, and you are greeted by a familiar view, picture this:

img (60).JPG

A mishmash of wires, plastics, metals, all mated together and designed to move your costly gift. Its called an internal combustion engine, and has 4 strokes of pulsating complexities. Intake, compression, combustion and (say everyone's favourite)-Exhaust. Its an old school motor, displacing 1086 cc, generating a peak horsepower of 63 on crank at 5500 rpm and 9.8 kg-m of pulling power at 3500 rpm.
Its a nightmare looking at that complex machinery for non car guys, but for us, its a marvel of design and engineering. The head. The gasket. The con rods. The pistons. The valves. The valve covers. The ignition coils. The battery. The air filter. The spark plug. Its execution. And the way it performs, culminates how complex things have become ever since Karl Benz invented the motor car as early as 1886.

img (7).jpg

You have a key, insert it, rotate it underneath the steering and everything is science in those 2 seconds the moment the engine cranks and starts. The science of igniting the air fuel mixture, the science of developing the crank by letting the battery power the starter motor and alternator, to the science of the engine roaring into life. We don't realize this, but dig deep into it and then we start to appreciate the nitty gritty things that goes behind engineering a motor car.

Lets talk about performance. And thats what the perfect combination lies in this car. Driving the front wheels is a 5 speed manual gearbox, and the combination of a powerful engine and a sweet shifting cog made it hard to beat. The engine produces a raspy exhaust note (good one for a Hyundai petrol epsilon engine) and gobs of torque produces easy wheelspins. The ratios are closely defined gates, and second gear in particular, is tall. For city driving, the flat torque curve does the trick. Its immemsely user friendly in town, and the light clutch and light controls made this car an absolute breeze in city traffic. Hyundai upgraded this engine in March 2005 in BS-3 guise with the addition of roller bearing crankshaft, alloy head and bigger valve design, enabling better engine breathing.
The best part of the engine is its 3rd gear pull. Starting at 15-20 kmph, the engine picks up well and does not stall. We cannot talk rpm here since the car had no tachometer. In fact, the 3rd cog works as good as an AT and pulls all the way uptil 120. Performance keeps on climbing and the strong mid range and even stronger top end is the engine's forte. The car can touch 160-165 kmph with ease on 4th gear and 150 kmph on 5th gear, with the engine running on low revs in order to aid fuel efficiency.
5th gear is a wonderful highway tool and is the sole proper overdrive gear. Highway performance on an open road remains as strong for a small displacement gasoline engine, with the slightest dab of the throttle giving it strong acceleration, and one of the reasons why it was a hit with the opposite sex.

Complimenting the engine is an equally complimentary gearshift. Smooth, well synchronized and with well defined gates, it makes task of everyday driving easier.

img (4).jpg

Drawbacks? Perhaps the throaty growl of the earlier 1.1 was missing, and the engine guzzles petrol when driven hard. City FE can drop to as low as 7-9 kmpl under hard driving, and sedate driving gives upto 11-13 kmpl. Highway FE remained a consistent 16-17 kmpl, occasionally touching 19 when driven sedately. AC drops FE by 10-12% based on typical Indian driving conditions.

Its a costly gift, and it deserves a befitting heart with an equally befitting soul, just like a perfect honeymoon in Seychelles after a perfect fusion of a culmination of two hearts. Marriage.
Ouch, Monday, already?
 
Thread Starter #12
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
78
Likes
134
Location
|
Dance, and trance, is a matter of chance.

img (107).JPG

Lean. Down. Across. Underneath. Lift her up. And start to get bedazzled. Function beckons. Form responds. Jaws drop. Ever wondered whats so costly in your costly gift? Lift her up, more, even more, and just look at those metophorical myraids of rods, springs, coils, shock absorbers and arms. Its a complexity of complex machines suspended together to create a complex mixture to define a complex term called a complex suspension. They form the soul of your complex costly gift. Hyundai?? and soul?? hay man, you kidding? Europeans have souls, from what era did Koreans started making cars with souls? Suspensions are utter complex parts of your car, and require utmost care and precision to ensure a smooth ride, and surefooted handling, else it gives owners a sense of inferiority complex.

Santro, as a car, was solidly engineered, but yes, it wasnt perfect per se. The specs on paper may seem impressive, McPherson struts up front with torsion bars and an anti roll bar and isolated trailing arms with coil springs at rear filled with gas filled dampers, but there is more to what meets your eye. Woh kehte hein na, gaadi me pheel aani chahiye, its all about the feel of execution, that you begin to admire your costly gift for.

The car has an absorbent ride quality at low speeds, with the suspension soaking up most bumps and potholes well, with minimal jerks inside the cabin. Build up speeds and the car's inherent weakness-its stiff springs, begins to creep up. The rear suspension inspite of being robust, has an inherent bounciness which jostles rear passengers just like an estranged bahu who leaves her sasuraal after getting an earful from her saas. The ride up front, though is better, but strictly average. The underpinnings are durable, no doubt, and the longevity of shocks is not questionable, but during its lifespan, the dampers having tuned more towards rigidity, made life uncomfortable for rear passengers. Part attribute towards front suspension being better can be considered that the springs were on the softer side. Weight is not heavy, and to cope up with the additional load at rear and the car, since it was also sold in many rural areas, being the target market, it had to be stiffly tuned.
Lot of people mock hyundais as boats but I think that the santro was one of the very last cars made by Hyundai which was a decent handler for its size and height. Having a well calibrated old school HPS, it was superbly weighted at low speeds and driving and parking in the city was a breeze. Handling, on the other side, is inconsistent. The communication to the chassis is present, but it suffered a problem of tall height, somewhat unaerodynamic design and a high center of gravity. Its driven in a sedate manner, and you are rewarded. Be aggressive, and the laws of physics bsgin to haunt you and start your scary ghost stories. As speeds build up, the steering weighs nicely and has none of that "Hyundai like" bounciness associated with MDPS vehicles. Still, high speed stability is about average as crosswinds continue to unsettle the tall structure.For the price you pay, it does its job though, just don't expect any "zen or matiz/spark like" character in this car.

img (109).JPG

PITSTOP.
Braking system is one of the stronger points of the car. For a kei city hatch, the brakes are well designed and provide a sure shot stopping feel. Pedal feel, again, was superb and the vented discs aided by ABS ensured that wheels don't lock under heavy or emergency braking.
Since not many reviews exist on ABS performance of the santro, I had a superb experiance with them. Its a 4 channel unit and ABS cuts in early, when the car experiences a moment of any unstable approach in terms of braking force. Its a boon on city roads and slippery surfaces, and many a times, a life saver thanks to all forms of mammels ever present on the road, be it humans, animals, or cattle, et all.
The pads lasted about 40000 kms every time and discs were changed once at 80,000 km, and again at 1,35,000 km.
 

Top Bottom