Hyundai Santro Xing GL: 8 Years 60K Kms and Counting

[abhiind]

Hi Guys , its my first review so please excuse me for any mistake or missing field, will try to add or improve it

Section One: Background and Buying Overview
During 2008, we planned to buy our first car and dad gave budget of 4L. Based on this budget only following options were available with pros & cons
1) Hyundai Santro Xing 1.1 ltr
Pros --: spacious, easy to drive, good looks, can sit 3 people in back, Dealer 500 mts from home, learn driving in Santro so loved it
Cons --: not soo good looking interiors in comparison to i10
2) Wagon-R
Pros --: Maruti so easily available spares & service center and also top sales chart
Cons --: Only 2 people can sit in back, not so spacious
3) Alto
Pros --: Maruti so easily available spares & service center and also top sales chart
Cons --: Only 2 people can sit in back, not so spacious
Swift & i10 was going out of budget so left them. Dad was inclined on Wagon-R but I loved Santro so we had Santro at last. Model chosen was GL with dealer fitted stereo, we choose basic stereo without pen drive support which I repent later.
Total cost was around 3.64 L ( 3.4L ex shorwroom + taxes & dealer discount )
Later on I added side cladding, black screen on windows (was allowed at that time) seat covers.
Dealer delivery process was smooth and we got vehicle in flat 3 hours.

Section Two: Initial Ownership Impressions
Dad was not interested in Santro in starting but after purchasing he was happy as it is more spacious than Wagon-R and have good AC. During first few weeks’ dad use to learn driving on it and I was out of town so car was not used much.
We have first generation Santro in our family which did not look good and this xing model was good in looks and practicality also.
Only drawbacks which I think is dashboard was not so good, rest it looks good to me in price bracket it fall.
Also as it is hot selling model so we never felt any issue in spare parts.

Engine feels powerful for its price bracket, AC also performs good , till now haven’t changed clutch and it is going smooth. It is a reliable car can say splendor of car—fill it shut it forgot it.
In city average is around 12-14 and in Highway on long trip it is around 17-18 KMPL
As it is tall boy so have body roll in high speed and feel unsafe above 70 in hilly area. Seating position is good. Currently I drive Verna but driving Santro bring back smile in my face as it is very good city car easy to maneuver in city traffic and easy to park.
Section Three: Good Bits and Bad Bits
Its almost 8 years now and car is currently with my brother, he is active bird watcher and took this car to every corner of Himachal Pradesh and it never disappoint . My brother took it to Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh and it cover no roads with ease.
He did not spend any money on it only regular maintenance.
We travel with people, home stuff & even paint boxes during painting of home and it took all sort of load.
My parents had a major accident in it 2 year back , driver rammed car on side pit during on sharp turn and it cost 25K bill and replaced front bumper , shockers , front tyres and radiators. After that car is performing good.
Service cost hover around 3-6K as father & brother are not car enthusiastic so they never check car bills what is billed to them. They just call Hyundai service center and service center guy take car from home and deliver it back. But Hyundai service guys are very prompt and they come on time and delivery vehicle on time. As it is small town so most of guys in service center knows us .
From last 8 years it family work horse.
I was planning to have alloys in car but my brother is not interested in it. For him car should take him from point A to point B and it should not break in between.
So car is mostly stock without any changes and we are planning to keep it for next 2-3 years as currently my brother do not have any plan to get new car.
My current ride is Hyundai Verna and I am in process to write its review in new thread.
Note -- Currently I do not have any pics , will update pics later.

 

[bhvm]

Re: Santro Xing GL – 8 years 60K KM and counting

abhiind, Short Crisp review there.
I am amazed you people did Spiti in this hatchback where people usually take 4x4s.

Please do post the pics of this beauty.

 

[Ambylovers]

Hi,
Congratulations on your Santro and your Long term review will not make justice without images. Wishes to clock many more miles without issues.

 

[abhiind]

Thanks Ambylovers & Bhvm ,
yeah My brother who do not love driving took it to Spiti valley and many other remote places , only once he stuck due to battery issue and rest this work horse never disappoint him.
Sometimes I have to remember him for service or service guys called them to remind of service.
It still drives good and last month changed seat cover not looks better
Currently I do not have pics of this car , was checking my brother facebook for Spiti valley pics but did not found , going back home this weekend then I will upload latest pics.

 

[abhiind]

Santro is on the verge of completing 9 years in April and covered around 65K KM. It did not give any issues but now it start rattling as my brother is in to natural birds photography and he used to take it in every corner of bad roads. Attached are few latest pics .

 

[abhiind]

Santro cover 75KM last month , did not get pics.
Now my brother is planning to take it to some remote place this weekend( forgot name), will update pics when he will come back.
Due to mis-alignment both front tires were worn out so changed it with Goodyear DURAPLUS cost me around 3K per piece .
Pic from that weekend drive which cost mis-alignment.

 

[bhvm]

Please advise your Bro to get a Used 4x4 Like Scorpio to visit this places. Your Santro is a tough nut and still has some life left. Do not Murder the poor car. LOL.
Although we have been guilty to taking i10 to places like these, but only on few occasions.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Dear Abhiind

Very happy to meet one more Santro owner like me with a 9 year ownership experience.

I own a Santro Xing ERLx GL Plus from 2013, one of the last few batches (Santro manufacturing stopped in 2014).

I am planning to give out a detailed ownership review, however here's a small summary / precise:

Kms on Odo : 29400 kms
Major Expenses till date : None
Fuel Efficiency:
Local / Chennai City traffic : 12 to 14 kmpl (sometimes above 14 if AC is not used most of the time)
Highway : varies between 15.5 kmpl till 19.37 kmpl (all with full AC), depending on my speed, road I take, frequency of gearshifts etc.

If I drive from Chennai to Tuticorin via NH45 & NH45B via Tiruchi, Madurai and tank top at Tuticorin entrance after my previous tank top at Chennai while starting and if my speed is limited to 90-95 kmph, hardly one or twice touching 100, then my fuel efficiency was an amazing 19.37 kmpl max with full AC. Reason for such amazing figures is very minimal gearshift & braking, no aggressive acceleration, no much slow downs and very gentle love making with the throttle pedal.

If I drive from Chennai to Velankanni via Tindivanam, Pondy, Kadalur, Chidambaram, Seerkazhi by-pass, Nagapattinam, I tend to get somewhere around 17 to 17.5 kmpl with same driving style, but hell a lot of gear shifts, slow downs, accelerations (not harsh though), as the bads after Pondy are very bad.

If I drive to Tirupati from Chennai, go uphills to Tirumala, visit Mr. Venkatachalapathi ji and reach back Chennai (say around 310 kms of drive), I see a mileage figure of 14 to 15 kmpl, with AC off only during up hills. The sudden drop in the figure is a courtsey to uphill driving to Tirumala where the last 2 kms are very steep and car with 4-5 passengers has to hard rev at 2nd gear to keep at motion, even though AC is off.

No major problems faced. Service is something always challenging. KUN Hyundai keeps quoting 7500 + tax for a very regular service, so I get it done outside with a garage mechanic, as I can see my car being serviced in front of my eyes.

Keep updating.

Thanks and Regards
Kumar

 

[abhiind]

Completed 2 milestone 10 years & 1L KM.

Our beloved Santro completed 1L KM and complete 10 years. Still it drives good and looks like it can go like this for next 4-5 years.
Changed below in last 1 year--:
1) All 4 tires to Goodyear.
2) Clutch plates
3) Seat cover.
Below are good and not so good stuff of Santro from 10 years’ experience.
First good as it was our first car.
1) Easy to drive, park and maintain.
2) Spacious and lot of space to shift stuff by folding rear seat.
3) Good driving position and airy cabin.
4) Engine have enough to drive in Hilly or plain roads.
5) Never die attitude, still going strong with regular service. Can travel on good, bad and no roads.
6) Easily available parts and nearby service center.
Some not so good stuff --:
1) Hyundai is now charging more for service, looking for good FNG for next service.
2) Average is less, around 11-12KMPL.
3) Due to driving on rough roads, alignment goes off very fast which effect tires wear & tear.
4) Start rusting, need to go for some paint treatment.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Nice photos.

Even I have one of the same colour, from 2013 March make in Chennai. Have clocked only 32300 kms till date and is in mint condition.

It's my only highway rocket and I have kissed corners of my state in Santro. 700 kms, 500 kms, 350 kms, all one way distance, no matter how far the destination is, my Santro would take me there effortlessly.

 

[automobile lover]

my santro has covered 38 k till now running nicely took it to many places it has pioneer audio which was fitted in 2016 reverse horn was fitted last week airtel sound service cost is very high in hyundai 10k minimum