Hyundai Santro Sportz AMT (2018): Test Drive Review


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> Unacceptable bring-down of the front power window switch from driver right side door armrest panel to gear shifter console, which has brought down the overall image of the car, like a poor man's car.... (Remember the same thing was criticised in Tata Nano). This position of the power window switches were accepted in the ages of Indica eV2, at that time perspective, but not now. I guess, the Hyundai designer who took this decision of bringing down the PW switches to gear console might have had a hefty quarrel with his wife that morning and he was mentally sick when he decided to change position of the switches. Pathetic for a Hyundai car
Do you really think this is one person job and decision making ?? these people are highly paid and qualified but they didn't pleased you doesn't mean they have any mental problem. It's easy to criticize people by sitting in home but equally difficult to do that job. Please don't underestimate them and if you could not say good words at least don't say bad words like this.

Boot is drastically reduced to 225 L, when the prior Hyundai Santro I drive has around 294-300L boot space.

> downsized boot (225L from a 294L)
But as far as I know old Santro boot space is 218 ltr. How do you get to manage 294 LTR boot in Santro ???
 
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Hi Readers

Hope you are doing fine.

Have been eager all these months awaiting the Hyundai Santro 2018 and finally it came. Out of my busy schedules, I could, with great effort, pull out time to TD an AMT Santro Sportz version from FPL Hyundai - Mogappair Ambattur in Chennai.

Initial Impression: AMT Sportz

Pros / Positive Points and Observations:

> Exteriors remind us of Grand i10 first avtaar, though Santro is smaller in size.
> Refined engine, 4 cyl BS VI (as told by rep), 1.1L Petrol.
> Engine is Peppy in city traffic.
> AMT is not that lethargic as presumed.
> Very negligible jerk while the transmission shifting from D1 to D2 in Automatic (Drive) mode, which can be mitigated by promptly lifting foot off accelerator at about 10 -12 kmpl, though needs some practice to get used to.
> D2 to D3 didn't have any noticeable jerks, I couldn't smell when it shifted from 2 to 3.
> Didn't try reverse though.
> In the 3 kms of city traffic ride (at 6.45-7 pm in Ambattur Estate area) in Chennai, I couldn't let the transmission to shift beyond D3. But D3 was a charm to drive.
> No power lag felt during the 3 km drive.
> Rep was very professional and guiding.
> Rep had enough knowledge about the car, technically and feature wise.
> Hyundai has not started delivering cars till now, so the rep couldn't get me the real time on road mileage the car delivers in practical life, however ARAI shows 20.3 kmpl.
> Music system was decent, though not that extraordinary to mention.
> Excellent rear leg room, I swear, I was amazed to be in the rear seat with front driver seat completely pushed back, I had more than enough leg room at the exact rear seat for my kneed, which is awesome and my Kudos to Hyundai for this feature alone in Santro - kudos kudos



Some cons / disappointments I felt (personally), however you may differ in your opinions when you drive or have driven:

> Unacceptable bring-down of the front power window switch from driver right side door armrest panel to gear shifter console, which has brought down the overall image of the car, like a poor man's car.... (Remember the same thing was criticised in Tata Nano). This position of the power window switches were accepted in the ages of Indica eV2, at that time perspective, but not now. I guess, the Hyundai designer who took this decision of bringing down the PW switches to gear console might have had a hefty quarrel with his wife that morning and he was mentally sick when he decided to change position of the switches. Pathetic for a Hyundai car.

> Boot is drastically reduced to 225 L, when the prior Hyundai Santro I drive has around 294-300L boot space. Why did Hyundai concentrate more on degrading existing features from the prior gen Santro. Hyundai shouldn't have named it as Santro then, I swear. I got a EON-ic feeling on the above two turn-downs.

> Steering wheel is tad small in size, and doesn't give me a feel of driving an A2 segment car. I feel like driving a very small car, say something similar to Alto 800, which I and my wife call as toy-car [frustration]


> Exorbitant pricing of the car in the segment. Should've been more properly fitted. Top end Asta manual costs 6.40L on road in Chennai and how many would be happy with this pricing? I would rather think of picking up a one down Grand i10, won't I ?

> Manual Asta (top end) and AMT Sportz (top less one), are almost equally priced (Asta manual - 6.4L abnd Sportz AMT - 6.39L).

> I, on the face, suggested the rep that the prices be brought down by another 45-55k and then it would be a VFM buy.

> More astonished to see that the Dlite variant (Non AC [evil]), costs 4.62 L on road.

No other major cons observed.

Comparision with my 2013 Santro Xing

> downsized boot (225L from a 294L)
> brought-down power window switches from driver right armrest to gear console.
> very small steering wheel.
> a small car feel, say something EON-ish.
> no big car feel, or high seating position or clear road view as in my 2013 Santro

My verdict:

Had an idea of upgrading to an AMT, however after TDing yesterday, I feel my 2013 Santro is better for the below reasons:
> my car gives a big car feel, little SUVish kind of.
> bold erect sitting position, elder people-friendly, which is a lack in 2018 Santro.
> smaller boot cannot accomodate my 1300+ kms round trip to my native Tuticorin from Chennai with Tiruchendoor visit.

As such, I am not going with this car based on my personal preference


Whom this car would suit the best?

This car is an excellent package (except VFM factor) for the people whose requirements are:

> Daily city commuting, with less than 50 kms of daily travelling.
> AMT for those who need that city drive comfort without clutching and gearing in traffic.
> A good entry level family car for anyone upgrading from a two wheeler or buying his first car
> For ones who want to own a hassle free and fuss free simple but feature rich car in the segment (however, pricing is not favorable though [lol]).




Who shouldn't or wouldn't buy this car ?
> Mr. Kumar......... you heard it right.
> one who wants occasional road trip with family along with mid level or more luggage on board.
> ones who want to have at aleast a minimal big car feel - a clear no no for then (go for Grant i10 within the same budget with less one variant)
> ones who want a premium feel in their car, though small.


Well, my dear readers, all above is my personal-most opinion. There are many happy customers with the test drive, whom I met at FPL Hyundai yesterday. There was a family who were extremely happy with a Sports Manual and booked one then and there. So no offence to any such happy customer.

Expectations and satisfaction factors differ from you and me and hence nothing is 100% perfect and nothing is 100% imperfect as well.

If I had hurt any Santro lovers' emotions here, I do apologize. I personally am a Santro lover who bought Santro in 2013, one fo the last few batches, and am enjoying till today, though very low running of 32000 kms. Believe me Santro is being used by me as a mini SUV on petrol in all highway runs (700+ one way) without any niggles. My 31000 kms service was done in Rs. 2,650.00 with regular oil, oil filter, air filter, petrol filter replacements; brake cleaning, spar plug cleaning and water wash.
I had it done from an FNG and sourced original Hyundai parts from Hyundai Mobis in Ambattur and water washed it in another water wash station.

The car is still a charm. And of course the new Santro would be, but for the hefty price tag and little de-graded features.

Howver, new Santro's engine and AMT is a gem, believe me, next to Honda City's. You'll never regret buying one, once you make a midset to compromise the Cons I experienced, and not necessarily all these cons for me are cons for you.

Happy Drives Safe Miles. Wear Seat Belt. Make your family to.

Happy Diwali in advance

Regards
Kumar

Thanks Kumar Freak,
Beautifully written with unbiased details.
 
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2 things i personally didnt like:
1)The Odd position of Power Windows(was there in the Tata cars in late 90's)
2) Pricing (The base model is completely bare,just positioned for the sake of price to fall in the lower bracket and the top model is little expensive for the segment)
 
Thread Starter #19
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Do you really think this is one person job and decision making ?? these people are highly paid and qualified but they didn't pleased you doesn't mean they have any mental problem. It's easy to criticize people by sitting in home but equally difficult to do that job. Please don't underestimate them and if you could not say good words at least don't say bad words like this.



But as far as I know old Santro boot space is 218 ltr. How do you get to manage 294 LTR boot in Santro ???
Sorry for any confusion here sir. My Santro, as I already mentioned earlier, is the one from 2013 (Xing Version), one from the last few batches before production was stopped. I remeber SA saying 294L during deivery, I need to refer to my manual again. But definitely it is more than the new one, for sure. I will refer my manual and then get back to you on this.



As far as bad words are concerned, I am a gentleman and never use bad words on a public forum like this. Nor am I so mean on that designer. The statement I laid was pun intended and not to hurt anyone. I know a designer's job is a difficult one. I know a designer can't either make his own decisions. It's the mangement, cost cutting factor and several other things that pressurize him. I too am a corporate guy and can very well understand this.

I couldn't understand the logic behind Hyundai saving one relay (may cost max upto 1500 Rs, or say little more than that), a total cost cutting by bringing down the power window button. Well, you seem to be smart, and would humbly request you to try to make me understand the productive logic behind brnging down the power window switches from door panels to gear box like old school cars like Indica's and Nanos.

The steering is tad smaller than Grand i10 - ok forger Grand, it's smaller than my Santro Xing. A complete No No for this price (6.4L on road Chennai for Asta top end manual and 6.39L OTR Chennai for Sportz AMT).
 
Thread Starter #20
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2 things i personally didnt like:
1)The Odd position of Power Windows(was there in the Tata cars in late 90's)
2) Pricing (The base model is completely bare,just positioned for the sake of price to fall in the lower bracket and the top model is little expensive for the segment)
Totally Agree with SilverEyez on both the points. I am with you in the two.

Base model is non AC I guess and the OTR in Chennai was quoted around 4.8L... I was like [evil]

Leg room wise, space wise, engine wise, transmission wise (AMT), Santro becomes an excellent city car. But the other cons I have eloborated needs to be looked into.
 
Thread Starter #21
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Do you really think this is one person job and decision making ?? these people are highly paid and qualified but they didn't pleased you doesn't mean they have any mental problem. It's easy to criticize people by sitting in home but equally difficult to do that job. Please don't underestimate them and if you could not say good words at least don't say bad words like this.



But as far as I know old Santro boot space is 218 ltr. How do you get to manage 294 LTR boot in Santro ???
I apologize for the confusion here bro. You were right and it is 218 L as per the below google link. Applause to your technical knowledge. Wonder if you would ever had owned a Santro [:D].

https://www.google.com/search?newwi...3......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71.UH8DpQz3H_Y

Hearty thanks that you open my eyes on this parameter, since I have been boasting of the same "294 L" boot with everyone who asked about, and never knew I was wrong. Thanks once again.


The "294 L" story told by the SA (Gentleman Mr. Murugan), was one add on to the numerous lies and fake promises he gave while booking and never turned them true while delivery.

I won't even criticize him here, since you would feel bad with my "so called bad words". LOL !![lol]
 
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I apologize for the confusion here bro. You were right and it is 218 L as per the below google link. Applause to your technical knowledge. Wonder if you would ever had owned a Santro [:D].

https://www.google.com/search?newwi...3......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71.UH8DpQz3H_Y

Hearty thanks that you open my eyes on this parameter, since I have been boasting of the same "294 L" boot with everyone who asked about, and never knew I was wrong. Thanks once again.


The "294 L" story told by the SA (Gentleman Mr. Murugan), was one add on to the numerous lies and fake promises he gave while booking and never turned them true while delivery.

I won't even criticize him here, since you would feel bad with my "so called bad words". LOL !![lol]
No, I didn't own santro but while buying my first car, I explored lot of santros in Pre Owned market and finally settled on Old Honda City.
 
Thread Starter #23
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Well, I've started seeing New Santros in Chennai roads. An entry level hatchback car, but certainly not a budget car as being claimed.

I would prefer this Santro if and only if I would REQUIRE an AMT with 4 cylinders, then I would pick up a Magna AMT or stretch my budget to Sportz AMT. If my need is a manual transmission hatch, I would rather pick Grand i10 up for a premium [music]
 
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Well, I've started seeing New Santros in Chennai roads. An entry level hatchback car, but certainly not a budget car as being claimed.

I would prefer this Santro if and only if I would REQUIRE an AMT with 4 cylinders, then I would pick up a Magna AMT or stretch my budget to Sportz AMT. If my need is a manual transmission hatch, I would rather pick Grand i10 up for a premium [music]
Surprise surprise: I saw this "Santro Vs i10" comparo (link) last week. "Overall dimensions, Headroom, Legroom, Kneeroom, Wheelbase, Bootspace etc are compared in that review. The summary is : "Grand i10 is bigger than Santro on the outside, but you realise how well Hyundai has managed to engineer the smaller Santro when you sit inside. With bigger dimensions, the Grand i10 might make you feel like sitting inside a bigger car, but it’s the Santro that you would want to pick if interior space is what matters to you".
 

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