Hyundai Santro Xing

I am going back 5 years in my memory lane to jott down why I landed in Xing. I was comfortable with my first and dearest Maruti 800 which I called the golden chariot.To explain in simple terms why I chose Santro is - I felt prey to the aggressive marketing of the local dealer and the decision was taken in 1 day and a new car was in my home the second day. Normally hasty decisions can go wrong, but to my luck this one was not to be.

The Hyundai dealer offered me a very good price almost near to the purhcase price of my Maruthi 800. This made me think seriously about buying this. Based on my one ride in a Santro of one of my friends, I was impressed with the silent cabin and jerk free ride.

Quickly browsed the net and found out that Wagon R is the nearest competitior. I called up the dealer and asked for a quote and test drive. He told me to come in the evening. But before I could do that I talked to my better half, who immediately told that, if it is wagon R , she will

better live without a car. She was completely against the boxy look. I tried to explain that feature wise Wagon R is more better. She was so adamant. In her eyes Santro was looking good. Deep inside my mind I also shared the same feeling. That is it, deal fixed and my red Santro was at my home next day.

Initial Driving Experiences.

WOW, why didn’t I take this decision long back. It is a tall car, engine is powerful, AC is quite chilling, boot space is great. Typical thoughts of a guy who just matured from a maruti 800.

Long term experience

Soon I began travelling a lot and I could identify the following pros and cons

Pros

1. 
   
   Very less maintenance - service interval 6 months, Each service cost around 1.5k to 2k. No maintenance other than this. the first major service (cost wise) is the 30K service which costs 4k - 5k.


2. 
   
   Good sitting posture - I took a liking for this posture so much that I started to hate dreaming of buying a sedan.


3. 
   
   Peppy engine (itz more peppier than Wagon R even though both share the same specs)


4. 
   
   Very small turning radius. Big rear view mirror is a boon.


5. 
   
   Very good city driving manners


6. 
   
   Excellent braking (still remember two sudden brakes from around 70ks to 0ks).


7. 
   
   Good chilling AC.


8. 
   
   Quality of interiors.

Cons

1. 
   
   As the family grew, space constraints grew up


2. 
   
   Lack of utility spaces like bottle holders began to be felt during picnics lasting for more than one day.


3. 
   
   Big A piller causes a blind spot in the right front area, as a result of which driver can miss motorbikes coming from that direction


4. 
   
   Eventhough the engine is peppy, when we get into highways we feel like we are exerting the motor too much.


5. 
   
   Even though the specification says this as a 5 seater, for long distance travel this is comfortable if there are only 4 persons


6. 
   
   I am scratching my head to find more cons - that means there are not much

Fuel efficiency: 13 to 16 km/litre

Summary

This has now become a choice for families as their first car, because of the rise in per capita stuff as is rightly shown in the Hyundai Ad

If you are looking for- an entry level model- which will not give you any trouble and- which offers decent comfort and- decent spacethis is the one to go for.

Donno how useful this review will be coz now there are lot of other options available in the 3 to 4 lakh range and the people may not opt for Santro because its looks has not changed much for the past 4 to 5 years. Still thought of posting coz my xing deservs to have a positive review :)