2018 Hyundai Santro Launched, Prices Start at Rs 3.89 Lakh

Can the 2018 Hyundai Santro beat its old rival, the Maruti WagonR? Initial booking numbers seem promising.

Hyundai brand ambassador and actor Shah Rukh Khan with Y K Koo, MD & CEO, Hyundai India at the launch of the 2018 Hyundai Santro. 

Photo: The Quint

Cameraperson & Video Editor: Badsha Ray

The original tall-boy Hyundai Santro is back. The 2018 Hyundai Santro has just been launched. It comes in five trim variants, including two with an AMT (automated manual transmission) option.

Prices of 2018 Hyundai Santro

Hyundai Santro Dlite: Rs 3.89 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Era: Rs 4.24 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Magna: Rs 4.57 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Magna AMT:  Rs 5.18 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Magna CNG: Rs 5.23 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Sportz: Rs 4.99 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Sportz AMT: Rs 5.46 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Sportz CNG: Rs 5.64 Lakh
Hyundai Santro Asta: Rs 5.45 Lakh

(All prices ex-showroom Delhi)

The Quint was invited to drive the all-new Hyundai Santro under wraps a couple of weeks ago at the company's plant in Chennai. Here's a quick first impressions from that drive.

The all-new Hyundai Santro will compete with traditional rivals like the Maruti Wagon-R and Maruti Celerio. It also has to reckon with new kids on the block such as the Datsun Go and Tata Tiago. The largest-selling car in this space is the Maruti Wagon-R, which clocks about 12,000 cars every month. Can the Hyundai Santro beat that?

Initial numbers show it is off to a good start with around 23,500 bookings coming in the past couple of weeks. Bookings opened for Rs 11,000 only earlier. The prices above are introductory prices that will hold for the first 50,000 customers.

Here is a photo gallery of the 2018 Hyundai Santro:

Actor Shah Rukh Khan with the 2018 Hyundai Santro.

The Santro has been based on a Grand i10 platform. 

The rear of the Santro looks quite wide. 

The Sportz and Asta variants have Apple Car Play and Android Auto. 

The rear seat is wide enough for three adults. It also has rear AC vents. 

The Santro sports beige and black interiors.

This neon green Santro is an AMT variant.  

The Santro comes with a 1.1 litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine. 

What We Like

Tall-boy & wide-body design ensure spacious interior
Zippy 1.1 litre engine feels rev happy
Rear AC vents, large 135 cc AC compressor ensure chilled cabin

What We Don't Like

No tilt/telescopic adjustment on steering hampers short drivers
No height adjustment mechanism for front seat & fixed head restraints
No AMT option on top-end Asta model.

Key Features of Hyundai Santro

Hyundai has always ensured it packs its cars with comfort and convenience features. In the past, this has taken precedence over safety features too, but thankfully this time all variants of the Santro come with ABS (anti-lock braking system) and a driver's side airbag as standard. The higher variants get passenger airbags too.

The Asta trim gets a rear wiper, defogger as well. The Sportz variant and Asta come with Hyundai’s new touch-screen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple Car Play. It gets steering mounted audio controls, rear AC vents and centrally mounted power-window switches.

The Santro is powered by a reworked version of is earlier 1.1 litre four-cylinder Epsilon petrol engine. The new motor puts out 69PS of power and 99 Nm of torque. It has a claimed fuel efficiency of 20.3 Kmpl and on its CNG variant a mileage of 30.5 Km/Kg.

A full test drive review of the all-new Hyundai Santro follows in a few days. In the meantime, do check out our first impressions.