Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Cameraperson: Sumit Badola
A few days ago Hyundai India launched the 2018 Hyundai Santro, bringing back a brand that had almost become a household name in India since its launch in 1998. The car was phased out in 2014, but it’s back in a new avatar.
The question is, can this “all-new” Hyundai Santro beat its old rivals - the Maruti Wagon-R and Maruti Celerio and take on new competition from the likes of the Tata Tiago? The Quint was invited by Hyundai India to Bhuvaneshwar to drive the new Santro.
Before we get you the details of how this car drives, you may want to check out a quick walkaround from the launch of the car on 23 October. And yes, Shah Rukh Khan is still the brand’s brand ambassador.
How Does The 2018 Hyundai Santro Drive?
The Hyundai Santro is equipped with a tried-and-tested motor. It gets a rejigged version of its earlier 4-cylinder Epsilon 1.1-litre petrol engine, which now makes a little more power and torque. Power has been bumped up to 69PS and torque to 99Nm.
It has a five-speed manual transmission and the Magna and Sportz variants also come with a choice of a five-speed electrically-operated automated manual transmission (AMT). This AMT feels slightly quicker to downshift than that of the Maruti Celerio or Tata Tiago, but it’s a bit hesitant to upshift, holding on to a gear for a little longer than you would want. It has a creep function that’s pretty useful in city stop-go traffic.
We didn’t spend too much time with the AMT unfortunately, and instead got to spend more time driving the manual variant from Bhuvaneshwar to Puri and back, a distance of about 150 km.
The Santro has good ride quality soaking up bumps easily. The rear seat is quite comfortable, even for three adults - making it live up to its positioning as a family hatchback.
The steering feels pretty light at high speed though - and isn’t that confidence inspiring. However, it’s easy to flick about in city traffic, and that’s probably its strong point.
Watch the video for more on how the Santro drives and for its features.
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