2019 Hyundai Santro Review
Car Tested: 2019 Hyundai Santro; Road Test No.1015 Test Location: Bhubaneswar
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 4.60 – Rs. 6.45 lakhs
The Santro is back with a bang, comes in a new avatar and offers a ton of new features
Hyundai entered the Indian market 20 years back with the first ever Santro and the tall-boy was a runaway success for the Korean automaker and it played a significant role in making the brand what it is. The Santro was discontinued few years back but now the company has brought in the the hatchback in an all-new avatar. Is the new Hyundai Santro capable of recreating the magic that the old car had? Time to find out.
Motor Quest: The new Hyundai Santro is based on a new K1 platform and comes with many mechanical and cosmetic changes. It is also very upmarket now and comes with features that are usually found in cars a segment above.
The styling is a toned down version of the Grand i10
Exteriors – The new Hyundai Santro is a bit shorter than the older car, but it is wider now. It continues to have a tall-boy stance but I’m afraid not many people like the styling of the car, which honestly, looks a bit quirky especially from the front. The rear of the Santro is relatively better looking while the side profile has a pleasant design. The headlamps look similar to the units that were found on the old i10 while the grille is just too big. The fog lamps have been positioned just below the headlamps. The rear bumper comes with a black applique which hides some bulk and also keeps the rear design away from monotony. The vehicle doesn’t get alloy wheels on any variant, instead it comes with 14-inch steel rims.
Fit and finish levels in the cabin are supreme compared to rivals
Interiors – The dashboard gets a very nice design which is not only ergonomic but also very well laid out and user friendly. There’s a dual tone colour theme with black and beige colours. However, the green coloured Santro comes with all-black interiors with green accents and I think this looks very dope and should have been offered on the blue colour as well. The regular black/beige theme interiors get champagne gold accents which also lend a premium appeal. The steering wheel is good to hold but the Hyundai logo on the wheel is blacked out and there’s no chrome badging. The instrument cluster is also fairly simple and convenient to use.
The touchscreen comes from the elder Hyundai siblings
The interiors are spacious, high on quality and loaded with features
On the equipment front, the 2019 Hyundai Santro comes equipped with a 7-inch infotainment system with a touchscreen that gets features like FM, Voice Commands, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity. However, it misses out on navigation. Interesting thing to note is that this infotainment system is the same one that is offered on the Santro’s bigger siblings like the Grand i10, Elite i20, Verna and Creta (however these cars get navigation too). The sound quality from the speakers is quite good and most customers won’t really feel the need for an upgrade. The Santro comes with manual AC, with rear AC vents and cooling performance is brilliant. It also comes with a reverse camera which adds convenience, even though the car is actually quite small without the need for a camera. The power window switches are positioned below the gear lever and while the positioning is still fine, the sad part is that the switches aren’t backlit hence you may have some trouble using them in the dark.
The rear seats offer good support and the cabin feels roomy
The driving position is set high, with no height adjustment for the driver’s seat. In fact, even the steering wheel doesn’t get tilt adjust. The seating position is actually good for this car because the large glass area enables excellent outward visibility. However, for really tall people, the steering wheel kind of hinders visibility of the instrument cluster but it isn’t very bothersome. The front seats are good on comfort, they offer good support too. Same is the case with the rear seat which is high on comfort. However, the backrest angle at the rear is slightly more reclined than what you’d normally expect. Head room and shoulder room are very good both at the front and rear. With a 6-feet tall person sitting at the front, another similarly heighted person can easily sit at the rear, but knee room gets a tad bit limited in this case.
The boot is accommodating and offers average space to keep luggage
The boot of the Santro isn’t very large, in fact cargo capacity is limited. However, it has been shaped nicely and that helps keep bags easily. In the CNG variant the boot space is negligible. Talking about storage spaces, all 4 doors come with large bottle holders along with space to keep small things. The centre console also houses a storage space where you can keep your mobile phone, wallet, etc. The glovebox is medium in size. The Santro doesn’t get a smart key, it gets a regular key with lock/unlock buttons integrated. It doesn’t get a boot unlock button though, so if you want to open the boot you need to pull the lever inside the cabin or insert the key in the boot lid lock because the boot lid doesn’t get a button.
The engine feels refined and offers fantastic NVH
Performance – The 2019 Hyundai Santro is all-new but it carries over 1 thing from the Santro Xing and that is the 1.1-litre Epsilon engine. This engine is a 4-cylinder petrol unit producing 69 PS and 99 Nm. The very first thing I noticed is the engine’s refinement and NVH levels. The engine is very silent and vibrations are almost zero. Even while driving, it remains fairly silent for most part and gets vocal only at higher RPMs. The CNG variant produces lesser power and torque though (59 PS and 84 Nm). The petrol variant delivers 15-18 km/l in real world conditions while the CNG variant is claimed to offer 30.5 kms/kg.
It feels quite peppy to drive in the city
The 1.1-litre engine of the Santro offers good drivability and feels quite refined
Crank the ignition and get going and you’ll notice how easy the car is to drive. Low-end is decent for city driving but the engine starts gathering more grunt in the mid-range. It delivers power smoothly all the way to the redline. For a blend of city and highway driving, this engine is very good and offers nice drivability. Outright acceleration from standstill isn’t very quick, but the Santro focuses on better drivability and responsiveness in in-gear acceleration. The 5-speed MT is a joy to use with its slick shifts and light clutch. The gear ratios are well-matched to the engine’s characteristics. I drove the AMT only for a bit but can tell you that while obviously it does have some jerking while changing cogs, it otherwise feels smooth when you’re not going hard on the throttle. I believe a lot of customers will buy the AMT variant for the convenience that it offers.
The ride is comfortable and it soaks bumps quite well
Driving Dynamics – The 2019 Hyundai Santro has a very pliant suspension set up. The ride is comfortable and the tall-boy attacks potholes with ease, without giving passengers any reason to complain. The car also remains fairly stable on the highways at high speeds and it maintains its composure during sudden lane changes. There is some body roll though which you cannot ignore but then again such cars are usually bought by people who aren’t going to go corner carving. The Santro is precise enough but lacks feedback out on the highways. At city speeds it is very light and makes the driving experience very easy. Braking performance isn’t bad at all, in fact much better than its immediate rivals. However, when you brake hard at high speeds, the Santro tends to skid a bit while losing its rear.
All the variants are equipped with ABS and driver-side airbag as standard
Safety and After Sales Service – All variants of the Santro get ABS and driver-side airbag as standard while the higher variants get dual front airbags. Nothing needs to be sad about Hyundai’s sales and service network which is one of the best in the country.
The well packaged Santro is a desirable choice of its segment
Verdict – The 2019 Hyundai Santro is a very impressive package offering a lot. It may not look the part but it is very practical and comfortable, gets a good performing engine and offers lots of features which customers will definitely like. When the prices of the car were announced on 23rd October, a lot of people felt that it is over-priced when compared to rivals, but after spending a considerable amount of time with the car I can easily say that the additional premium is well worth paying. The Hyundai Santro feels like a proper car and not something that is bare bones.
The unique features of its segment makes it stand apart
What’s Cool
* Bigger, spacious and loaded with segment first features
* Peppy engine with the convenience of an AMT
* Easy to drive around the city
What’s Not So Cool
* No diesel engine option
* Not a beautiful car to look at
Alternatives: – Maruti Celerio, Tata Tiago, Renault Kwid
It’s time for the rivals to wake up and take notice
2019 Hyundai Santro Specifications
* Engine: 1086cc, 4-Cyl, Petrol
* Power: 69 PS @ 5500 RPM (Petrol), 59 PS @ 5500 RPM (CNG)
* Torque: 99 Nm @ 4500 RPM, 84 Nm @ 4500 RPM
* Transmission: 5-Speed MT/AMT
* Fuel Consumption: 15-18 km/l (Petrol), 30.5 kms/kg (CNG, claimed)
* Fuel Type: Petrol, CNG
* Suspension: McPherson Strut (Front), Coupled Torsion Beam (Rear)
* Tyre Size: 165/70/14
* Brakes: Disc (Front), Drum (Rear), ABS
* Safety: 2-Airbags, ABS
2019 Hyundai Santro Dimensions
* Overall length x width x height: 3610 mm X 1645 mm X 1560 mm
* Boot Space: 235-litres
* Wheelbase: 2400 mm
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 35-litres
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