2019 Hyundai Santro Petrol Manual Review: 5 Things To Know

After a gap of around 20 years since its first launch in India, Hyundai Santo has made a comeback in an all-new avatar. The car comes in the price range of Rs 3.90-5.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and is pitted against the likes of Tata Tiago, Maruti Celerio, and Datsun Go among others. We list 5 important things that make new Hyundai Santro unique among its competitors.

Tall-boy Design

Hyundai has retained tallboy design of the original Santro with the new model boasting class-leading dimensions on height (1,645mm) and width (1,560mm) although it is shortest in terms of length (3,610mm). New Santro is based upon ld i10’s platform which means the design can be a lot quirky and there are a lot of elements to soak in.

Class-leading Features

True to the Hyundai’s tradition, new Santro comes with many segment first features including a 7” touch screen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, reverse camera and sensors, and rear AC vents. Other features on top-spec Asta are steering mounted controls with voice recognition, electrically adjustable wing mirrors, and rear washer/wiper system.

While it has everything you could ask for. It still doesn’t have any sort adjustment for seat and or steering. Telescopic and tilt both are missing. Seat height adjustable is also missing, which is a deal breaker for some. Space in the back is good when it comes to knee, leg and headroom. Small Hyundai car means lack of shoulder room continues. Boot space is also quite impressive in this segment at 235 litres.

Safety Aspect
In terms of safety, Hyundai Santro gets with driver seat airbag standard across the range, front seat belt with pretensioner, ABS with EBD, rear parking camera and sensors, impact sensing auto-door unlock, and child safety lock. On top Asta trim, Hyundai offers passenger airbag too.

AMT Debuts
This is for the first time Hyundai has decided to offer AMT with Santro becoming its launch platform. Another transmission option which is standard across range is a 5- speed manual gearbox. The engine capacity is 1.1-liter and it puts out 69PS and 99Nm of max power and max torque respectively. Santro is also offered in a CNG variant which has an output of 59PS and 84Nm. The fuel efficiency for petrol and CNG variant is rated at 20.3 kmpl and 30.5km/kg respectively.

The Drive:

Well those are the numbers. We did some some time with the manual version of the car and we found it impressive indeed. Suspension is leagues ahead of what Hyundai cars were earlier. Vertical movement is only witnessed at high speeds, but with four people and luggage on-board that problem disappeared. The steering is very light and lock to lock ratio is over 3 clicks which is quite high and it continues to be fairly precise but lacks feedback entirely. Brakes like the previous Santro are spot on with perfect bite from the pedal and enough progressive power to stop from any speed and that too confidently.

The engine is the same as the previous Santro but changed to make it more refined and emission compliant for the future. There is a bit of jerkiness at low speed, but that is hardly felt, unlike the previous Santro which also had this issue. Post 2000 RPM, it redlines freely but it could have reached redline a bit quicker as the engine doesn’t rev quickly enough like the K-series from Maruti and also because the gearing is extremely tall.

Refinement levels are really good and manual gearbox shifts are smooth and clutch is light as well. Gearbox isn’t typical Hyundai box that we are used to, but this is an all-new unit which feels a bit more clunky and mechanical over the butter smooth gearboxes seen in the i10 and i20.

Pricing Policy

Hyundai has priced Santro quite aggressively which gives it a competitive edge over some of its rivals. Santro comes in the bracket of Rs 3.90-5.65 lakh while Tata Tiago features a tag of Rs 3.40-5.63 lakh (for petrol version), Maruti Celerio ranges from Rs 4.21-5.40 lakh, and Datsun Go can be had at Rs 3.29-4.89 lakh. So while Santro wins over Celerio in pricing, it has got stiff competition from Tata and Datsun.

2019 Hyundai Santro Petrol Manual Review, Verdict

The small car with the old name plate is back and how! The manufacturer has loaded it with all the features you could ask for. Brought back the same engine and gearbox and offered CNG for the first time along with AMT as well.

This makes the options quite diverese and practical for consumers. The engine could have been a bit more better, mileage numbers could have been more impressive and the lack of adjustability is a deal breaker for some. However, with the kind of space and everything else feels just right, it will find buyers in a market which is now slowly devoid of good small cars.