2018 Hyundai Santro | First Drive

The 2018 Hyundai Santro built on a new K1 platform still carries the legendary tall boy design. But it is no more just the boxy shape. The car is a lot more contemporary in its looks. The car now comes in D-lite variant at the lower end and four other variants Era, Magna, Sportz and the top one being Asta. We got to drive the Asta and the variant below that, the Sportz. The Asta only comes with a 5-speed manual transmission and does not come with an automatic transmission, while the Sportz has an option of an AMT and a factory fitted CNG. We drove the Sportz AMT and the Asta MT. The car is powered by a petrol 1.1 litre four-cylinder engine.

EXTERIOR DESIGN AND FEATURES OF 2018 HYUNDAI SANTRO

The Santro now has a 3610mm length compared to 3565mm of the old Santro. The overall width is now 1645mm, compared to 1525mm of the old Santro. The overall height is now 1560mm, compared to 1590mm in the old model. Here the tall boy takes a wee bit of beating of 30mm. The wheel base is now 2400mm compared to 2380mm of the old Santro.

On the style front on the exterior, the car has now a very broad grill which the company calls the cascade design chrome front grille. It reminds you of Heath Ledger who play the role of Joker in the film The Dark Knight. Decently styled, swept back headlamps and uniquely positioned fog lamps give the car a pleasing front personality. There is a first-in-segment micro antenna. 

The side profile of the car is quite sculpted with prominent wheel arches. As you go back, you get to see stylish tail lamps and dual tone rear bumper with reflectors. Very sporty indeed. The car sits on 165/70 R14 tyres with steel wheels and a hub cap. This profile is available only for the SportZ and Asta variants. The others get R13 tyres.

INTERIOR DESIGN AND FEATURES OF 2018 HYUNDAI SANTRO

Compared to the old Santro, this one’s got more leg room in front at 1030mm, compared to 972mm in the old one. The shoulder room in front is now 1310 mm compared to 1215mm. At the rear the leg room is now 886mm as compared to 870mm in the old Santro and the shoulder room is now 1310mm as compared to 1215mm.

To get inside you have remote keyless entry. Ingress and egress continues to be cool, especially for tall people. The cabin looks chic and tech friendly. The dash area looks good with decent plastic used. The car gets a dual tone beige and black interiors with champagne gold inserts The centre fascia looks good which the company says is elephant inspired. The entire dash area looks chic with the AC knobs, the 7 inches touchscreen, the volume buttons, a 12V power outlet and a USB port. The power window buttons are placed near the gear lever towards the floor. The AC vents have a modern appeal, especially the ones on the sides which are propeller inspired. This small car also comes with a rear ac vent, a first in the segment. On the right of the steering wheel on the dash are the buttons to electrically adjust the ORVMs.

In order to keep the cabin free of any foul smell, there is an Eco Coating Technology which prevents unpleasant smell to develop in the AC Evaporator by degrading the micro-organisms developed in the AC Evaporator Core.

There are lots of storage areas for bottles on inner door panels, space in the glove compartment and even above the glove box area. The boot has a 235 litre space. The seats, I must admit are very comfortable and provide decent thigh support as well as back support.

The steering comes with volume controls as well as buttons to change channels. There are also buttons for voice navigation. The 7 inches touchscreen is equipped with smart phone connectivity - Android Auto, Apple Car Play & Mirror Link and voice recognition function along with iblue smartphone app support.

The car comes with electric power steering with a 6.35 cm Multi Information Display which shows fuel efficiency, dual trip meter, etc. There is an analog speedometer and tachometer.

The Asta is the only variant that gets a passenger air bag, reverse parking camera, reverse parking sensors and rear wiper washer, besides pretionsioners and a passenger vanity mirror.

SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE OF 2018 HYUNDAI SANTRO

I took turns driving the manual Asta model and the automatic Sportz models. Both the cars offered great comfort in driving.  In the manual transmission, a lack of power is quite noticeable as you hit the highways. While on the city roads, this car is cool and quick on its feet, it’s on the highways it gets to struggle a bit with the manual. But once you shift into the final gear, there is lot of action for you to enjoy.

The AMT on the other hand in the Sportz is a genius.   No hydraulic actuators here, rather this AMT gets an electric actuator which means there is an electric motor for gear shifting and clutch operation. Being electric it means there is a fast actuator response and smooth shifting of gears.

The all new Santro comes with ABS and EBD as standard. The driver airbag is also standard across variants. As you move up the value chain you get speed sensing door locks and impact sensing auto door unlocks. Braking is good with discs in front and drums at the rear. NVH levels are impressive for a small car.

VERDICT

The all-new Santro has come a long way. It’s no more just a practical boxy tall boy design. It’s very modern, very chic, very practical and carries loads of first-in segment features that are bound to find favour among the consumers of today. Yes, the legend is back. Back, to make a huge difference in the small car segment!