[aniketi]

Originally Posted by Ritkon

Another hatchback and this time the iconic Hyundai Santro has been discontinued in India.

This new model was never iconic mate. Old was really cool and was super hit. Not sure why Hyundai stopped it. New one was hardly selling and looks wise it was really yucks. Horrible styling which people clearly rejected. Compared to Wagon R, which is it's main competitor, was selling multifold than Santro. I guess Hyundai kept it alive too long in market. Surprised they didn't try new model of new Santro.

[Candy$Cars]

The new Santro didn't even achieve 10% of success of older Santro and Santro Xing. I still see more older Santros on the road than this new Santro. The blame is on Hyundai that they let the brand die.
To be honest, the i10 should have been the Santro. But the i10 has became a success in itseld, so all is well that ends well!

[Carma2017]

This is not surprising. I am awaiting similar announcements from other makers like TATA and Suzuki. The small car just isn't worth the effort.

[umohan98]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

This is not surprising. I am awaiting similar announcements from other makers like TATA and Suzuki. The small car just isn't worth the effort.

Weren't there rumors/reports of a New Gen Alto launching later this year?

Rising fuel costs make running these cars more expensive for the common man, and the higher material costs, better safety norms, and more stringent emission norms are making them more expensive to manufacture.

When do you forsee this segment to die out completely? Will this upcoming Alto be the last of its kind?

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by umohan98

Weren't there rumors/reports of a New Gen Alto launching later this year?

Rising fuel costs make running these cars more expensive for the common man, and the higher material costs, better safety norms, and more stringent emission norms are making them more expensive to manufacture.

When do you forsee this segment to die out completely? Will this upcoming Alto be the last of its kind?

Frankly, I haven't heard anything about upcoming new Alto, here in Japan. Although I hope the new Alto is not the last of its kind, but who in their right minds would pay Rs. 5.5 - 6.0 lacs for a pint sized car like Alto. Knowing Suzuki, they will not go down without a fight. But I personally don't think Suzuki will ever refresh the Alto in India if regulations pan out as they have in recent times.

[achyutaghosh]

Strange to see so much hate for the Santro. I had found it good looking, feature loaded and reasonably capable. Even the team-bhp official review had this summary -

Originally Posted by Aditya

The Hyundai Santro is on sale in India at a price of between Rs. 3.90 - 5.65 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

What you'll like:

• Excellent quality & refinement. Truly impressive for this class of car
• Smart, practical & well-designed cabin with a chilling air-con & nice audio system
• 4-cylinder goodness in a segment full of 3-cylinders
• AMT with electric actuators is easily the best-in-class; this is the most sorted AMT in India
• Suspension offers a compliant ride & neutral handling
• Features such as the touchscreen head-unit, reversing camera, rear air-con & more
• Hyundai's fuss-free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service

[Silverfire]

The Santro is in many ways the perfect 2nd car in your garage. Compact, classy interiors, easy to drive, smoothest of the AMTs - make it the ideal choice as a city car.
I think Hyundai got the pricing wrong on this one and when Maruti launched the wagon-r with the 1.2 4-cylinder engine with way better fuel efficiency and power, the Santro lost favor.

[rganeshiyer]

Posting after a long long time but Santro's exit triggers this. Probably the best small car I have ever come across with it's smooth engine, superb AMT, absolutely blast of an AC , great mileage ( i consistently get 19+ on a liter) and reasonably good suspensions too with all bells and whistles like rear camera and touch screen etc., what a tragedy that a superb vehicle that suited our city traffic and roads to the the hilt has such an unceremonious exit ! I will buy this car twice over if I had a choice . I will retain this until an electric takes over.

[sids2705]

Reading through the forum, the general problem of the Santro was its pricing in the past two years. I personally own a 2019 Santro Sportz, its a superb vehicle. The pickup is slow initially, yes, but the refinement levels are brilliant. Plus the Air Conditioning that it offers is second to none, with the rear AC vents only favouring the small cabin to cool. It never felt like a low end car to me, and I plan to retain it for the next couple of years atleast

[Palio_2005]

It's really sad to see the Santro go. I love our AMT Sportz model and will too hold on to it for a long time. Unfortunately in this segment people go for fuel efficient and cheap car and don't bother about the pluses like class interiors, great build quality, good features and a superb AMT.

This is a brilliant city car for the city. Even after 2.5 years there's not a rattle or a squeak. My friend's Wagon R bought about the same time rattles a lot. Even on the highway's the Santro is quite stable. I had an I10 before this and loved that car as well.

Same thing happened with Eon and alto. Final nail on the coffin was the I10 grand which was priced slightly higher but much superior engine and features.

[greenhorn]

I drove a santro while hunting for a car. It felt like it was at least one segment above it's competitors - Tiago, wagon r etc. Refinement, look and feel (I liked the looks), and driveablity. It all came tumbling down when i saw the 2 star NCAP rating. If it has been in the high 3's i might have considered it, but 2 was too low

[RavenAvi]

I had posted this news as a scoop back in September 2021 in the official Santro review thread.

A trusted birdie chirps that Hyundai India might axe the Santro from it's lineup by the end of Q1 2022.

No word yet on it's replacement in the Hyundai India lineup.

More than anything, the sales numbers that the new Santro was racking up in recent times was the main problem. It already came with premium pricing for the A/B segment and overlapped the erstwhile Grand i10 & came close to some of the lower Nios variants. Naturally of late, customers preferred the Nios to the Santro.

Add to it, new BS6 norms coming up in the horizon would mean upgrading the sole 1.1L engine in the Hyundai lineup yet again, plus adding 6 airbags from the base variant onwards from September 2022 would make it even more pricey, and that wouldn't make it financially viable as a future sales option.

There is a Santro replacement in the wings. Possibly a tallboy or a micro SUV, to take on the S-Presso. It will see light by Q3-2022. We shall find out more in the days to come.

[Bhupesh_2628]

Except for the safety rating, it's an excellent car which matches & even exceeds certain parameters. A better car than its rivals.

It had everything going for it. Hyundai should have aggressively marketed this vehicle from the start as the features (many segment-first), driving experience it offers w.r.t. steering, engine & MT/AMT (in comparison to others) is great.

People bought Grand i10 & Grand i10 Nios for more money which is fine for Hyundai as long as sales are from their lineup itself.

IMO, the "Santro" brand will still not be diluted in any way even after these overlappings. It's an iconic model for Hyundai.

Hoping that Hyundai does something more aggressive for the next-gen Santro.

[DriveOnceMore]

This again proves that nobody can compete with Maruti in entry level A segment hatchbacks.
Now only Renault, with its Kwid, is the only competitor Maruti has in sub 5-6 lakh rupees segment.

I know the segment is slowly dying but I also feel that its not dying completely.
Cars in this segment with EV powertrain, city friendly 200 km range and sub 8 lakh rupees ex-showroom price tag definitely has the future.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by achyutaghosh

Strange to see so much hate for the Santro. I had found it good looking, feature loaded and reasonably capable. Even the team-bhp official review had this summary

If someone highlights the drawbacks, it doesn't mean it is hate. The same review says the following. These are the exact points members highlighted here. Does that mean Team-BHP is also spreading hatred?

Originally Posted by Aditya

What you won't:

• Pricey! Top variants are undeniably expensive
• Quirky front-end styling will polarize opinions
• AMT unavailable in the Asta variant with dual airbags. Also, it’s not as smooth as a regular AT
• Missing equipment – no alloy wheels, a fixed steering position & useless rear headrests!
• Rear seat is better suited to 2 adults rather than 3
• After dealer discounts, the superior Grand i10’s price is too close