Maruti and Tata hatchbacks getting big discounts: Hyundai Santro effect?

The highly competitive entry level hatchback segment in India saw a new entrant in the form of Hyundai Santro, on 23rd of last month. With the new Santro, Hyundai has certainly upped the hatchback game. It comes with many segment first features like a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay and rear seat AC vents among others. While the exterior design might not have struck a cord with everyone, there is no denying the fact that Hyundai has equipped the Santro with the best interiors in the segment, both in terms of quality as well as functionality.

Another area where Hyundai has made a dent is pricing. The Santro range starts at 3.89 lakhs for the base model, which in fact is lower than most of its direct competition like the Maruti Wagon R and Celerio. It gets powered by a 1.1 litre petrol engine that produces 68 Bhp of power and 99 Nm of torque. It has both manual and automatic (AMT) transmission options and returns a decent mileage of 20.3 kmpl.

Therefore, the competition has been feeling the heat and to maintain their grip on the market, both Maruti Suzuki and Tata motors are offering some big discounts on their Santro competitors. Let’s take a look and find out whether the discounts have managed to equalize the competition or not.

Wagon R

Max Discount: Rs 70,100

The current Tall-Boy hatch baton holder is being offering with discounts of up to Rs 70,100. This includes a cash discount of Rs 30,000 for all petrol and diesel variants of the car. The cash discount for CNG models of Wagon R stands at Rs 25,000. There’s also an exchange bonus of Rs 35,000 for the AMT variants and Rs 30,000 for the manual versions, if the exchanged car is less than 7 years old. For exchanged cars that are over 7 years old, the discounts drop to Rs 25,000 for the AMT and Rs 20,000 for the manual variants. An additional corporate discount of Rs. 5,100 is applicable over the whole range.

The Wagon R starts at Rs. 4.14 for the base LXi variant, which is about Rs. 25,000 more than the base variant of Santro. It is powered by a 1 litre engine that churns out 67 Bhp of power and 90 Nm of torque. Like the Santro, it also comes with both manual and automatic transmission offers and has a fuel efficiency figure of 20.5 kmpl.

Celerio

Max Discount: Rs 65,100

The Maruti Celerio is currently being offered with discounts of up to Rs 65,100. This includes a cash discount of Rs 30,000 for the Celerio AMT, Rs 25,000 for the manual variants, and Rs 20,000 for the CNG variants. The exchange bonus is valued at same rate as the cash discounts for cars less than 7 years old. The company is also offering a corporate discount of Rs 5,100 on the Celerio.

The Celerio retails with a starting price of Rs. 4.21 lakhs for the base LXi variant. It is powered by the same 1 litre petrol engine that powers the Wagon R, with similar power output of 67 Bhp and 90 Nm. Maruti offers both AMT and manual transmission options on the Celerio and it has a fuel efficiency figure of 23.1 kmpl.

 

Maruti Ignis

Max Discount: Rs 65,000

The Maruti Suzuki Ignis was a good seller but has slowed down for some time now. It is currently being offered with discounts of up to Rs. 65,000. The discounts include a cash discount of Rs 35,000 along with an additional exchange bonus of Rs 25,000. Apart from this, there is a further Rs 5,100 corporate discount for select government employees.

The unique designed hatch is the most expensive on this list and starts at Rs. 4.66 lakhs for the base variant. The Ignis gets powered by a 1.2 litre engine that produces 82 Bhp of power along with 113 Nm of torque. The Maruti Suzuki Ignis has a fuel efficiency figure of 20.89 kmpl. It is sold through Maruti’s premium Nexa dealerships though, which provide a better buying and ownership experience than what Hyundai offers with the Santro. Also, the Ignis is more powerful than the Santro and has better dynamics than it as well.

Tata Tiago

Max. Discount: 39,000

The Tata Tiago is the only car on this list that has a starting price less than that of the Hyundai Santro. The Tiago starts at Rs. 3.39 lakhs, which is about Rs. 50,000 cheaper than the base variant of Santro. Talking of offers, the Tiago is currently being given away with a discounted 1st year insurance at Rs. 7400. Then there is an exchange offer worth Rs 10,000 Exchange and an extra Rs 3000 as corporate discount.

The Tata Tiago petrol gets powered by a 1.2-litre Revotron engine that produces 84 Bhp of power and 114 Nm of torque. The diesel variants of the Tiago lineup use a 1.05-litre Revotorq diesel engine that produces 69 Bhp of power along with 140 Nm of torque. It comes with both automatic and manual transmissions too. Also, the Tiago has the segment best fuel economy figure of 23.84 kmpl for the petrol variant. The diesel variant has a fuel efficiency of 27.28 kmpl.

 

All prices listed are ex-showroom, Delhi.

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