Official: Hyundai Santro bookings open tomorrow, variant details revealed

Hyundai has just revealed the official name of the AH2 code-named entry-level hatchback. It’ll be called the Santro. The name was chosen after Hyundai interacted extensively with customers, dealers and fans of the original Santro hatchback. The automaker even ran a naming contest for the car, which saw participants overwhelmingly voting for the Santro badge to be brought back.

Bookings for the new Hyundai Santro will commence from tomorrow, and the official launch is slated for the 23rd of October. The booking amount has been pegged at Rs. 11,100, and the first 50,000 people to book the car will get it at an introductory price tag.

The car will take on the likes of the Maruti WagonR, Tata Tiago and Maruti Celerio. The base variant is likely to start from under Rs. 4 lakhs. The new Santro is based on a modified Hyundai i10 platform, and also shares the latter’s engine.

The engine in question is the 1.1 liter-4 cylinder unit. 5 speed manual and AMT options will be on offer. In fact, the Santro is the first Hyundai car in India to get an AMT option, and this transmission will be seen on a lot of upcoming, sub-4 meter Hyundai cars sold in India. The Santro will also be available with LPG-Petrol and CNG-Petrol option in specific markets of India. There won’t be a diesel engine on offer though. The car will be offered in 7 variants – 5 in manual and 2 in AMT. The manual variants include DLite, Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta. The AMT variants will be limited to Magna and Sportz trims.

The petrol engine of the new car is ready to meet Bharat Stage 6 emission norms, which will come in force from the April of 2020. This makes the new Santro the first Hyundai car in India to meet the stringent BS6 emission norms. ABS and a driver airbag will be standard across all variants of the car, making it compliant with the Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP).

As for features, the car will get a modern dashboard along with a touchscreen infotainment system. This class leading feature will also offer Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, making the new Santro the most tech-loaded car in its class. The car will also get rear AC vents – a first in segment feature. Reverse parking sensors will be common across all trims while a reverse parking camera will be offered on the top-end trims.