Am pretty glad to say that am the proud owner of a Santro Xing for the past one year. I bought this car after goin thru numerous reviews and test drives of various cars. My first criteria was getting in and out of the car should be comfortable. Well to be frank all Maruti small cars soon became totally out of question.
I had an inclination towards Maruti Zen initially because of its good engine, power and ease to handle. But again gettin in and out of the car was a nightmare since am 6ft tall. It ws like an herculean task and the other prob was the ground clearance. The car has very low ground clearance and the bottom hit on almost all the bumps in already bumpy Bangalore roads.
Finally my choice fell on Santro Xing whose looks as well as its tall design easily surpassed its main counterparts Maruti. This car believe it, is a breeze to handle in heavy traffic. Power is sufficient and the interiors are roomy. I did a long drive from Bangalore to Kollam (Kerala) nearly 750 Kms to my native place, in this car and the driving experience was really good. Pickup will bcome a bit tardy once you turn the ac on.
The only other issue which I found out ws that the gear stick vibrates and if you are the one who places one hand on the gear stick like me then you would feel a slight irritation. But I guess you would soon get used to it :-).
Rest all, this car is one of the best in its segment.