I have been using a Santro LP for more than a year now. Just thought would share my experience of owning a Santro....
First I was confused whether to go in for an Alto or Santro. But Alto was priced higher in April 2003. It didnt impress me for anything except the mileage but ofcourse it was an 800cc compared to Santros 1063 cc(1.1L). I enquired a person having a driving school, as I thought in driving schools only we have large variety of drivers and asked him how the car is and how the engine performs. To my surprise he said it is very good and absouletly no problems. Then immediately I decided upon buying it. No other choices after that...!
Getting in and out of the car is comfortable, you dont have to fall down to the earth. The ride is smooth, except its a bit bumpy in the back, when negotiating bad roads. The airconditioning is pretty good in its class. The perky engine makes very little sound, and at times you cant make out if you have left the engine idling. Zip drive is quite a useful feature to have and makes manoeuvering and parking effortless.
If you are mileage conscious, you need to keep in mind that this tall boy normally gives in the range of 13-17. One problem I face is while backing up, as one can?t see much with the tall back and the back headrests obstructing the view. In Zing now they have shortened it. But once u get used to it, its no big deal. And, in the dark the reverse lights are pretty powerful and useful.
When on long drives it looks pretty impressive. The mileage it returned on my first drive after I got it on a long drive without a/c was nearly 17. and worst in city with a/c was 13.5. Not bad....for its pickup..! I was driving past a Tata Indica diesel and when I overtook it at 100 kmph I felt that I was crossing a generator with a loud sound compared to my car.
This is one car where the finish is really good. If you are quality conscious, then this fact will keep you happy. Safety features like central locking, side protection beams, crumple zones makes the car quite safer when compared to the 800. I suggest taking a car without the body coloured bumpers as repainting or replacing one can get pretty expensive, I had taken a LP white and painted my bumpers so that the car looks good when in full white..Ofcourse it looks attractive that any other when white is fully clean. but bumper shows out with a visible black even for a small scratch.
About Looks... ok till you get used to it..Zing looks good now. Other features which is really good is, the folding up of the rear seats to create a really big back space, low fuel indication, remote opening of fuel tank as well as the hatch, anti glare adjustment of rear view mirror, cup holders, power windows, central locking, child locks.... The dealer service is quite good, and the after sales service impressive. This is definitely a good car, in its class, in India.
A small compact car with most features of a big luxury car. A good buy for the money, indeed!. May be you will have to wait for GetZ to be launched shortly to compare it with..not anything else in its class :-) So go ahead and stand tall..with the Little Tall Boy!