This is an update to my original review written earlier. My Santro completes 3 years in April.
Economy - Gives at least 14 KMPL with AC always ON. Reduces if tyre pressure is not maintained.
Tyres: Showing considerably wear at 41, 000 KMs, I think I will need to replace by the time I reach 50, 000
Comfort (general observation now that a lot of travel has happened in the car) - tends to be bumpy for the rear passengers but is fantastic for front seat passengers.
------------------The old review-----------------------
Mr. BVR Subbu, I sure hope you read this.
I have owned and driven a Santro XS for nearly two years now and I think nothing comes near it in price and value in that segment. It was only natural that I recommended the same to my in-laws who are looking at buying their first car. We visited a Hyundai showroom in Andheri and we were in for a rude shock - they dont make the XS version anymore!!!
They have instead replaced it with the XO version which is now the top version for the Santro. The price is still the same, but many of the goodies that the XS version bought with it are not there anymore :(
They are no longer giving the leather wrapped steering (which used to be soooo good), the wheel caps and the fog lamps. And no chrome door handles insde either. And no spoiler ...boo hoo :(
I did not check if the driver/front-passenger under-seat trays are still there, but they better be.
Hyundai is known to do wierd things (I remember when I got my car, they were giving the red color only with the Automatic version, now they give it with all versions), but phasing out the XS version really crosses the line. Very few cars could claim their top-end models to be so popular.
I understand that rising input costs may have put pressure on the pricing so they might have decided to cut down the features to remain competitive. I appreciate this becoz I know had it been Suzuki (Maruti) they would probably have given the same features but reduced the quality drastically. The basic car is still as great, or probably even better with the new eRLX engine, but the old features should be put back in there.
Mr. Subbu, if I were you, I’d bring the XS back into the market.