Hyundai Santro

The cabin gets a nicely integrated seven-inch touchscreen in between the large air-con vents on the centre console. Below the screen, there are manual buttons for the media control as well. The three rotary knobs for the air-con control are placed below that. The circular air-vent on the passenger side appears to have been taken out of a far more expensive vehicle. However, the re-circulation slider below it seems out of date now.  The instrument cluster has speedometer and tachometer along with a digital screen which can read out essential information such as fuel indicator, trip meter and gear-shift indicator. Interestingly, the window control switches are placed behind the gear lever. The AMT gear lever gets a piano-black finish which makes it look more premium. Moreover, the Diana Green body paint comes with a colour coordinated interior.

The Hyundai Santro debuts the new Rhythmical Tension design language with a new iteration of Hyundai’s cascading grille. The fascia gets a black treatment with chrome trim surrounding it. The swept-back headlamps are joined by fog lamps which flank the grille.  At the back, the bumpers also get a black insert akin to the one seen on the updated Grand i10 but a lot sharper. The wrap-around tail lights are simple in design and minimal in looks. The tall-boy stance in the profile has been highlighted with body creases and a small spoiler mounted atop the tailgate. Interestingly, there are no alloy-wheels but the hatchback does get body-coloured ORVMs with integrated indicators, body-coloured door handles and rear window wiper. There is a rear-view camera placed just beneath the Hyundai logo on the tailgate and there are two parking sensors on the bumpers.

Powering it is Hyundai’s new 1.1-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing 68bhp of power and 101Nm of torque. Besides a five-speed manual, there is also an AMT gearbox option which will be a first for Hyundai and is offered in the Magna and Sportz trim. Hyundai also offers a factory-fitted CNG kit with a 58bhp version of the same 1.1-litre motor.