santro after 54K Kms

Exterior:  The cars's stance is quite comfortable for a tall person like me (5' 9") to get in & get out. exterior body finish & paint quality is top notch. ground clearance is well suited for indian roads. Body strength is OK. My car hasn't develped any cracks or rusting of any sorts even after 54K ( &5 yrs) in sun and rain.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort): The interiors are basic and well suited, i have the earliest of the XOs with nice door trims with fabric inserts & elegant PW switches (i guess the latest Santro doesn't come with that trim). Overall driver's visibility is nice, albeit at sharp corners where the A-pillar somewhat obstructs the view. The interior's plastic finish is also good, with no gaps or misalignments. plastic finish beats the likes of Alto, Wagon R by a comfy margin. Though, after these years, there is some occassional door noise coming from the rubber packing and all.The AC performance is perfect for a small car, and even after 5 odd years i needn't have to push the AC to its full speed , even in the harshest of Delhi summers, and also i just got it (the AC!) serviced only once in these 5 yrs.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox: The eRLx engine, is very smooth and refined for a car of this segment. You can feel minimum vibrations in the steering wheel at traffic stops. The real beauty though is the gear box, with swift and assured shifts which is a real pleasure. The Alto & WagonR Gears feel like an" iron rod drilled into stones", after driving a Santro- that is purely my personal experience with no harm meant to the Maruti owners. The foot pedals also operate with minimum effort & play, which again is in stark contrast to Alto, where one has to make a real effort to depress even the accelerator pedal. The milage which i have been getting with my Santro still hovers around 15-16 Km/L, after these 5 yrs, and regular services by the same authorised dealer only (Safdarjang motors, Gurgaon). The Engine & petrol additives which these guys pour, really helps. Its really heartening that after these 5 years, the car shows no  signs of ageing, be it the pickup or pushing it to higher speeds (I'v touched 100-105 few times).

 

Ride Quality & Handling: Driving position is perfectly OK for short drives, but after some hrs. one can feel the strain due to lack of lumber supprt & an acute ankle angle on the accelerator pedal. here, the dead clutch pedal is a nice little add on. The steering though is very precise and light, the car maneuvers like a breeze in rush hour traffic and tight parking lots. The handling is great, but the car sways sideways at sharp corners and bumps, that's i guess due to the Tall-Boy design. The rear seat space is again adequate for 3 people for shorter drives, with just enough leg space. Though, the tyre noise from the road is quite noticable, but the same can be reduced by quite a margin if you  go for a broader 165mm tubeless tyres, in that case the ride also smoothens by a fair margin.

Final Words: The perfect first car! you just can't go wrong with this car. Even after 54K Kms my car didn't give me a single breakdown, except for the 4-5 tyre puntures in my Bridgstones. It's a tried and tested machine, and asks you nothing but to maintain it as per the schedule.

Areas of improvement  It would be great if that sideways sway is eliminated somehow.

steering handling, drivability, fit & finish, smooth gearboxawkward ankle position while driving, sways sideways on turns & bumps