Santro AT with CNG:Yes/no

[sharad_agl]

Guys, i am looking for a small hatch for city runs and the best option seems to be Santro AT. I am leaning towards AT with CNG installed by Hyundai dealer. They are offering upto 80,000kms/4yrs warranty.

Only worry for me is Santro's small engine mated to AT makes it slow and on top of that CNG will surely make it slower. This might make it "Impractical to drive". This is my only worry.

What are ur opinions? Any one running Santro AT on CNG?

[phamilyman]

Prima facie, I would say ummm. I haven't driven ATs, but 1.1 Santro wasnt too peppy by itself (think flooring the pedal at 20 in 3rd). AT+CNG would make it much slower. But really depends on the lambda settings.

Our Alto is QUITE lazy in low revs, but revs really high on CNG (ask wolfi, he's the guru, not me ). The Xeta 1.4 has oodles of torque but doesn't rev as much. So there's all kinda tuning of CNG cars. Take a TD of a regular santro CNG and then see where it lies. Shouldn't end up paying a swift's cost for the driving pleasure of a 2up activa

[sameer551]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Shouldn't end up paying a swift's cost for the driving pleasure of a 2up activa

Well Said lol...
First of all try Santro CNG with AC at Full level and see its how well it picks up. To me santro is slow in taking up and have to shifts gear frequently when AC on. For Santro 1.1 CNG Plus AT...seems to be

[ram_hyundai]

Santro AT is not a slower vehicle than the MT version.Its quick off the block and quicker than the MT.But the fact that AT is costly and above that a cng/lpg kit would add up to a swift lxi or vxi for that matter.This is not a good option as lpg is costly nowadays and there isnt much of an advantage comparing to petrol regarding the cost of fuel.
ram

[phamilyman]

bhaisaab, CNG is NOT LPG. It costs 19.20 bucks a KG in Delhi and our alto/xeta give 22/16-17 in city easily with it. Interesting math eh? AutoLPG is bhaarrrry expensive tho

[wolfinstein]

Correction CNG is now at 18.90 per Kg. and With an AT I don't think its a right decision, Unless you don't intend to Race around or prone to high speed driving.

The Santro AT is quite slow in comparision to the Manual, Nothing against the CNG, its simply the AT vs Manual.

With Newer generation AT this is not there, but Santro AT is quite an old tech- Would not recommend it with CNG at all.

[sharad_agl]

Thanks for the suggestion. This car is supposed to be used only on short city(delhi and noida) run. Given current traffic situation in delhi, don't u think Santro AT makes a lot of sense. Hyundai
have made it very affordable recently. It is now 3.91 ex showroom Delhi.

IMHO, CNG is now a very good option in Delhi.
I know it will be slower but do we need that much power or in other words do we have any roads left to use that power.

Please advice. I am about to make a booking in next few days. Please remember that the car is only meant for city driving.

Originally Posted by wolfinstein

Correction CNG is now at 18.90 per Kg. and With an AT I don't think its a right decision, Unless you don't intend to Race around or prone to high speed driving.

The Santro AT is quite slow in comparision to the Manual, Nothing against the CNG, its simply the AT vs Manual.

With Newer generation AT this is not there, but Santro AT is quite an old tech- Would not recommend it with CNG at all.

[Eddy]

Is it not possible for you to get a TD ? If the showroom guys can't do that, just call up other showrooms and ask if they have sold such a vehicle to anyone. Doing that, you might actually get a TD and first hand opinion.

[phamilyman]

Why not a WagonR LX CNG? A la the cabs. Pretty decent to drive though. End of cycle produtc it is, fwiw.

[sharad_agl]

i got a test drive of CNG manual and petrol AT separatley. The CNG manual car has almost same throttle response as compared to petrol manual. Since i was driving on congested city roads, same thing might not hold true on highways.

Petrol AT was delight to use in city. Only issue was lack of 'urgency' when u wanted to overtake in a hurry. It took its own time to gather pace.

IMHO, for city purposes it could be very practical option.

Anybody here driving a CNG santro? Kindly comment.

Originally Posted by Eddy

Is it not possible for you to get a TD ? If the showroom guys can't do that, just call up other showrooms and ask if they have sold such a vehicle to anyone. Doing that, you might actually get a TD and first hand opinion.

[trrk]

Hi,

> Petrol AT was delight to use in city. Only issue was lack of 'urgency' when u
> wanted to overtake in a hurry. It took its own time to gather pace.

There are two ways to have 'urgency' to overtake in an AT.

Flick the gear to 2 or at real low speeds to 1, gives you better acceleration and won't be shifting to higher gears until you shift it back to D.

Another way is to use the 'kickdown'. Press the accelerator to the floor and keep it there, it actuates the 'kickdown' switch which puts it into a lower gear and good acceleration. If you relax your foot, it will go into the higher gear/s.

[StarScream]

Sharad_agl, the Santro AT is a brilliant city car - small, easy to maneuver, easy to park and a breeze to drive. In the middle of traffic jams, which are very common in NCR nowadays, you will be whistling while everybody around you is cursing.
I have owned a Santro AT for about a year. I bought it for my wife but when I'm driving myself I often reach for the Santro's keys.
It has a very competent and well-featured gearbox. I have owned a manual Santro before and I feel the AT accelerates faster. It is very quick off the block. As the earlier poster suggested you can employ the kickdown effect to accelerate quicker. It really takes off.
The Santro AT also has an overdrive switch and if you want more pep rather than shifting to second just switch overdrive off and the car will effectively become a three-speed auto and rev a lot more.
I don't know how it will perform with CNG. I have thought about converting mine but haven't done it for a couple of reasons: the car's usage is not very high, I get about 11.5 kpl in city driving and the time I bought it, the CNG option was not available.
I don't know which dealer you are going to but the most knowledgeable about the AT is Hyundai Motor Plaza on Mathura Road. They are the best sales/service shop for Hyundai by far. I bought my car from them and was very happy with their service. You can ask them about the performance of a Santro AT and whether its a wise thing to do.
Hope this helps.

[phamilyman]

You could check out things here:
Swift Diesel (VDI-ABS) Experience - India Travel Forum, BCMTouring.com

Scroll down to manik's response. He is from the similar area, so you could meet up and figure out his experience as well.

[wolfinstein]

Santro AT may be easy going, but its not worth either at the price and ofcourse Its a No No for an already slow response.

CNG driving is a little different, The Santro will not feel peppy at all, On comparitives-I have TD the Santro CNG and found it underpowered for the class, With Auto I'm sure you won't be enjoying that a bit.

Suggest you look at options such as Indigo or Logan if you can Upscale from 3.91. Else look at the Wagon R or XETA but ofcourse if its Auto that you want, you will have to settle for a Slower car.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by wolfinstein

Santro AT may be easy going, but its not worth either at the price and ofcourse Its a No No for an already slow response.

I don't understand that sentence. Do you own a Santro AT? Have you driven one? On what basis do you come to the conclusion that it has slow response (if I understand the sentence correctly)?

The Santro AT accelerates faster than the manual.