[Vik0728]

I had a Santro Xing for nearly 4 years and I can tell you that I was one of the Happiest owners. Though its a small hatch, its an amazing performer for its size. I personally prefer Santro's looks over the Alto K10's. Ths space, the comfort and the ride is really nice in a Santro and with some broader tires, handling can be made acceptable. I just loved the build quality and take my word, nothing much really rattles in a Santro Cabin.
Alto K10, one of my friend owns one and it sure seems much faster. I personally think that this is due to its light weight body and a pretty powerful engine. But it still can't match the In-gear acceleration and Accelerator response that you get from a Santro Xing.

[amalji]

The Alto K10, if you want to enjoy highway driving. The engine gives a refined note even at speeds of 120 kmph. As with most Hyundais, Santro performs better on the lower rpms than at higher rpms which makes city driving easy. It depends on what you prefer more. For me, I prefer the drive quality of K10 but at the same time, find more utility on the Santro.

[a*ed]

Originally Posted by amalji

The Alto K10, if you want to enjoy highway driving. The engine gives a refined note even at speeds of 120 kmph. As with most Hyundais, Santro performs better on the lower rpms than at higher rpms which makes city driving easy. It depends on what you prefer more. For me, I prefer the drive quality of K10 but at the same time, find more utility on the Santro.

@Torquedo - Like amalji has said, the K10 engine feels refined at high speeds. Moreover, quoting others, the Alto K10 is a fun to drive, zippy car.
My friend who has a Santro, drove my A-Star (which has the K10 engine) and was literally surprised, in a good way, by the acceleration and the zippiness of the K10.

In the end, it's yours and your sister's call. Do let us know which one you have planned on buying.

[Torquedo]

Originally Posted by a*ed

In the end, it's yours and your sister's call. Do let us know which one you have planned on buying.

Thanks amalji & a*ed -

As it is very evident from the poll figures and the responses that I have received that there is little to differentiate between the two.

My sister is not a highway sprinter, she would do more of in city driving, so I am still not able to make a call which way to go.

If I have the option of the K10 Lxi @ - 3.35 and Santro GL Plus @ - 3.5L both OTR then it'll be the Santro for sure.

The latest that I have is my sister is relocating to Bangalore in 1st week of Jan (job switch) so will have to consider OTR prices in Bangalore.

I would be thankful if someone may provide a clue on the OTR pricing of the above 2 mentioned.

Guys thanks once again for chipping in and providing your valuable thoughts, please keep bringing them on .

Happy Motoring !!

[amrisharm]

I am quoting prices straight out of Autocar India. prices exclude any discounts offered:

Delhi:

1) Santro GL Plus OTR 3.82L
2) Maruti Alto k10VXI OTR 3.5L

Bangalore:

1) Santro GL Plus OTR 4.24L
2) Maruti Alto k10VXI OTR 3.89L

I also checked the price listed for W.B where i live and the prices seem to correlate. So I guess the prices for the above cities should also be accurate. Do bargain for a big discount. When i bought my santro in 2010, when sales charts for cars were booming, they still offered approx Rs 14,000 discount. Now that overall sales have decreased for all manufacturers, I guess you can demand a bigger discount. Am guessing of no less than Rs.20,000 on the santro. Not sure about the Maruti as i do not have any personal experience with them.

Good luck.

[arindambasu13]

I think the Alto is a more fun to drive car. One of the reasons is the lower and more planted stance of the K10 than the traditional tall boy design of the Santro. the K10 engine is also very refined for its class, and plonked in a lighweight body shell like the Alto's gives very good performance.

[ashish22]

Can't you stretch the budget by a lac and get the i10 kappa II. Frankly speaking it will whip both the cars in question by a huge margin. Also the refinement is in a different leagues. Off course santro is an excellent option for city drives due to its peppy low end torque and k10 gives exciting high end rpm experience.

Your sister will also appreciate the better and more luxurious interiors of the i10.

Among the k10 and santro i'll definitely pick the later!

PS: I've also heard that there are some good discounts going on for the i10 currently.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by ashish22

Can't you stretch the budget by a lac and get the i10 kappa II. Frankly speaking it will whip both the cars in question by a huge margin. Also the refinement is in a different leagues. Off course santro is an excellent option for city drives due to its peppy low end torque and k10 gives exciting high end rpm experience.

Your sister will also appreciate the better and more luxurious interiors of the i10.

Among the k10 and santro i'll definitely pick the later!

PS: I've also heard that there are some good discounts going on for the i10 currently.

On performance and FE the Alto K10 beats both Santro and i10. On space i10 has a slight margin, but then you pay 1L more. For that investment, a Wagon R is a better buy. If i10 then the top of the line with rear demister and wiper is the car to buy, as neither K10 nor Santro have them in any trim, same is the case with ABS.

[honeybee]

I drive a Santro and an Ikon, and I am sometimes struggling to define the Santro as being in a lower segment than the Ikon. Mind you, the sedan has a 1.6 litre engine and has a lot of torque.

The Santro gives it a run for its money as far as the torque and handling are concerned. On a very twisty and fast Mumbra bypass road, the Ikon at speeds of 50 makes me roll sideways and I have to slow down just so I can sit up straight, while the Santro is comfortably taking these same corners at the same speed without much of (my) body roll.

I am even able to take some easier speedbreakers in the fourth gear and most normal ones in third, sometimes even with passengers on board, in the Santro.

I don't know if the K10 betters the Santro, but I would go with the Santro.

[Torquedo]

Originally Posted by ashish22

Can't you stretch the budget by a lac and get the i10 kappa II.

Thanks for the inputs, Ashish.

We have already bought the Figo P and an Optra this year alone, so the question of streching the budget does not arise.

So it has to be the Alto or the Santro nothing beyond that.

Happy Motoring !!

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I got to drive a colleague's 1-month old K10 last week for some 15kms. The 2nd gear is lifeless below 1500rpm and maybe even till 1800rpm - you can stand on the A-pedal but nothing seems to happen. My friend says 3rd gear also is dead till the 1500rpm mark. Not a good trait in a city-car.

+1.
If my usage is 90% inside city, I would prefer the Santro (I drive in maddening Bangalore traffic). Some facts on Alto K10 vs Santro
Turning radius - Santro 4.4m, Alto K10 4.6m (the larger Santro is actually more chuckable in the city)
Torque - Santro 96.10 Nm @ 3000 RPM, Alto K10 90 Nm @ 3500 RPM (Santro's torquey engine with the low gearing propels it in stop and go traffic like no other)
Yes, the ride, handling, fuel efficiency and power to weight ratio is better in the K10. If the usage includes more outskirt drives, K10 fares better. But for short bursts, nothing beats the Santro, even now. And it is roomier than the K10. But the final call is yours

[Turbokick]

Why don't you try the spark ?
It will be bang on in your range and to be honest it provides you superior ride and handling balance compared to the two you are consider. It actually drives much better than its price suggests. The refined engine is quite competent as well. It has got decent performance.
If you arenot comfortable with chevrolet then I would ask you to choose between i10 irde2 and astar.

Both these cars are provided with some good discount offers. And ofcourse they are actually a generation ahead of santro and alto respectively.
Choose and decide.

[ashish22]

Not sure about the FE but performance wise heck no! Both refinement wise and performance wise i10 kappa 2 is better then the k10 unit. If i remember correctly the 0-100 timings for k10 is 14 odd secs whereas for the kappa 2 it is 12 odd secs. Also the kappa 2 engine comes with variable valve timing. In a drag noway the k10 can match the kappa 2. With the kappa 2 the low end torque has improved as well as its revv friendly nature.

Also with the interiors i meant the look and feel of the interiors and not the features it comes with. Space off course is slightly better here.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by honeybee

On a very twisty and fast Mumbra bypass road, the Ikon at speeds of 50 makes me roll sideways and I have to slow down just so I can sit up straight, while the Santro is comfortably taking these same corners at the same speed without much of (my) body roll.

Santro beating the Fiesta MK IV in the handling department?
Is that a sarcastic comment?

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Daewood

Santro beating the Fiesta MK IV in the handling department?
Is that a sarcastic comment?

I am not saying it beats the Ikon in the handling department, but it surely gives it a run for its money. And I am as surprised as you are to actually witness it.

While I drove the Ikon over this route for about a week, I tried to push it above 40 on the curves. (My) body roll promptly forced me to slow down to around 50 or less on these curves. I kept fearing the tyres would lose grip (but they didn't) at speeds of 60 and higher. I was swaying from one side to the other and couldn't operate the controls normally.

This experience made me a little weary when I drove the Santro over the same road, but I soon found that I can easily manage the Santro at the same speeds, i.e. around 50kmph, and my body doesn't roll as much.

I don't know if that's my perception or something else, but I would definitely not under-estimate this hatch ever again.