[GeekSrik]

Hello all,

I am thinking of a way to beat the stress of driving in Bangalore. I seem to be getting a knee cap pain of late which is making me think a bit on the driving posture, driving time i spend daily as well as a useful alternative to my current maruti 800. I ve owned 2 maruti 800s, and a palio of which the palio pedals were the most hardest (read that reflexive!).

I ve driven my friends geared erlx for sometime (3-4hrs at a stretch) from Bandipur to Channapatna.Yes it was the most comfy car i ve driven for sometime i should say. however after 3-4 hours of drive, I did get a nerve pain on my right leg, for two reasons: perhaps because i pressed the accel a bit too long as well as the posture of my right leg, it was kept a bit slanted all the while.

Now I am at crossroads, and i need to change my car again. I looked at three automatic options - santro AT, wagon R AT and honda city CVT, respectively 5 lac, 4.8lac and 9 lac!! of this honda is out since i m not a rich bloke! of santro and wagon r, santro comes with 4 speed gearbox compared to wagon Rs 3 speed one. this means obviously santro AT sounds technically superior. However the main point of concern is mileage. I really dont know about wagon R AT mileage to be frank. However i ve heard of stories of santro automatic giving 6kmpl. of course before second service i can say. Now this means, that it might give even 10-11kmpl or upto 12 even (not more) after a few services.

Can i have some first hand opinion on Santro AT from this group please?

thanks
Srikanth

[nitrous]

In my experience of using Manual Santros(xing also),they give about 10 kms to a litre in the city. This being from a 1100cc is not Fuel-efficient.
I believe the WagonR's engine is atleast 10% more fuel-efficient.

6kmpl. of course before second service i can say. Now this means, that it might give even 10-11kmpl or upto 12 even (not more) after a few services.

I dont know where u got this theory that a car increases its FE by 100% in a couple of services.It aint true!

[sajo]

There is always a tradeoff between fuel efficiency and convenience offered by an automatic. However, if pain in the left leg is all that prompting you to buy a new car, why dont you try an auto-clutch instead? Its a sort of semi-automatic transmission which retails for around 20,000 rupees I guess (I am not sure about the price).

[speedzak]

Pain in the right leg? The AT is not going to be much helpful there.

The FE is not important than your health. Consult a good Doctor, discuss the AT idea with him. If that can help you, then forget the FE.

I had a Santro AT for 2 months. That thing was a guzzler I can say. 5-6kmpl in city. Even our Accord 2.4 AT was better with 7-9kmpl.
I dunno about WagonR AT, but I've heard it's a guzzler too.

[rahul_intlad]

Hope this post anwers you question too:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/320962-post10.html

[nispatel]

Hi Srikanth, I recently upgraded from 800 to Santro and experiencing the same knee cap pain. So you are not the only one. It's most likely due to sitting poisture in Santro. As someone else also has mentioned, AT won't solve issue as you still use right leg for accelerator and poisture remains the same. I think, you need to look beyond Santro. Yet, we don't have plenty of options in this segment but I'm sure you could wait for couple of month where new Zen from Maruti and grand Punto from Fiat (I sure you would like it since you are a Palio owner) is expected.

[nitrous]

Also, stretching ur muscles a couple of times before driving the car is a good practice.
I've noticed this being done by racers for their awkward seating postures.

[rahul_intlad]

Another thing is may be its the problem with the car,i.e. santro .I just cant find the thread but another prospective owner too complained on team-bhp that he was having problems with positioning of the pedals etc.Which was troubling his legs.
Why dont you test drive some other cars as well.An automatic transmission will not provide any relief as far as the acceleration pedal is concerned[We need adaptive cruise control for this]

Santro owners/lovers I have nothing against the santro nor am I quoting my personal experience.The above fact was mentioned in some thread here at team-bhp some time back.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

Santro owners/lovers I have nothing against the santro nor am I quoting my personal experience.The above fact was mentioned in some thread here at team-bhp some time back.

You are right. The Santro pedal problem does exist. Not one, but many people have complained about it.

Coming back to the topic, i think you should look for a used CVT and bargain hard. Else, there may be a possiblity that Maruti introduce Automatic version of the new ZEN.. but thats just speculation.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

.Yes it was the most comfy car i ve driven for sometime i should say. however after 3-4 hours of drive, I did get a nerve pain on my right leg, for two reasons: perhaps because i pressed the accel a bit too long as well as the posture of my right leg, it was kept a bit slanted all the while.

Sounds like what you need is cruise control.

I've seen some review of Santro A/T on mouthshut and the FEs reported were 10 -12 kpl.

Mr.Samurai, can you throw some more light on this ?

[ravibhat]

Yes I can see Santro has odd pedals, even I remember I read it in some magazines as well.

For short guys I feel Santro is good car since tall guys who own Santro complained about wrong pedal position in santro in my friends circle.

Thats why Maruti vehciles are easy to drive and cheaper to own,

May be Santro is not designed for indian person leg structure etc..

I realized in my santro front seats are bit lower than rear seats that may be the reason for leg pain in santro.

Hyundai cars including verna have lower seating so even IF getz has bigger leg room for tall person swift makes more sense than getz. and some one Hyundai cars are not comfortable to travel long journey.

This is my personal feeling so don't get hurt please.

According to me WagonR scores more for comfort than Santro although Santro's power steering and small tunring radius make us feel its easy to drive.

Regards,

Ravi.

[Samurai]

I probably own one of the first Santro Xing AT in the country, may be even the first in the state. I bought it just as Xing AT was launched in May 2003.

Mileage wise I used to get 9kmph in Bangalore, now I get about 10-11 kmph since my Santro hasn't seen a traffic light in 7 months. The last 425Kms highway drive from Bangalore saw me get 15kmph on Shell petrol and K&N universal filter.

I prefer driving Santro AT in the city and Baleno in the highway for obvious reasons. It is a very good buy as a city car, may be not a highway car, but that can be improved upon like I found out.

[Equus]

My neighbour owns a Santro AT and she gets a flat 8 in city without AC.

[Samurai]

Oh, let me add that I never drive without AC.

[GeekSrik]

Hello all,

Thanks a ton for your replies. But I m still a bit confused. Samruai's car seems to be giving atleast 10+ without AC. While some others' cars give only 6-7. I think its to do with the way of driving as well as that particular piece of the car itself.

As for leg pain, yes i tend to agree that it might occur with many cars not only 800. Now is it worthwhile trying to buy a used CVT honda? if so which year model will be fine?

thanks again
Srikanth