[Jaggu]

Spark all the way and going by matiz it will seat 5 people with "ok" rating in terms of comfort.

Otherwise the car is really good and offer comfort level similar to that of higher segment cars.

[vickysab]

Originally Posted by radek

I personally think Spark is the best car from your list.

But if it is going to be your first car, I suggest you should go for Alto or Santro.

Finally, I have decided to choose between Alto and Santro. GM is not having a big network as compared to Maruti and Hyundai and I am not quite sure about Spark's performance, so Santro replaces Spark in my list.

But the price difference between Santro and Alto is roughly 1 lakh. Now Is Santro really better than Alto considering the fact that its expensive and has less mileage than Alto?

Thanks for your replies.

[gopz]

Originally Posted by zoom2_ash

yes, 15-16 is the city avg. but its with aprox 50% AC. On highways, its returning abt 17-18 again with abt 50% AC. But pls note its with Santro Xing ERLX. I think there was an improvement of abt 1-2 KMPL from the earlier Xing without Erlx.

Are you measuring tank full to tank full? this sounds slightly unbelievable...have you done any tweaks or mods for mileage??

[DCEite]

I say go with the Santro if you can live with the bumpy ride and awkward positioned pedals. Its a nice car other than that.

The Spark, i found the seats dont have thigh support. The front seats are too bad if you want to travel long.

[appuchan]

Santro is a very good car for city drives. My only complaint is about the ride quality. Its very reliable and my 2001 model has never given me any trouble except a few flat tyres.

It gives me about 14-15 kmpl in city-suburban roads with about 60% a/c. When purely used in city, FE drops to about 12-13 and in highways its upto 16 kmpl. I didt not feel about the awkward pedal position issue mentioned above. Maybe because I am used to it or my legs are also in same shape

[shyamhegde]

If you have not done TD, please do it. Have seen few of my friends excluding Alto from their list after a test drive. Check if you could easily get in and get out and drive comfortably without your knees touching the dashboard anytime. Especially if you are tall.
You wont regret from chosing a Santro over Alto anytime.
BTW, you said a lac's deifferrence in pricing. Which model of Santro you compared? ( I mean XK, XL or XO ).
Wish you an excellent new-car buying experience!

[ravibhat]

Except for Bumpy ride Santro is best bet for city drive, it gives 12kmpl as FE in city drive, on highway it is around 16kmpl, with AC on.

I suggest you choose between Spark and Santro because both are very good small cars,

Regards,

Ravi.

[vickysab]

Originally Posted by DCEite

I say go with the Santro if you can live with the bumpy ride and awkward positioned pedals. Its a nice car other than that.

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Except for Bumpy ride Santro is best bet for city drive.

Originally Posted by appuchan

Santro is a very good car for city drives. My only complaint is about the ride quality.

Guys I don't understand what you are saying. BUMPY RIDE !!!!
I mean ride is the most important factor while choosing a car. If Santro can't provide smooth riding experience then what's fun of buying it?

What do you mean when you say Bumpy Ride? Does it give jerks or what? Please explain.

[vickysab]

Originally Posted by shyamhegde

BTW, you said a lac's deifferrence in pricing. Which model of Santro you compared? ( I mean XK, XL or XO ).

I compared prices of Santro EURO III XO with ALTO LX and the difference is approximately 1 Lakh.

[ravibhat]

In Santro mainly back seat make very uncomfortable ride in bad roads, I do agree car should provide good ride but Santro somehow is not good in ride comfort, except that everything is good. I suggest you consider Spark compared with Alto.

Spark is new design and looks great (at least for me ), its very nice car good ride comfort and build quality.

Alto on other hand good small car for 4 people with MUL service backup but I feel since we have many options Spark and Santro better than other small cars in this category.

Ravi.

[shyamhegde]

Originally Posted by vickysab

I compared prices of Santro EURO III XO with ALTO LX and the difference is approximately 1 Lakh.

Santro's XL model (with front power window) should be approx. 30K lesser in price. Why dont you consider XL too ?

Mileage in city driving for Santro would be always lesser than Alto. I get 11-12Kms in city (50% of the time A/c on). On highway driving I calculated 20+ couple of times.

[namit]

Originally Posted by ravi@64bhp

If you want good reliability and service backup and cheaper maintenance, go for Alto. It is really good. If you switch on A/C there will be drastic reduction in power-major negative.

Spark is really good, but GM's service backup is not great as Maruti Service.

If you drive more often on Highway, and if you like performance driving, go for spark or swift.

--------------------------------------------------------

Agreed that GM's service is not comparable to Maruti but its very good and i would say GM is third best only after Maruti and Hyundai.

With service package included with all GM cars, Spark makes sense only if you have that budget otherwise there is always SASTA and TIKAYU maruti alto.

[radek]

Originally Posted by vickysab

But the price difference between Santro and Alto is roughly 1 lakh. Now Is Santro really better than Alto considering the fact that its expensive and has less mileage than Alto?

Both cars are really good. I am using Alto for past 5 years, now done nearly 92000 KMs. I never had any problem with this. I have also driven my friends Santro which is also excellent car.

Santro is 1.1 whereas Alto is 800cc. Probably that is where the difference in price is. You can also consider lower version of Santro for comparision (to compare apple to apple)

Alto offers better FE, probably because of smaller engine. Santro has two distinct advantages over alto in terms of Good gear shifts (it is very imporant in city traffic) and high mounted seats which gives good view of the road and also gives better leg space.

Though Alto is lesser powered, it gives top speed of 100+ which is sufficient most of the time.

[zoom2_ash]

Originally Posted by gopz

Are you measuring tank full to tank full? this sounds slightly unbelievable...have you done any tweaks or mods for mileage??

I measure from reserve to reserve. It has never given me lesser then 14 in any circumstances. No, we haven't done any modifications. And its not only me, even 2-3 other friends of mine are also getting abt 14-15 in their santro Erlx.

@Vicky: Santro is a very good car. you won't regret your decesion. If you have budget constraints, you can buy Santro XL model. Only important thing you will miss here is the rear power windows and rear wiper. The ride quality is also not as bad as it has been made out to be in this thread. yes, I agree on very bad roads it wont be as good as spark or palio. If you are very concerned abt ride quality also then go for Spark. you will love driving this car. So, first take the TD and only then you will be able to figure out which suits you more.

[GTO]

But the price difference between Santro and Alto is roughly 1 lakh. Now Is Santro really better than Alto considering the fact that its expensive and has less mileage than Alto?

In one magical word : YES! The Santro is the most competitive and an all-rounder of a hatchback. Go for it.