[aaggoswami]

Correct, the Eeco has an engine which is based on G13. G13 had Bore X Stroke as 74 X 75.5, respectively.
Eeco has Bore X Stroke of 71 X 75.5, respectively.
Yes, Eeco's engine is a 4 cylinder one.
What the Eeco lacks is seat comfort, space is available, but its certainly not a very comfortable ride. If I were to select a cab, would go for Indica Vista first and Eeco would certainly be at a very lower end due to lack of comfort.

I am not sure of any recommendation for having 4 cylidner cars as taxi. I have taken a ride in K10 Wagon R taxi also, albeit a private one.
Ritz is very underrated but will never be in the taxi segment. Its an ideal bet, but wont materialize due to a bigger engine. People will still prefer 1.1 i10 or 1.1 Santro or even Wagon R, but not Ritz. Good for Ritz, the name wont get into taxi segment.

[romeomidhun]

Hyundai should not use the i10 brand name for taxi market; even though they can use the old car. They can rename it as "Xantro" (remember the Xcent instead of Accent)

Heard from a taxi owner-cum-driver of an Eeco that its G12 engine is very responsive, and good for his kind of driving a taxi. Maruti can use it in the extended WR 7 seater for taxi markets.

If Tata can turbocharge its lethargic 1.2L Petrol engine in Xeta and use in Zest and Bolt, Maruti can also do the same for its G12 4-cyl SOHC engine, and have a cost-effective turbocharged Petrol engine to use in its low-cost people carriers like Eeco and WR-7.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DicKy

But if i am right, there is some rule saying that Mumbai taxis should have 4 pot engines.

I don't think there is any such rule. Have sat in the Omni / Alto black & yellow taxis. 3-cylinder engines are economical & efficient. As long as they meet emission norms and all other rules, why should the Government care?

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't think there is any such rule. Have sat in the Omni / Alto black & yellow taxis. 3-cylinder engines are economical & efficient. As long as they meet emission norms and all other rules, why should the Government care?

ooh... Thanks for correcting.
Remembered reading in one of the threads about it, add to that most of the Mumbai taxis that i saw in films were all Santros.

Other than the 4 cylinder rule i presumed there was no other valid reason Santro would be preferred over WagonR.

Sorry for the wrong info.

[skyrocket003]

Originally Posted by Taffy

The Indica is very spacious.

Now a CNG / LPG version would be perfect for city taxis.

Well, it definitely is a very spacious car. I can recall our trip covering some areas in Uttaranchal (Nainital, Ranikhet, Almora and Kausani). Definitely has lot of low gear power as well.

A CNG/LPG version of Indica would be a deadly combination for city taxis but the Tata image hampers this exciting aspect. Also we are not sure if Tata is even thinking in that direction.

[StepUP!]

Interestingly this might push up Santro's price in used car market! And Santro will see years of solidarity as enjoyed by none other than Premier Padmini in taxi market.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by StepUP!

Interestingly this might push up Santro's price in used car market!

Subject to the 15 year rule of course whereever it applies and for what it's worth!

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm extremely surprised at the Santro's demise. Here was a car consistently selling 4,000 units month after month with zero advertising. But well, Hyundai is probably rejigging its entry-level portfolio. Too much overlap between the Eon, Santro & ol' 10.

My point exactly. Many other manufacturers in India would have been thrilled with 4000+ sales for a decade old car. The brand "Santro" itself has inspired loyalty, trust and reliability.

Hyundai could have retained a stripped-down, cheaper and rugged tall-boy Santro for ancillary services like the taxi segment, driving schools, two-seater mini-goods carrier vehicles, mobile service vehicles, etc.

Heck, with that awesome torque, the Santro could have been drafted into the police force in certain areas as a 3C -- cheap, compact and capable -- police patrol vehicle.

Originally Posted by Taffy

The problem, if any of you have flagged down a Santro taxi in Mumbai, is this, it is cramped. I mean, even the Premier taxis felt like they had more space.

The ideal car for a taxi, especially when it comes to sharing, is the Wagon R. The headspace and the leg space at the back is good for commute, it's got better boot space even with the LPG tank. And the A/C works better.

On the contrary, I think that the Santro is a better all round vehicle than the present Wagon R. The old Wagon R had great boot space which was on par with the Santro, but the new Wagon R has cut down on its boot space to a great deal.

The head room of the Wagon R is unnecessary high, while the Santro has more than adequate headroom space for most passengers, unless of course, the passengers happen to be basketball players.

DISCLAIMER: My sister owns a Wagon R (2008 model), while my dad owned a Santro (2003 model). Of the two, I would prefer the Santro any given day.

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't think there is any such rule. Have sat in the Omni / Alto black & yellow taxis. 3-cylinder engines are economical & efficient. As long as they meet emission norms and all other rules, why should the Government care?

At least, the Goa government did care. Due to some strange reason, they prohibited 800CC vehicles (Omni, Alto800, etc.) as taxis, forcing taxi operators to shift to 1000CC-plus engines like Wagon R and Eeco vehicles. Some taxi operators still curse the authorities for this, complaining that they were forced to opt for the more expensive Eeco with its poorer FE, as compared to the cheaper and more popular Omni.

Despite the fact that I own an i10, I do not think the i10 would make for a better taxi car, in comparison to the Santro. First, s stripped down i10 would still be more expensive than a bare bones Santro. Second, the rear seat ride of the i10 is terrible. Third, the booth space of Santro is more practical. Fourth, the Santro appears to be more rugged than i10. Fifth, I would think that it would be cheaper to maintain the Santro, along with cheaper spares, in comparison to the i10.

[MHG]

I am hoping for Tata to start selliing Nano to Mumbai Taxi drivers like they sold it to TaxiForSure.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by misquitas

Fourth, the Santro appears to be more rugged than i10. Fifth, I would think that it would be cheaper to maintain the Santro, along with cheaper spares, in comparison to the i10.

Absolutely correct. Currently I don't have a car in Mumbai so I use taxi a lot. Had many chats with those drivers in the process. A Santro taxi (base) from showroom to road costs 5.35lacs. This includes registration, meter and all those flowers and fruits printed plastic cover all over the interior.
According to them maintaining Santro is expensive but they rarely encounter issues. Out of entire mumbai's taxi fleet, 75% should be Santros, if not more.


A sudden change would definitely impact them in terms of maintenance and all.

[ShankarG]

I feel Hyundai should have continued Santro for Taxi specific segment. with i10 entering Taxi market, will dilute the "i10" association and may impact the perception towards Grand. Santro offers a better support and rear seating comfort against the i10.
But i10 definitely looks as a better preposition against the Ritz. (not sure about WagonR). The way taxis are used in India, 4 adults and 1 kid can easily accommodated in an i10 taxi than a Ritz.

[Aditya]

Hyundai has started delivering new i10 black and yellow taxis in Mumbai. Here's a look at a brand new one.

Points:
Era (base) variant of the i10
CNG tank visible in the boot, badge on the boot
Roof-mounted carrier for luggage (probably retro-fitted) - necessary since boot space is negligible
Dashboard-mounted electronic meter

[RSR]

I'm furious with Hyundai for turning my beloved little i car into a taxi, and that too a karuppu-manjal (black-and-yellow) one! What next? Are they going to promote it among the black & yellow cab operators by releasing an advertisement featuring their long time brand ambassador as a Mumbai cabbie?

No offence to anyone, I was just trying to be funny.

Jokes apart, I think this is a logical step that makes sense. I actually appreciate Hyundai for doing this. Why? Simple. The i10 was released in the beginning of 2008 (or was it the end of 2007?) in India & internationally, and is currently the oldest model in their line-up on sale. This now means Hyundai India does not sell any outdated, archaic or generations-old product in India.

As their oldest product, the i10 is the only one that belongs to the previous generation internationally. Even that isn't too old at just seven years, and yet it's clearly being differentiated now as their car for the fleet market. Hyundai wants to keep their Indian line-up as fresh and up-to-date as those in advanced markets, which shows their commitment to the Indian market. Kudos!

As witnessed from the Santro discontinuation thread, the original tall boy still has a decent number of fans among BHPians, and possibly even more outside. They could have persisted with the Santro as a taxi for a couple of years more, as the car was still selling in good numbers. But life must move on. The old has to give way to the new, the previous generation has to be replaced by the current, the current generation by the next, and so on. This holds good even for the taxi market. Change is the only constant.

Both the two generations old Santro and the last generation Sonata (YF) have been discontinued now. This should help them free up some much needed capacity for new models like the i20 Cross, ix25, Hexaspace-based MPV and possibly the new Sonata (LF).

The Santro has retired and the i10 is being eased into the role performed by its predecessor. This leaves room for plenty of adjustment among Hyundai's hatchbacks. The Eon 1.0 desperately needs safety features now. The Grand i10 1.0 petrol can be offered in Era & Magna trim levels with a lower price tag and higher FE (along with the current 1.0 LPGi Magna variant), with the 1.2 petrol motor being reserved for the Sportz & Asta variants.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by RSR

This now means Hyundai India does not sell any outdated, archaic or generations-old product in India.

Stopping sales is one thing, selling as cabs is another.

The previous example we have seen of this trend was of the DZire Tour. Not so long ago- a white Swift DZire was the pride of an Indian middle-class family. And then - all of a sudden, they were made to look like cabbies after the Tour version got launched.

Anyways, i10 is not an ideal vehicle for cab service, with it's limited space. I think Hyundai should not have gone down this route, and just discontinued the vehicle instead.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by Taffy

They have a near 1200 cc engine and have some serious low gear pull on slopes (provided of course you don't have the A/C on).

Originally Posted by zenren

I think Eeco engine is a downsized version of the G13BB engine, with modifications to bore/stroke to keep it under the 1200cc mark. From what I recollect, they still kept all 4 cylinders.

Xeta, the petrol variant of Indica, was powered by a 1400cc petrol engine derived from the Indica's diesel motor. The Indica Vista also had a version powered by the same petrol engine which is now discontinued.

Eeco's engine was developed from Esteem's 1300cc motor by under-boring its cylinder to make it duck under the reduced excise duty norms.