The Honda City seems the one to go for according to me. On the other hand I might be confusing you some more but you could also take a look at the entry level Corolla Altis. Its a good car and you have Toyota reliability just like the Honda. It would be a great buy if the budget can be streched a bit.
my sister mentioned that they had to visit small hospitals in small bylanes.
One option could be to use the Santro for those trips to the bylanes i.e. of course if those are planned visits on certain days. This would enable them to consider a 2nd car without the size factor limitation.