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Originally Posted by TejasKinger Sorry for hijacking this thread. Furyrider, I tried to DM you, but it turns out that you don't have the option open. I too drive a 2014 MT Grand i10 Petrol, and I am evaluating the Santro AMT and Nios AMT as potential replacements. I was wondering if you could help with me a frank opinion on the Santro AMT and how it compares with the Grand i10. |
First, apologies to the OP for hijacking your brilliant ownership thread.
If you drive a Grand i10 as a daily driver, you will find the Santro to be a downgrade. First, there is the 1.1 MPFI engine which was made anemic to increase fuel economy (lost all peppiness in the low end the old Santro was known for). Second, the cost cutting Hyundai did to this vehicle is insane. Look closely at your Gi10 and then take a look of the same panel/part on the Santro. You can't help but notice quite a lot of differences. A few examples:
1. There are exposed screws
2. Windshield does not have rubber beading all round (yes, you read that right. Once you notice this, you can't un-see it)
3. The door cutouts have a plastic beading instead of rubber
4. There is rubber beading on the doors of Gi10 which acts as a cover and prevents dust and noise from entering on the B-pillar which is missing on the Santro
5. Seats have a handle on only one side for fore and aft adjustment vs a slide handle on the Gi10
6. Boot does not have a plastic cover
7. Narrower than Gi10 - means if the passenger is putting his/her seatbelt on and your hand is on the parking brake, their elbow will hit your forearm (it is quite painful). This never happened in my Gi10 with the same passenger in the passenger seat.
8. Extremely light steering will take some time getting used to. (lighter than an already light steering on the Gi10).
Having said that, the Santro does a lot of things better than the Gi10. Stock tyres are 165/70 R14 (Sportz, Asta) vs 165/65 R14 and the suspension has bigger springs. The car is forgiving on broken roads (gets a little bit bouncy though). My Gi10 gives out a huge thud and a bone jarring feeling on the same roads. I am yet to scrape the Santro till date and over the same road, my Gi10 scrapes quite often. Then, there is the height. Elders love the tall boy stance of the Santro (though not as prominent as the old one). Passengers seated in the rear seat in the Gi10 complained of bounciness and nausea on uneven and undulating roads. The same passengers appreciated the Santro on the same road. Also, AC is very effective in the Santro. Cools the cabin lot quicker. Also, the turning radius on the Santro is excellent. By excellent, I mean, in places where my Gi10 has to take a 3-point turn, the Santro turns without a fuss. I really love how you could drive the car in the narrowest of lanes and not worry about a thing. However, I wish the ORVMs could be folded with the click of a button. I have to unwind the windows to do it on narrow lanes.
The comparisons I have made are with the old Gi10. Except for the suspension and ride quality, most of the others should be true in case of the Nios as well. I have driven the Gi10 Nios AMT for a short test drive and I should admit that the car feels much better compared to the Santro. Thanks to the bigger engine, the AMT gearbox felt like it was made for this engine first and then mated to the 1.1 MPFI as an after thought - in short, the AMT is better suited to the 1.2. Also, the car felt right at home. Any one who drives a Gi10 routinely feels right at home in the Gi10 Nios. Bonus? the suspension on the Nios felt much better than the old one.
If you have the money, go for the Nios. In my case, we purchased the Santro since we could not resist the mouth watering discount Hyundai offered (and the fact that we already had a Gi10 in the garage). The difference between Sportz AMT of Santro vs Nios was too big to ignore back then (~2.3L on road). Hence, we were contempt with the Santro. Make no mistake, Santro is good in it's own right. If someone is upgrading from say, a M800 or Alto (or old i10 for that matter), then I would say, the car would keep you happy. If you are coming from a Swift/Gi10, then this will be a downgrade. If we take into account the price difference between the two post discount, I have no reason to complain as I almost got 70% features of the Gi10 for 2L cheaper (those 30% including the looks, alloys, ACC, slightly bigger boot, slightly better leg room, smaller engine [makes little difference for me since the primary user is my father who is a very sedate driver]).
PS: Mileage from my MT Gi10 and AMT Santro are almost the same. 12-13 in the City (speeds between 25-40 Kmph) and 18-19 highway (speed 80-100Kmph) (my Gi10 manages 17-18 kmph on the same stretch).
PPS: In the city, I love the Santro. On the highway, I hate both
Hope I covered everything you were looking for.