Born-again Hyundai Santro will be bigger than the original - Report

In line with a report that came out in March, a story published by TopGear India claims HMIL will indeed revive the Santro brand name. The upcoming small car is confirmed for a launch in the second half of 2018.

When asked about the possibility of this new car being called Santro, MD & CEO of HMIL, Y K Koo replied the name had not been finalised. He added that it would be a "contemporary family oriented product", "bigger and wider" than the previous car referencing the Santro.

According to the report, the new hatchback from Hyundai goes by the AH2 codename internally. It could be named Hyundai Santro to capitalise on the fantastic reputation and recall value enjoyed by the original. About 1.4 million units of the Santro were sold in India in its 16-year term.

A heavily altered version of the Grand i10's platform will form the basis of the new Hyundai Santro. It will borrow the elder sibling's 1.2 L Kappa petrol and 5-speed manual transmission. Koo confirmed that it would debut Hyundai's own AMT. An earlier story spoke about a second 1.1L engine option, which could power the base variant.

Hyundai's design team will continue with the Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy. Moreover, the nose will incorporate the signature cascading grille, which will be a signature element of Hyundai's brand identity.

The price gap between the Eon and Grand i10 variants is INR 1.3-2.0 lakhs, which is the space Hyundai would fill with the new compact car. Expect a starting price of under INR 4 lakhs with top-end trims stretching to around INR 5.50 lakhs. It appears that the new Hyundai Santro will compete with the Maruti Celerio, Maruti Wagon R, and the Tata Tiago.

[source - TopGear]