Hyundai will bring out the new Santro on October 23, 2018 with five trim levels, of which the mid-spec Magna and Sportz trims come with both manual and AMT gearbox options. The same variants will also be offered with an optional factory-fit CNG kit, albeit without an AMT 'box.
The Santro is the first model from the Korean carmaker to sport an automated manual transmission. Both AMT and manual transmission units will be mated to the same 69hp, 1.1-litre petrol engine. To keep all the variants within the model's price bracket, the 5-speed AMT gearbox will not be offered on the top-spec Asta trim. As a result, the two Santro AMT models are expected to miss out on features available on the Asta variant, such as the reverse camera, the rear air-con vents and the 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.
However, safety kit and basic features like a driver’s side airbag, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, steering-mounted controls and power-adjustable wing mirrors are expected to be on offer across the Santro line-up, as standard.
Prices for the Santro's AMT variants are expected to be about Rs 30,000 more than the respective manual gearbox-equipped variant. As Hyundai is looking at pricing the new hatchback aggressively, expect the AMT variants to be at par with the Tata Tiago AMT (Rs 5.04-5.63 lakh) and will possibly undercut the Maruti Suzuki Celerio AMT (Rs 5.49-5.94 lakh).
All prices, ex-showroom, Delhi.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
