Introduction

It is one of the most iconic cars in India’s modern motoring history and a familiar sight for many of us who grew up in the late 1990s and most of the last decade. Yes, we are talking about Hyundai’s iconic tallboy, the Santro and later the Santro Xing which went out of production earlier this year. We managed to get our hands on a (sort of) fine 2006 example of a Santro Xing to give you some of the highs and lows of buying the car second-hand.

Why I would buy it?

It’s an iconic tall boy car, instantly recognisable and will bring a sense of familiarity and maybe even pride in the ownership experience. Believe it or not, that’s mostly because it was considered an aspirational target in its heyday.

The Xing now roams the streets as a member of the fleet market. While that may be a deterrent to some, it is a sure sign that the car is reliable, has decent maintenance costs and can squeeze in a good number of people who like to toy with the concept of ‘life is a contact sport’. Oh, just to ease your panic, since there are so many of them on the road, spares are easily available and should be so for at least another five years.

The car that we managed to get our hands on was a top-of-the-line Xing XO variant whose standard features include all four power windows, AC, vinyl seats, antenna and a rear wiper with defogger. This a lot when you consider the fact that 10 years ago, a left side mirror was not a standard feature on some cars in the segment.

I was quite taken in by the peppy petrol engine and easy-to-judge dimensions of the vehicle. This makes for a good traffic carver tool. A full tank of petrol (35-litres) usually gives a 400km range which works out to about 11.4kmpl.

Why I would avoid it?

The Xing is in essence a really old design which means that there are no safety features of any kind. Further, the cabin is a large grey/black mass with minimal contrast, not pleasing to the eyes on a daily basis.

The tallboy design is not particularly stable at speeds and there is not much room at the back if the driver or front passenger is very tall. The steering is vague and the gearbox is quite notchy though I suspect that the age of the vehicle may also be a contributing factor in this regard.

There was an AT variant introduced in the Xing body style but the fuel efficiency on this version was mostly in single digits for a lot of the time.

My favourite version

The Xing XO as it has all the bells and most of the whistles.

Quick facts

Price: We have a tonne of India-wide listing in our used car section; find one that suits your budget

Engine: 1.1-litre three-cylinder engine that can be run on petrol or CNG (say bye-bye to boot space)

Gearbox: five-speed manual or four-speed AT

0-100kmph : Yes, you can but just not in the corners

Photos: Pratheek Kunder