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When I bought my car, I did a comparison of the available choices. Many friends have been asking me my views on the Hyundai Santro Vs. Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R since these are the most sought after. Both are very popular hatchbacks sold in India. Here are some of my thoughts.
Hyundai being the underdogs is always the first to offer better features such as MPFI engine and ABS. They also tend to be more aggressive and Maruti dealers have the take it or leave it attitude.
Maruti has a bigger service network and the cost of spares it cheaper.
Both cars are tall boy model and have high seating. This add to driving/seating comfort and makes it easy for people to get in and get out.
Here is the comparison.
Santro Pros:
- Better Looks (as compared to Wagon-R).
- More comfortable to Drive.
- Better Service.
- Better Pickup.
- Provision for 4 speakers, Wagon-R has provision for only 2.
- Perceived to be more expensive.
- Air conditioning more effective hence cooling is better.
- Ability to adjust the side view mirrors from inside.
- Seat belts for 5 passengers, Wagon-R has only 4. Santro is also approved for 5 people and Wagon-R has got approval for only 4 passengers. Not that anyone ever checks but still.
Wagon-R Pros:
- Better resale value.
- Cheaper cost of spares.
- Bigger service network than Hyundai.
- Slightly more fuel efficient. Although now Santro has new eRLX engine which is suppose to have improved mileage.
- Better Engine and electronic power steering.
- Cheaper.
- Option for Airbags (only available in the top of the line model).
- Slightly more leg space and better comfort for tall people.
- The seats can be dropped completed to create a bed or even a double bed. Useful while traveling and someone can sleep.
I also suggest that irrespective of which car you decide to buy, don’t compromise on safety. Pay that extra for ABS and Airbags (only in Wagon-R).
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Hi,
I am confused whether to buy Wagon-R or Santro. I dont bother about paying more. But I want safety and comfort and also better mileage .
Please help me.
Thanks in Advance.
I find the Santro more comfortable. The new Santro has also improved mileage significantly.
Also consider the ABS option which is available on both Santro and Wagon R and are good safety features to have.
The Wagon-R has also an option for Air Bags which is good to have if you are concern about Safety.
santro has a special scheme from 24th to 28th nov. discount is about rs 34k.
just booked a santro xl for 3.69 lakhs.
hi
i was looking for a comparison between a santro, swift , wagonR n getz.can anyone provide me with it?
regds
Hi Neha,
Santro and Wagon R are both hatchbacks and fall under the same category. You can read the comparison on this page.
While Swift and Getz fall under the premium hatchbacks which offer more space, comfort and features then both Santro and Wagon R. They also cost more.
Read my first impressions about the swift.
http://cityblogger.com/archives/2005/08/06/maruti-suzuki-swift-first-impressions
hi,
after going through all the discussion above, it seems wagon r beats santro in most conditions… however, i have driven wagon r quite a bit and i feel it a bit sluggish in pickup with ac in full flow. also due to its thick side bars (i think thats what they are called), there is a troublesome blind spot on the right hand side… at some angles you don’t see anything… in fact i scratched the car (the only time in my driving of 4 years) on a parked motor bike at a speed of less than 1 kms per hour… didn’t see till i touched the bike. also, reversing on wagon r is a bit difficult as compared to other cars like zen, 800 (haven’t driven santro that much)… gears are also a problem area, though could be overcome
prakash, would appreciate your views on the above… is the blind spot and reversing an issue only with me or others too find it problematic?
rgds,
nitin
Hi Nitin,
Blind Spots are a problem with some cars. How much of a problem people face in the Wagon-R, I would let them express their opinion. I drive a Santro.
I find that a problem with the Santro too, but I use the side view mirrors to manage them. LIke tilting the side view mirrors downwards during reverse parking helps.
Similarly you can put a small mirror (you would see a similar mirror in the SUVs for reversing) behind if you find thid that a problem often. This mirror can be put at the rear end of the car pointing downwards.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Prakash
Is there difrence between Santro xing erlx xo v/s XG/XS model. which one is better.Showroom guy told me that earlier xo model was known as XS.
Plz revert back as i need your help……
Both the XG and XS Model have been replaced by XO as per Hyundai.
Guys,
I bought santro xing last week of November. They cliams its eRlx. They have not given stiker of eRlx and saying that santro has stopped giving eRlx stickers. I have a doubt that, whether I bought old version or new version. The make of the car is 10/2005.
Can you guys help me in this regard.
Thanks,
Ram
Hi Prakash! Is there any difference between electronic power steering offered in Wagon R & hydraulic power steering offered in Santro Xing eRLX? How will it affect the fuel efficiency? Is it better to go for a non-power steering version for better fuel efficiency?
Pl help…..
Regards,
Manish
Hi,
I am planning to buy a Wagon R.
I have just learned to a drive a car & not fully comfortable so should I worry much about Blind spots & reversing as nitin has mentioned??
Also is it a good choice over Santro Xing XL???
Thanks in advance!!
I rcentaly book Wagon R. Now i cancel my booking for Wagon-R and purchased SANTRO Xing.Santro do’t stop giving eRLX stickers.My city is Amritsar and our city’s maruti dealer ” SWANI MOTORS” cheats on my booking money. They said its non refundable.Maruti have ony one car that have resale value and that is ZEN.In second hand car market their are very few santro’s because very few people wants to sale santro. And beleive me their are no takers for second hand Wagon-R.
I would suggest for a person who has just learned to drive, buy a second hand car so that you get comfortable with driving and managing a car before you buy a new car. Also if an old car get damaged, you don’t feel so bad.
You should test drive both the cars before buying. In general Santro is an easlier to drive.
Hi Manish,
Yes the electronic power steering provides better mileage than the hydraulic power steering since the hydraulic power steering relies on the engine where as the electronic power steering uses a separate electric motor.
However in reality this shouldn’t make that much of a difference. Also the
Santro Xing eRLX has improved mileage so the difference would be even minimal.
Avoid a car without power steering, the pleasure and the comfort that a power steering provides is definitely worth the little mileage that you may lose.
Also while calculating mileage, you must also calculate how much you are going to spend over 3-4 years that you will own the car.
For example:
If a car A provides mileage of 10 Kms/litre and another car B provides 11 Kms/litre. Today fuel cost is Rs. 50/litre.
Cost of Car A: Rs. 5 Per Km.
Cost of Car B: Rs. 4.5 per Km.
Difference Rs. 0.5 per Kms.
If you live in a large city and drive to work everyday and drive 50 Kms per day and assue you drive to work 200 days in a year, thats still 10,000 Kms a year.
So if you buy Car A you are spending Rs. 5000 extra per year.
If you own the car for 5 Years, it would be spending Rs. 25000 extra per year.
I did a similar calculation when I was deciding to buy a Petrol car or a Diesel and realised to just to recover the extra cost of the Diesel car, I would need to drive 15,000 Km/year. So I decided to go for a petrol car.
Hope this helps.
Hi Prakash,
I am 6″ tall.
I am confusing between SantroXL and Wagon R Lxi. Use of car is 25Km/day and weekends outings max of 150kms.
I need good comfort with fuel economy.
Can you suggest which one I will have to choose.
Please reply ASAP because WagonR scheme is ending by 20th Dec.
Hi Gang,
First of all kudos to Prakash for maintaining this Blog!!!This gives a common platform for people to discuss concerns which wouldnt hav been otherwise.
I had set my mind for a Wagon R over the Santro after a lot of consulting.
But once I had look at both the cars I completely surrendered to the looks,styling,comfort of the Santro Xing!!!
You should get that *feeling* & excitement that you are in car!But this didnt happen in WagonR…I found myself to be in a van rather than a car.
Still I feel performance(control,mileage) & technology(16 valves as compared to 12 in santro,16 – Bit Electronic Control Module (ECM),Electronic Power Steering vs Santro’s Hydralic,japan/korea,) in Wagon R is better but still I am totally mesmerised by Santo’s comfort & styling.
Also I am sure that for 4-5 years these pros I hav mentioned for Wagon R does not play a major roll….as I plan to sell it off after 5 yrs 😉
So I decided on Santro Xing XL eLRX finally!!!
So Guys how many are on my side???
I just purchased Santro Xing Eralx.. Now I am thinking i had to purchase the moder with power steering..
can anybody tell me that is it possible to add power steering now.
Thanks, Prakash, for your valuable inputs! I had almost made up my mind on buying a Santro Xing eRLX after getting mostly positive feedback from my colleagues who are having Santro. Also, Hyundai is currently offering huge discounts on Santro. So, after going thru your comments, I went ahead & sealed the deal. Cheers!
Raja,
The Wagon R is suppose to be better for tall people where as the Santro is easy to ride. The fuel efficiently of both the cars is similar. With your usage, fuel economy shoudn’t be your top priority.
Regards
Prakash
I just buy Santro Xing xk eRLX. It is really a good car and good value for money. Only big vehicles needs power steering.These cars[ santro, wagon r] are small cars and very easy to handle.Secondly Power steering cost cars are bit expensive [ rs21000- rs26000]. As far as i know Power steering can’t be added to non power steering santro.Hyndai giving 35000 cash discounts on santro and wagon r too giving rs 35000 discount[insurance12000+acc 23000],4000/ more if ur govt. employee and 3000/ if ur from corporate sector. Wagon-R is only a 4 seater and mostly people called it a van, dabba[box].
I am a proud Santro Owner thanks to the attitude of Maruti (both the company and the dealers). Planned to go for a WagonR till I came face to face with the Maruti breaucracy. Well then went in for a test drive of the Santro and to make the long story short, am now a Santro owner. Read the coments on this page and thought I should make my experience known to try and right some misconceptions.
Had to recently drive my Santro from Ahmedabad to Pune and touched speed of 130-140 and felt no vibrations whatsoever that some have claimed on this site.
As far as the mileage goes the vehicle is giving me 19+ on highways on power petrol and my running-in is not yet over.
I am very particular about the dealer response which till now has been fantastic ( I felt I was the buyer contrary to the Maruti were it felt that I was selling the vehicle and the dealer Kiran Motors of Ahmedabad bahaved as if they were customer–the take it or lump it, I care two hoots attitude).
Can expect more of my postings in due course. At the end of the day each Santro and WagonR has got it’s own individual pluses and minuses. But one thing is certain Maruti with thier attitude and dealer arrogance is bound to see an erosion of thier market leadership the way Bajaj experienced the past decade in the two wheeler segment. Good for us in the long run……….
Hi Prakash, it is gr8 to see so many mesages here. I am planning to buy a car confused b/n santro and zen .Not interested in Wagon R. I just dont like the look. From your comments above i see ur a bit biased towards santro. Try to take a neutral view on SANTRO vs ZEN.
Thanks
Cyril
Hi Cyril,
First Santro and Zen are not exactly the same type of cars. Its like comparing apples and oranges.
Santro like Wagon-R is tall boy where as the the Zen seating is much lower.
Santro Advantage over Zen:
Better comfort due to tall boy.
More space.
New design hence better.
Zen Advantage:
Better Mileage
Cheaper to maintain.
Maruti’s wide service network.
Hi San! I have just purchased a Santro Xing eRLX – XL variant (with A/c, power steering, front power windows & central locking). Could you please inform which variant you were driving & whether the mileage of 19+ was with AC on/off.
Hi All,
If you can post the cost of ownership and other things with Data then it can be great for people to make decision
like:
km/lt
service and maintenence
spare etc…
What I could conclude after reading…
both cars are good
WagonR is better in milage ( difference is lesser in newer version)
Cost of spare or maintenece is better for WagonR
There is no comparision in looks. Santro is winner.specially Xing and above
Probably no much difference in stability at higher speeds
Gearing is bad and steering is better in WagonR
Resale is better for wagonR ( may be because of Maruti and may not because of WagonR)
Hey if resale is higher than is a WagonR better option for Used car buyer ?
Also newer WagonRs (After 2004) have more customer satisfaction than Santro
What I think that …
If you prefer looks and comfort > Santro
If you eyes on Cost of ownership > WagonR
and Also Space is more in Santro as it is 5 seater
Santro has no stability issues at high speeds. I drove the Santro Xing at 140 Km/hr and it was quite stable.
Hi Manish purchased an XO. Drove without the AC (used it barely for 15 minutes)
Hey…if anyone bought a the Santro at Advaith,Bangalore recently,can you tell me what all accessories you got free from the dealer & what are a must hav accessories.I am going for the XL model.
Free Accessories with Santro- Body cover, Mud flap, Number Plate and Mat.
Hi Prakash
thanks for this blog! The freewheeling advice, personal comments from owners and potential buyers [and of course ur expert commets] is really informative.
A request – can buyers on this blog please publish their on road price for Santro Xing eRLX with info on accessories that were given free by their respective dealers?
I recently purchased a WagonR LX from Noida. Here In Noida SANTRO dealer is not good, and Maruti has two big dealers. I just wanted to know fuel average with / with out AC ,I should expect from my CAR. Also, Is there any problem with WagonR, If I decide to fit my car with CNG
Base model Santro with AC is around 3.40 lakh outside mumbai.
hi all..
nice blog !
after much much research on this topic people.. i suggest from my part that though both cars have their own pros & cons.. but for a long-termer and practically thinking.. the Wagon R is definitely a better pick than the Santro Xing Erlx.. and specially the Lxi version of the Wagon R is the temptiest pick.. Japanese technology is renowned for reliability.. forget Korean !
close your eyes & trust the good old Maruti people..
go for the Wagon R !!!
Thanks.
Santro non ac 2.88 lakh and ac model starts at 3.46, with power steering 3.78 lakh and goes on.
Hello All, I have decided to purchase Santro eRLX XO model after a months research. I have heard that Hyundai is offering some good discounts at their recent Roadshows in various cities, does anybody have a clue what are they offering. If their deal is good then I can wait until the roadshow comes to our city (Baroda).
Thanks Ajay.
Hi Sanjay -the deals as I understand were for the Dec sale of old santro stock-a dealer in Hyd was offering MP3 player, seat covers, mud flaps mats as free accessories. The dealer now says that Santro prices have been hiked by Rs8000/- across all models but the Hydundai corporate has not announced any new year scheme so far- expect to hear after Jan 10th only.
All,
With all this discussion, i have decided to go n purchase WagonR Lxi in Delhi/Noida Region.
Let me know what accesories i should get as default. Also any discount going on these days?
Will i be benifited from Cash Down payment. Any Idea??
Hi Guys
Am purchasing a car for the first time. have booked a santro xing XL (erlx) and am expecting delivery with 10 days. I got a very heavy discount from the dealer and hence he is not giving me any free accessories. Would request your opinion as to which basic accessories shoud I be buying and do I need to buy them from a dealer or from outside ?
Thanks a lot and regards.. kayo
Buy acc. from outside because acc. in showrooms are higly priced in the name of genuine.I got discount of 35000on buying santro xk and also get free acc. like mud flap, mats, number plate and car cover.Now the price of xk model is 3.46 lakh.I buy this cat paying 3.05 lakh only.
Hi kayo, Let us know the price that you have bought and the city, so its easier to explain.
I am also planning to buy Santro eRLX. Can you mention, how much discount you have got from the dealer, please
Hi Ajay/Sathya/Rohit.
Will try and answer all your questions.
The car is being purchased from Mumbai. The on road cost of the car was 410500 (cost+ins+registration). I got a dealer discount of Rs 50,000 and a futher discount of Rs 17,000 on a 2.75 lacs loan taken (was able to get a higher discount sice it is a Dec 2005 model, though I will be registering it this week).
Rohit, I doubt you will get a very high discount, since yours will be a Jan 2006 model + the prices of the santro cars have been hiked by Rs 9000 in the past fortnight. However do let me know, what is the final on road cost you will need to pay.
Could any of you also let me know if the car warranty would be getting affected by having music systems/central locking fitted from outside rather than the dealer ?
Sorry for asking some basic questions but this is the first car I am buying, hence need all the help I can get.
Thanks a lot and regards
kayo
I can understand your point. I am getting only 30,000 Discount. Can You please further elaborate how you have got 17,000 discount on loan taken and from where you have taken the loan. I am planning for a loan from ICICI. Does he provide such discounts.
Hi Kayo,
Can you please tell me from where you have got the discount on Loan. Does ICICI or HDFC provide such facilily. Can you give me the name and phone number of the dealer from whom you have purchsed
Thanks in advance
Hi Kayo,
I would like to know the name of finance company providing discount on loans. Also let me know the dealer name from whom u hv bought the santro with phone.
Thanks in advance
I am planning to buy Santro xing for my father(Rajahmundry) and currently i am staying out of India. Can any body help me to decide the model and the current market price. I am thinking of XG model.
Hi Kayo,
Warranty of car have nothing to do with music system or central locking.
Looks like Santro is a better option.
But one more thing better in WagonR is the seats.
No one in these car segment offers seat that fully recline.
One more thing. Iheard in WagonR you cant have speakers at back. Is it TRUE?
Thanks
Kamlesh