Hyundai Atos / New-gen Santro: Top five things that you should know

Team OD Published: May 16, 2018, 10:37 AM IST

Hyundai India started its innings in the country with the Santro. This tall-boy hatch was one of the most popular cars in its time as it was positioned as a value for money offering. Also, Hyundai was the only platform to lock horns with India's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai has come a long way from its its initial days and this can be seen with the evolution of its cars in terms of design and features. The Korean car manufacturer is all set to launch the new-gen Santro (rumored to be called the Atos that is its international model name) in India this year. Here are the top five things that you should know about the upcoming hatchback in India.

Premium design: Be it the flagship Tucson or the range starter Grand i10, all Hyundai cars are styled in the brand's fluidic philosophy. And the new-gen Santro/Atos too will make use of that. The camouflaged test vehicles do no reveal the finer details but do drop a hint of the overall silhouette. From the images it can be seen that the 2018 Santro might not be a tall boy design like the previous gen offering.

The new-gen Hyundai looks more aerodynamic compared to the previous gen model (Image source: TeamBHP)

Feature loaded: The new-gen Hyundai Santro will come with a three-spoke steering wheel with audio mounted controls. In addition, the hatch might also get a touchscreen system that one can operate through the steering mounted controls. It is being said that the dash mounted gear lever, cabin trim design and other bits will resemble that of the Grand i10. More details on the cabin design and features of the new-gen Santro here.

The new-gen Santro will have a touchscreen unit and a dash mounted gear lever similar to that in the Hyundai as shown in the image

Powertrain: We expect the new Hyundai Santro to be powered by 800cc and 1.0-litre petrol engines, pretty much the norm in the segment. Hyundai is expected to offer automatic and AMT versions as well, given the increasing popularity of automatics.

We believe the powertrains in the new-gen Santro / Atos will be of similar tune to that in the Hyundai

Price: We expect Hyundai to price the new-gen Santro between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh, ex-showroom. This should include both the manual and automatic transmission models. It will be positioned between the Eon and the Grand i10 in India.

Rivals: The 2018 Hyundai Santro will compete with the likes of the Renault Kwid and the Maruti Suzuki Alto.