Dec 06, 2004 06:15 PM
5755 Views
(Updated Dec 07, 2004 09:17 PM)
Hi Came back from abroad couple of months back and was looking at picking up a mid size car. Explored all cars and tried to test ride all cars.
I owned a Santro for 2 years before going abroad 3 years back, hence my first pref was for a Santro. But when I landed up at Advath Hyundai, next to Crossword on Residency road on a Sat morning, everyone in the showroom was too busy doing their work. Loitered around for 4-5 min looking at the cars. Still no one to explain or help me. Finally butted into a conv and asked somebody for help reg price etc. Was given a paper with the price list and that was it! So I got really upset . I wanted to try a test drive of Getz ..but every one was too busy to talk to me. So I just walked out.
Went to Bimal of Maruti and after the Advath exp. it was good service from the Bimal guys. Courteous and polite inspite of huge rush at showroom. Also checked out the Tata Indica and the Fiat palio, both definitely better customer service than Advaith. Based on personal exp and Price / performance/pleasure, shortlisted Santro/Indica/WagonR, and finally selected WagonRVxi.
I wont go into the tech specs as it can be obtained fro respective sites. I will talk more of my exp with each model.Please note that I am comparing WagonRVxi with the top end model of Santro Xing here.:
Reasons for not selecting Indica: - too many Indica taxis around :-) u know what I mean--- - Too close to the ground-try driving on a highway between two big trucks and u will get what I mean....doesnt really feel secure - Personally, I felt the gear and steering in the Indica needs to improve a lot
Santro vs Wagon R
I have used the Santro to travel fairly long distances.. 100 km plus ( Hyd-Vijayawada) couple of times. Also travelled in the Wagon R between BAngalore and Hyd couple of times (500+ km) So here's how they stand against each other:
Looks: Both are ok, personally I feel Santro looks better from outside
Interiors: WagonR gives you a lot of small nice things that Santro does not. But Santro probably feels richer-in terms of interior quality.
Pick up: Santro is way better than Wagon R. But sustaining a Santro at 100 kmph is a big load on the engine. With AC on and windows closed, you can still hear Santro's Engine shouting at the top of it's voice for help...Wagon R is slow to reach the speed, but once you are 100+ its still a breeze even with the AC on.
Stability at high speed: Santro feels more stable, Wagon R feels less stable at high speeds probably becoz of the taller back.
AC: Wagon R AC works better, but is too loud. Santro doesnt work so great, but is silent.
Road handling: Almost same Ground Clearance: Santro has a higher grnd clearance-good for pot holes...
Where WagonR can improve is in its gear box. It is clumsy-to say the least. Santro's gear box is solid ans sharp. And when you are paying for the top end model-like Vxi, you expect things like fog lamps thrown in..so Maruti may need to work there.
So its a close call between the two, but I will add here that the way customer service is given by your dealer is also an important factor to choose a car-if you are not treated well before buying-you may not be treated well after buying.
If you have good customer service and can afford the couple of thousands extra for the good looks and zippy pickup, Santro is your choice, but if you cannot afford those extra thousands and this is your first car/moving from Maruti 800 and looks is not THE MAJOR factor, then WagonR is for you.
