A tallboy with nostalgic value or a scaled-down crossover that's been a sensational success? Which one should you put your money on?
The Hyundai Santro has been launched in India at prices ranging from Rs 3.90 lakh to Rs 5.64 lakh. At this price range, some of its variants inevitably go up against the Renault Kwid, which retails at prices ranging from Rs 2.66 lakh to Rs 4.63 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom Delhi). But if you are looking to get the best bang for your buck under Rs 5 lakh, which one of these should you go for?
Before we get down to comparing specific variants, let’s take a look at the major differences between the two.
There is a proper mismatch in terms of features as we have compared the Renault Kwid’s top variants against the Santro’s entry-level variants since these are priced close to each other. Here’s how they compare.
Common features: Driver airbag, immobilizer, child safety door locks, halogen headlamps, electric steering wheel, MID instrument cluster, foldable rear seats and remote opening for fuel lid and boot.
What Renault Kwid gets over Hyundai Santro: Front fog lamps, wheel covers, piano and leather inserts, chrome side aircon vents, manual AC with heater, touchscreen infotainment system with reversing camera, Bluetooth, USB & AUX support and two 12V sockets. Other features include front speakers and power windows, double glovebox and rear parcel tray.
What Hyundai Santro gets over Renault Kwid: ABS with EBD.
Takeaway: Dual front airbags and ABS with EBD are two features that are must-haves for us to recommend any car. In the absence of a passenger airbag, we’d recommend buyers to buy a car only if they usually drive alone or are chauffeur driven.
Since the Kwid doesn’t get ABS, no matter how many extra features it gets over the Santro, it’s the Santro that we’d recommend for those who drive alone. Since the Santro misses out on one of the most basic features like an air con, we would suggest you to stretch your budget if you’re considering the Santro over the Kwid.
Takeaway: If you are going to be chauffeur-driven or will be driving yourself, the Santro Era makes more sense over the Kwid Climber, despite missing out on features, simply because it gets ABS which the Kwid doesn’t. You might miss out on some of the basic features like an audio system and rear power windows, but these can be fitted later, while ABS can’t be.
The Renault Kwid does seem like a value for money proposition over the Santro as it’s more feature loaded. But we won’t recommend it since it misses out on ABS with EBD, which is a must-have in our books and the Santro gets it as standard.
Bigger, more refined engine: An obvious benefit of the Santro’s bigger engine will reflect in the driveability and refinement while driving in the city or on the highway. And while you're at it, it would be safer too, thanks to ABS.