Hyundai Santro vs Tata Tiago: Variants Comparison

Does the new Santro offer better value than the popular Tata Tiago? We compare similarly priced variants to find out

Hyundai has launched the Santro, in a new avatar, after a three-year hiatus in India. The hatchback is priced in the Rs 3.90 lakh-Rs 5.46 lakh (ex-showroom India) price bracket. This particular price range has a lot of other options, and one of them is the popular Tata Tiago. To make things simpler, we pit select variants of the Hyundai Santro against those of the Tata Tiago to find out which offers more bang for your buck.

Before we delve into comparing variants of the two hatchbacks, lets first compare the common characteristics across the respective variants of the Santro and Tiago.

Dimensions

The Tata Tiago is a bit longer than the Hyundai Santro, although both cars have a similar wheelbase. So while the length of the passenger cabin might be similar, the Tiago will have a few litres of extra boot space. The Santro is taller than Tiago, by a good 25mm, which is not shocking, thanks to its tallboy design.

Engine

The Tiago has a clear advantage over the Santro when comparing the two engines. The bigger displacement of the Tiago’s petrol engine allows it to pump out substantially more power, have more torque and still be more efficient thanks to a 3-cyl block. Both engines are available with a 5-speed manual transmission along with an optional AMT.While the Santro comes with a CNG option and the Tiago gets a diesel version, we have compared only the petrol engines of the two hatchbacks because of commonality.  

Variants

Here, we will only compare variants that are priced within Rs 50,000 of each other and share the same powertrain setup.

Hyundai Santro D-Lite vs Tata Tiago XE

Common features: Dual tone interior, MID, Engine Immobilizer, Power steering

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: Driver airbag, ABS with EBD

What Tiago offers over Santro: Body-coloured bumpers, 12V power outlet, driving modes, manual AC

Verdict: The Santro is cheaper in this comparison and gets essential safety features such as driver airbag and ABS with EBD. The Tiago, on the other hand, comes with a manual AC and body-coloured bumpers. While imagining a car being sold without an A/C these days is simply hard to believe, the Santro is priced lower and comes with essential safety features, thus winning this round.

Hyundai Santro Era vs Tata Tiago XE (O)

Common features (over previous variants): Body-coloured bumpers, Manual AC, 12V power outlet, Driver airbag

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: ABS with EBD, Rear AC vents, Front power windows

What Tiago offers over Santro: Co-driver airbag, Seatbelt with pre-tensioners & load limiters, adjustable driver’s seat

Verdict: This is again a tough comparison to decide because both the variants are priced too close to each other. We appreciate the Tiago’s adjustable driver’s seat; however, the Santro is again the better choice of the two, albeit by a smaller margin. We pick the Santro as it comes with ABS with EBD. Although the Tiago has a co-driver airbag, the rear A/C vents on the Santro tip the scales in its favour.

Hyundai Santro Magna vs Tata Tiago XM (O)

Common features (over previous variants): Central Locking, Front & rear power windows

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: ABS with EBD, Rear AC Vents, Day & night inside rearview mirror (IRVM), Body-coloured outside rearview mirrors and door handles

What Tiago offers over Santro: Co-driver airbag, Seatbelt with pretensioners & load limiters, speed-sensing auto door lock, follow-me-home headlamps, driver seat height adjustment

Verdict: This time around, the Tiago is the less expensive choice but that does not automatically make it the better one. It misses out on ABS with EBD, which is standard equipment on all variants of the Santro. It redeems itself with a co-driver airbag and seatbelt with pretensioners & load limiters. The Santro comes with ABS and EBD along with a driver’s airbag but surprisingly misses out on a passenger airbag. It is a tough call to make but the Santro wins this round because of the ABS with EBD.

Hyundai Santro Magna (AMT) vs Tata Tiago XTA

Common features (over previous variants): Body coloured ORVMs and door handles, audio system with Bluetooth/Aux/USB connectivity

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: Driver’s airbag, ABS with EBD, Rear AC Vents, Day & night inside rearview mirror (IRVM), Steering-mounted audio controls

What Tiago offers over Santro: Speed-sensing auto door lock, Follow-me home headlamps, Rear parking sensors, Electrically adjustable ORVMs, Tata app suite support

Verdict: This is a clear win for the Hyundai Santro solely because of its safety features. The Tiago AMT, in this case, is barebones when it comes to safety package since the dual front airbags are optional only for the manual variants and ABS is strictly limited to the top-spec variants.

Hyundai Santro Sportz vs Tata Tiago XZ (W/O Alloy Wheels)

Common features (over previous variants): Front fog lamps, Rear defogger, ABS with EBD, Day & night inside rearview mirror (IRVM), Steering-mounted audio controls, Electrically adjustable ORVMs, Turn indicators on ORVMs, remote keyless entry

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: Rear AC Vents, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

What Tiago offers over Santro: Co-driver airbag, Seatbelt with pretensioners & load limiters, Speed-sensing auto door lock, follow-me-home headlamps, Driver seat height adjustment, Corner Stability Control, Cooled glovebox, Rear washer & wiper

Verdict: The Santro manages to undercut the Tiago by Rs 10,000 while offering a 7-inch touchscreen as well, a feature that is not offered on the Tiago. However, the Tiago offers ABS with EBD, Corner Stability Control and dual front airbags. These many safety features are enough to tip the scales in favour of the Tiago. The Tiago also offers a superior sound system with an 8-speaker Harman-sourced setup.

Hyundai Santro Sportz (AMT) vs Tata Tiago XZA

Common features (over previous variants): Front fog lamps, Rear defogger, ABS with EBD, Day & night inside rearview mirror (IRVM), Steering-mounted audio controls, Electrically adjustable ORVMs, Turn indicators on ORVMs

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: Rear A/C Vents, Keyless entry, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

What Tiago offers over Santro: Co-driver airbag, Seatbelt with pretensioners & load limiters, Speed-sensing auto door lock, Follow-me home headlamps, Driver seat height adjustment, Corner Stability Control, Cooled glovebox, Rear washer & wiper

Verdict: This comparison is pretty much the same as the previous one, the only difference being that it is between automatic variants. This time around, the Santro manages to undercut the Tiago by a margin of Rs 16,000, while the features stay the same. However, we still pick the Tiago over the Santro because of its superior safety features.

Hyundai Santro Asta vs Tata Tiago XZ

Common features (over previous variants): Rear parking sensors, Dual front airbags, Seatbelt with pretensioners & load limiters,  Speed-sensing auto door lock, Rear washer & wiper

What Santro Offers Over Tiago: Rear A/C Vents, Keyless entry, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Reversing camera, Impact Sensing Auto Door Unlock

What Tiago offers over Santro: Follow-me home headlamps, Driver seat height adjustment, Corner Stability Control, Cooled glovebox

Verdict: The Santro is the more expensive option this time but for a good reason. Both the cars are filled with features although it is the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system on the Hyundai Santro that stands out. While you are paying quite a bit of money more for the Santro, the Asta variant does comes with a few features never seen before in this segment. However, at this price point, the Santro does miss out on adjustability for the steering and driver’s seat, something the Tiago offers. That said, because of all the bells and whistles, the Santro wins the battle of the top-spec variants.

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