May 13, 2009 10:05 PM
15268 Views
(Updated Apr 27, 2010 08:23 PM)
2nd June 2009
My reccession car!!!
Bought the Santro ECO a month back (my second Santro and my third car! Wonder what in hell possed me to by an Santro again) after selling my Opel Corsa (a decision I now regret) since I didn’t not want to shell out all that money for petrol in this time of recession.
The only reason I bought the Santro ECO, even though the model looks outdated was coz of the LPG kit, which turns out to be an absolute disappointment in the end. On LPG mode it returns 8kms/lts in the city and 10 on the highway, I dont rev it much, shift gears as recommended in the manual, I tried doing everything to get the most miles out of every drop, but it's pathetic compared to my friend’s WagonR Duo which gives him 14km/ltr on the highway!! This car, then, is only to prove that Hyudai can make a LPG car, and not a good one at that! The customer care cell is not bothered about the many mails that I’ve sent them, they apparently think that 8km/ltr is much more than I should get for the Santro ECO!
Plain old bad luck, or that am a complete idiot to belive the sales guys at the Hyundai showroom and expect 12km/ltr!!
Bottom line: If you are strapped for cash and still need to drive a lot everyday, buy a cheap Inidca V2 diesel or the WagonR Duo, if you wanna go green with LPG, which is proven to return better gas mileage. Woudnt reccomend this to a friend, I'll give it a 2 out of 10!!
Still waiting for the call from Hyundai to set things right. Wonder if I can sue them for breach of trust. Let's see if things turn for the better after the first service. Will keep you posted! - 2nd June 2009
Update 15-June 2009:
Been to the DSC Chennai service station twice already.. Anycase, the CRM at DSC Chennai, seemed kind enough, said that he'll do his best to check my issue out! (sez that everytime!). He now says that I should be patent, and run the car for 4000kms before I start demanding a decent mileage! (I still get 10.5 on the highway! and my car is about 3000kms old). So I decide to take his word for it, and wait for another 1500 or so..
Update 27 - July 2009:
Have been to the Hyundai service centre 4 times! 4 gruelling half-days spent, only coz I was an idiot who bought the Santro ECO! Car has run for 4600 kms and still the best I got was 11.0 on the highway. Called the CRM whom I've been following up with, and surprise surprise! he aitn inteh same service centre anymore! Now I have to start all over again with another CRM!! NICE!!!!! Anycase, I whine that my LPG mileage is pathetic, and his answer surprises me even further!! HE CLAIMS THAT 11 IS THE MOST I CAN GET OUT OF A SANTRO ECO LPG, AND THAT'S MORE THAN MOST FOLKS ARE GETTING!!!!!!!!!
What the hell!! I have a good mind to sue Hyundai for selling a sub-standard car-kit to the Indian public, do they think we are mind-less goons to take this lieing down!!!!
Update April 2010: MORE problems! The car has run 9000kms now, and I hardly get anything more than 11km/ltr or LPG.. (even more erking is the fact that the LPG prices have gone waaay up!). btw, if I puch the car above 80 kms on the highway the mileage goes down to 8km/ltr :) ON THE FRIGGIN HIGHWAY! Adding to all these woes, the engine is jerking badly in idling.. I have been noticing this for more than 3000kms now, and have been reporting this at every service! They say that they have checked it, they say they hace cleaned it, they say everything is ok!! but the engine still jerks.. in idling.. everytime the a/c comperessor kicks in, every time I change gears! THIS IS SIMPLY HORRUNDOUS! and all coz of the idiotic LPG kit am sure!! :(
