The WagonR was the template for the budget-conscious sensible family car
there was neither too small nor a strain on your wallet but no frills is passe
and so the cars in this segment have had to evolve and that gives us the funky
Tata Tiago and the upmarket Hyundai Santro all three of them sit between the
most affordable cars in India and the more aspirational hatchback space today
we have with us the petrol manuals to see which one can pack in all the
essentials while living up to our New edge aspirations and be friendly on our
wallets to the Tata Tiago really pulls at your heartstrings the sporty ones
with that these large headlamps sharp angled nose and sharp lines down the
side that means the Tiago is edging ahead a little bit in the looks
department it's also the only one that gets 15 inch alloys in this the xz+
variant sadly Maruti hasn't gone for a more extreme version of the kei car look
for the WagonR it's slightly rounded on the edges but it's still boxing yep
it's one of the tallest here and it has the longest wheelbase to the Santro is
the QT of the bunch it sits between the Wagon R and the Tiago when it comes to
stance it's not quite a tall boy but it's not low slung either
so which one can wow you on the inside the features list on these cars has grown much longer
all three of them feature steering mounted controls Android auto 7-inch
touch screens and electrically adjustable ORVMs while electrically
folding mirrors are offered on the Wagon R the Tiago goes one step further with
ones that automatically closed or open when the car doors are locked or
unlocked
so the Tiago's feature list is the longest and one of the highlights is
this awesome sounding eight-speaker sound system and the Tiago's list goes
on climate control drive mode driver's seat
height adjust and a cooled glove box yes this xz+ has the highest asking
price at rupees five point seven seven lakh but for that many additional
creature comforts it does justify but there are some legals to the Tiago cabin
like the way the touchscreen interface is a little slow and laggy to respond to
your touch the fit and finish of some of the plastics are not quite top notch the
way this the vents sound and feel just feels a little flimsy and though these
all black interiors are very nice to look at on a hot day like today even
this climate control a/c has a very tough time cooling this cabin down
where comes to space the Tiago finds a middle ground between the other two when
it comes to legroom or the comfort of the seats taller passengers though may
find Headroom or rather the lack of it to be a little bit of a problem in terms
of storage in the back of the Tiago you can store three 1 litre bottles one in
both doors or other two in both doors and one in the middle here but the front
two doors can only accommodate 500ml bottles the Tiago is also the only car
to feature adjustable headrests for both front seats
when it comes to price the Santro may sit in the middle ground but when it
comes to the quality in the cabin it's the best the materials and the finish
are just wow better than cars from even a segment above the Santro also has some
unique features like a reversing camera and AC vents in the rear as well but
then to save cost Hyundai is cut a few corners it misses out on one touch down
to the driver's window there's no lane change indicator function and the
electrically adjustable mirrors don't fold electrically yes those might be
minor misses but the absence of tilt adjust for the steering lack of seat
height adjustment and separate washer and wiper functions are no laughing
matter it's blisteringly hot today and if we
were to be a passenger in one of these three cars the Santro is the place we
want to be the AC is the most powerful and these rear AC vents help circulate
that cool air the fastest sitting three abreast in the sand flow will be a tight
affair but for two people it's really comfortable that's because the seats
have just the right kind of cushioning there's lots of under high support and
the angle of the seat backs is the most relaxed to the three unlike the Tiago
there's plenty of headroom here but what about the Wagon R when it comes to
features in the Wagon R the only really unique one is the 60/40 split in
the rear seats
the wagon r is practical the best everything from the door pockets the
storage spaces and the steering mounted controls are nicely executed and more
importantly you won't find too much missing in here the one big complaint we
have with the Wagon R is the air conditioner and with these large windows
and this big volume in the summer it has the most problems cooling down the cabin
quickly and then you have to deal with these rather loud vents for longer also
we would have complained about there being only two speakers on offer but
keep in mind the Maruti has the lowest asking price here so you will have money
to spare for Genuine Accessories if you must fit three abreast in one of these
hatches then the Wagon R is your best bet but only for short distances in
terms of seat design the WagonR isn't the best there's not much under thigh
support but the way these front seats are designed with this high a floor I
can really stretch my legs out and that makes it very comfortable and then it
comes to the Headroom there's enough space in the Wagon R to fit Kali or even
Tushar in this back seat and he wouldn't have his head touching the roof
and also these two-tone interiors further help enhance the feeling of
space in the Wagon R and that space stretches even into the boot back there
which is 345 meters and that's a big margin more than the other two
if there's one place in which Maruti have spent a big chunk of their time to
improve the experience in the Wagon R it's in that engine the 1.2 liter is the
quickest aware of that 1.2 liter engine is the nicest to drive it's quiet and
it's quick to and when I say quick I mean in a very everyday usable manner
which means in the city you don't have too many gear changes to make and when
you do step on the throttle it leaves the other too far behind
so the Santro has the other four-cylinder in the test and like the
WagonR it's quite nice and refined but it has a slightly more raspy note to its
exhaust once you do get up to speed like on the highway it is quite nice and
enjoyable to drive for in this city you do need to work the gearbox a lot
because there's not much drive below 3000 rpm the tiago has the most powerful
engine here on paper and it does nothing glaringly wrong but it isn't the most
peppiest either in fact it feels just a little more responsive than the Hyundai
Santro and that isn't saying too much what let's this three-cylinder down is
the refinement be it the vibrations that are entering through the steering and
the floorboards or the rumble from the engine the tiago is the rough road champ
over bad roads at low speeds or high speeds it eats bottles and speed
breakers for breakfast the quick steering and larger wheels give it a
nice secure feeling on the road but at city speeds there's always some movement
in the cabin over smaller imperfections and that keeps you from really relaxing
when you're commuting the WagonR is the city slicker in this test it glides
over bumps and potholes like nothing else in this segment in fact even
smaller imperfections in the road are ironed out almost completely the flip
side to that is that bigger bumps are hurt as well as felt in the cabin at
higher speeds out on the highway you also need to drive a little bit more
easy to keep body roll in check and we'd also recommend maybe upgrading the tires
for a better overall experience
the Sandro is best enjoyed with a light load and in these circumstances it can
be comfortable and composed as well it also has the best braking performance
but when fully loaded the ride can get quite bouncy and your rear passengers
are going to get tossed around quite a bit
when it comes to safety all three of the cars get dual airbags abs and EBD and
rear parking sensors the Santro is the only one to offer you a reversing camera
while the Tiago additionally features corner stability control the Tiago's
dull performance shortfall in both engine refinement and the suspension in
the city keep it from matching the appeal of that package in terms of
features and designs though it does pack in a punch while having the wow factor
and the space and size of a family hatch it's always going to be a heart overhead
decision for a young buyer the Santro has its own appeal that built quality
and quiet cabin give it a nice relaxed plush air but it's no longer the family
car was rather it's more of an upmarket City runabout
in contrast the wagon r edges ahead but not because it offers any wall
features no Maruti has peppered it with just enough features to keep it from
feeling out of place in this class and so it's the substance that the Wagon R
offers that allows it to sneak ahead its comfortable and spacious its economical
and peppy too and though its city focused Nature has dampened its
versatility just a little bit it doesn't stop it from acing the sensibility
quotient and grabbing that ground