Hyundai Santro was launched back in 1998 as the first tallboy hatchback in India. In 2018, the hatch was relaunched in a new avatar.
Hyundai made its India debut back in 1998 with the humble but stylish Santro. The cool looking hatchback appealed to many because of its tall boy looks, ample head space and a peppy engine. Shortly, a year after, Maruti launched its own tall-boy, the WagonR.
Hyundai Santro came with many premium features that the WagonR did not possess. The South Korean company found immediate success with Santro and with a couple of launches in the coming years, it became the second best manufacturer in India, after Maruti.
Here’s the first ever ad that aired on national TV about the Hyundai Santro. We all know who the brand ambassador of Hyundai, especially Santro is. The ad featured Shah Rukh Khan, who was among the emerging young guns back in that time.
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This ad was aired in 1998, just about when the car was to be launched. In this ad, Shah Rukh Khan explains all the highlights of the Santro which a punch of comedy. Interestingly, Hyundai has still managed to retain a couple of things from the old Santro.
In the advertisement, Shah Rukh Khan tells us about its engine details, head space, comfort, driving characteristic and finally, why is it the perfect family car. Santro used a 1.1 Litre four-cylinder Epilson petrol engine that punched out 63 BHP.
Even in that time, Hyundai was one of the earliest budget cars to offer AC, front power windows, rear seat belt, power steering, inbuilt music system, rear wiper, front fog lamps and wheel caps. Initially, it went against Maruti Zen but with the WagonR, Santro found its perfect rival.
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Even now, the same engine has been used in the new Santro. It also carries the same agenda of offering many segment first features like rear parking camera, rear AC vents, day and night IRVM and some more.
