Hyundai Santro Xing hatchback and 1.1 Liter Epsilon petrol engine to continue in production until 2014

The Epsilon petrol engine first made its debut in India with the Santro hatchback, which incidentally was the first product that Hyundai introduced in the Indian car market. The four cylinder petrol engine displacing 999cc produced 61 Bhp of peak power, and was both refined as well as fuel efficient with its USP being the copious torque of 110 Nm it produced at 3,000 rpm. This engine was succeeded in India with a larger 1.1 liter unit which upped the power figure to 64 Bhp while torque fell to 97 Nm. The bigger engine was first offered on the Santro and later adopted in the successor of the Santro, known as the Xing. Back in the day, these engines were more powerful than the ones on the competition, read Daewoo Matiz and Maruti Zen.

2012 Hyundai Santro Xing Small Car

Ever since, the 1.1 Liter, four pot Epsilon engine has done duty in thousands of Santro Xings sold in India, and to this day continues to power the Santro Xing in both petrol and LPG-petrol dual fuel guise. Despite the advent of the most technologically advanced and rev happy Kappa engines, the Epsilon engine has held its own in the Indian car market. This engine meets BS4 emission norms and Hyundai India plans to continue using this engine until 2014, when it plans to finally retire the Santro Xing. So, both the Santro Xing and the Epsilon engine will bow out of the Indian car market in 2014.

The Hyundai Xing was the South Korean automaker’s entry level car until the arrival of the lower priced Eon hatchback. The Eon’s launch saw sales of the Santro Xing being cannibalized although the car still continues to find favor with the entry level car buyer, with about 3,000 to 5,000 examples of the Xing finding homes in India each month. Now, that is quite a considerable number for a car,which is clearly quite dated in this day and age. Before the arrival of the Eon though, the Santro Xing used to manage numbers of about 7,000 to 8,000 every months.

The arrival of the more contemporary Eon has definitely hit sales of the Santro Xing but Hyundai won’t mind this much as the Eon has actually expanded the market and has resulted in the automaker selling more cars in the entry level segment. Coming back to the Santro Xing, the tall boy design that facilitates easy ingress and egress along with solid reliability has meant that the car continues to be a decent seller in India. So, it won’t be until 2014, before Hyundai finally bids adieu to an extremely successful entry small car, one that helped it earn its spurs in the intesely competitive Indian small car segment.

AutocarPro