Volkswagen Santana

The same impression of having an uninspiring design generated from the exterior styling of the Volkswagen Santana is carried forward for the interior cabin of the entry-level sedan as well. While the overall cabin ranks quite high in terms of build quality and fits and finish, it surely lacks the charisma to attract the modern generation buyers.

The crisp looking dashboard is finished here in a dual-tone black and grey theme, with a simple-looking center console having a large 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with piano black surrounds and a small trapezoidal panel for automatic climate control below it. The car comes with large rectangular AC vents on the corners and center of the dashboard. The driver’s cockpit looks quite boring though, with a flat multi-functional steering wheel and a monotonous looking instrument console behind it.

The Volkswagen Santana is decently equipped with some really nice features like an electric sunroof, height-adjustable driver’s seat, automatic climate control and a touchscreen infotainment system.

The Volkswagen Santana looks like it has been based on the sedans from the previous generation of Volkswagen lineup of cars, with a very simple design and clean lines to talk about. The sedan looks a bit boring amidst the sea of newer and more modern looking competitors, but it surely exudes a class of its own.

Starting from the front, the Volkswagen Santana has got a simple looking front end with a trapezoidal front grille, which has four horizontal chrome slats, which add a premium touch to the front profile. The angular horizontal headlamps with arrow-shaped outer edges go well with the design but look bland due to the absence of modern-day LED lighting arrangement.

The side profile of the Volkswagen Santana looks crisp and neat with a sharp character line flowing all the way from the edge of the front headlamp to that of the tail lamp at the back, giving it a sense of continuity. However, apart from this character line, the side profile of the Volkswagen Santana looks bland, though the multi-spoke machined alloy wheels act as grace saviour here. At the back, the horizontally stretched big tail lamps with a kinked upper line in the middle add some character to the boot lid design.

The Volkswagen Santana might be boring in terms of the way it looks in and out, but it manages to enthuse one with its good driving dynamics. The Macpherson independent suspension at the front and composite torsion beam semi-independent suspension at the rear are tuned on a slightly stiffer end, which along with the perfectly weighted steering setup, makes it a fun to drive car.

One can have the Volkswagen Santana with the 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine as the only engine option available in it. However, one can choose from the 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic gearboxes, and with both the transmission options, the engine produces a maximum power output of 110 PS and a peak torque output of 150 Nm.

The Volkswagen Santana gets some essential safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors and electronic stability program. However, the list ends up here only.

The Volkswagen Santana, in today’s day and age, feels a bit aged in terms of the way it has been designed and equipped on the outside as well as on the inside. However, mechanically, it is a very well sounding product, with punchy powertrain options and a well sorted chassis.