San Storm - Sequel

An over-optimistic speedometer marked all the way to 200 km/h and a tachometer are standard

Red and black is the theme inside, which is actually quite 'chic' and sporty. Seats provide ample support to keep you in place when the going gets fast!

The engine remains the same, a Renault mill, good for only 59.3PS but returns a good 14.15kmpl in city. We would like to have a much powerful engine in this bay, one which will give the proper feel to this sporty looking convertible. Note the odd placement of the horn!

Windows down, nothing above me but blue sky, the empty South Delhi roads proved to be a great driving spree. It had rained the night before, so the morning air was fresh and the wind had a slight cool feel to it, all in all perfect "top down" weather. Zipping around in the San Storm makes you realize that this car does instill that pure feeling of freedom. The Renault engine is a smooth mill that has its genes derived from a strong family of engines. Its peppy nature brings about a sense of nostalgia if you are a Zen lover. Now this car is not about the 0-60km or 0-100km figures as much as it is about the smile-fun factor! The entire experience is bound to have you smiling. If you ask me honestly, that smile itself ensures that the very purpose of building this car has been achieved. Ride and handling again adds to the fun factor. The San Storm is low off the ground, and has a tweaked suspension to give it that sporty set-up, thus limiting body roll. Taking this car fast through corners is a very lateral feeling, you don't feel like you are going to end up in the passenger seat if you go too fast and that is a good thing! The steering response was just about spot on and the car immediately followed the chosen line through the curves. In a few spirited turns around various round-a-bouts, the San Storm just flung itself around, never once did I feel the wheel skid and the car never felt out of control. Overall the entire package is more than adequate for a car such as this.

The San Storm is essentially a two-seater. The rear seat, in which our dear photographer, Mani, managed to contort himself into, is best described as an aesthetic touch to the whole car, a sort of last resort option if you really really need to give a third person a lift (don't bother trying to fit in the fourth person!).
Priced at Rs. 5,95,000/- in Delhi, the San Storm is a bit on the higher side of the price band if you are looking for a car, but if you happen to be looking for a way to express your freedom and having that added edge to stand out from a crowd, then the San Storm is for you. Its looks have the ability to turn heads, very few people even know that the car is a true Indian ( albeit for the French heart) and it easily passes off as an import! Topping it all is the fact that the company makes only about 15-20 cars a month and they are expecting to sell about 10 cars a month in the northern region. These numbers will ensure that you have your exclusivity.

Overall, the San Storm lives up to its purpose. The car had heads turning, people who were on their way to work gave me dirty looks as if I am someone who is spoiled enough to be 'cruisin' out on a Tuesday morning, especially when the world is just waking up and most people that are driving are hurrying off to their offices. Too bad those onlookers never realized that I was at work...hard at work (yes there is slight evil snicker here somewhere)!!

Source: Car India August 2006.