The Hyundai Atos is a city car that was produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai from 1997 until 2014. It was also marketed under the Atoz, Amica and Santro model names. From 1999, the Atos with a different rear fascia and restyled rear side doors is marketed as the Atos Prime and in South Korea and Indonesia as the Kia Visto. It has been available only with a five-door hatchback body style.
It was replaced in most markets by the i10 in 2007, but production continued in India until late 2014. The Santro nameplate, used in India, was revived in October 2018.
The development project for a Hyundai minicar started in October 1995 after the main Korean competitor Daewoo had already put in place the production of a compact compact car, exposing numerous concepts in various international car showrooms that would have foreshadowed the production model (which would become the Matiz designed together with Italdesign Giugiaro). Hyundai thinks of a city car extremely compact and economical to sell not only in South Korea but also in Europe (market with high sales in the city segment seen the successes of cars such as Fiat Panda, Cinquecento, Renault Twingo and Peugeot 106) and in India. In just 23 months, with a total investment of 155 million dollars, the car passes from the blank sheet to the production in September 1997, it is presented the Atos, less than 3.50 meters long, characterized by a soft design but a very spacious interior thanks to the shape of the mini-vans body, five doors and five seats. At the debut the engine was a four-cylinder petrol 800 cc Epsilon that was approved according to the new restrictive emission standards entered into force in South Korea. For export markets, the Atos adopted a larger 1.0-litre four-cylinder Epsilon engine.
Production in the Ulsan plant (South Korea) started in September 1997. The European version was presented at the International Motor Show Germany in Frankfurt the same month and sales began in March 1998.
Hyundai for the Atos created a specific base platform, very simple in the mechanical and economic setting to produce because the car had to be sold in emerging markets and therefore have a low price list: the front wheel drive scheme was adopted, with MacPherson front suspension, and a torsion-beam suspension at the rear, front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. The design of the Atos is characterized by a front with circular headlights and bumpers in raw plastic, the rear lights are in an upright position near the rear window, and the tailgate is very large to facilitate access to the luggage compartment.
The Atos was one of the first compact city cars (A-segment) to be sold in Europe with the five-door body. The trunk has a volume of 263 liters that rise to 1064 by breaking down the back sofa. The dashboard had a simple design, with a large shelf in the dashboard in front of the passenger side and two central vents with the levator climate controls. Safety devices (driver and front passenger airbags and ABS) were paid or standard only on top models.
In India, the Atos Prime was launched under the name Hyundai Santro, the production started in October 1998; the car was a success but the design of the minivan body was not much appreciated by the public and began to study a makeover. At the same time, the parent company Hyundai had acquired the other Korean manufacturer Kia Motors and had implemented a revitalization program sharing engines and platforms (the Kia has long used in crisis and used to produce old Mazda cars and engines). So Hyundai redesigned Atos to adapt it to the tastes of the Indian market, both to obtain a utility to sell with the Kia brand. The Atos Prime was born: specifically, the bodywork was completely redesigned by lowering the roof by 4.5 centimeters and redesigning the tail with new headlights, new tailgate and new bumpers also available in body color. The front remained similar to that of the previous Atos, the grille was changed and now also available with a chrome plating. The interiors remained the same. The car was presented at the Busan Motor Show on 17 May 1999 as a Kia Visto and was to be sold in Europe through the sales network of Kia Motors, alongside the old Atos that would remain in production and sold by Hyundai dealerships but, thanks to the success obtained from the model, the European dealers Hyundai opposed the decision of the parent company to distribute the Visto through the Kia network as the car would have caused competition within the same range of Atos as well as damaged the same; the Hyundai then renamed the car as Atos Prime in the end of 1999, which went to support the previous Atos remained in production and at the same time updated through the adoption of new lights, bumpers and new interior materials. In Europe then there were Atos positioned as the base model with the lowest price and the Atos Prime with standard equipment enriched and higher price list. In Korea, however, Atos Prime was sold as Kia Visto, as originally planned, while Atos remained in production sold by Hyundai dealers.
The Atos Prime compared to the original Atos has a less spacious interior, but better aerodynamics due to the lower roof. The trunk is smaller, the capacity is reduced to 219 liters up to a maximum of 889 liters with the rear seats reclined. The engine remain the 1.0 litre petrol.
In December 1999, the Atos Prime was introduced in Europe, while in the same month Atos underwent a slight facelift with modifications to the calendar that introduced the Hyundai brand of larger dimensions and new fog lights made of transparent plastic (before they were yellow).
In September 2001, there is a further facelift that concerns both Atos and Atos Prime, the changes concern the front with new graphics for the headlights (the direction indicators are now an orange color), a larger mask and new bumpers, the Atos Prime also introduces new graphics for the taillights. New coatings for interior upholstery also make their debut.
Introduced in September 2003, compared to the old Atos Prime, the new version has the front and the tail totally new, with new headlights, bonnet and bumper from the most angular style. On the back is adopted a new hatch and new headlights. Only the doors, the side panel and the interior remain of the old Atos Prime.
Also new is the engine that retires the old Epsilon four-cylinder 1.0 (and the 0.8 Epsilon sold only in Asia). The Epsilon 1.1 four-cylinder 12-valve engine delivers 59 hp (44 kW; 60 PS), 5 more than the previous 1.0. The gearbox remains the five-speed manual or four-speed automatic option.
In 2005, there is a slight facelift that introduces the new mask with the most essential design and new wheel covers with a new design. In addition, the engine in Europe is updated to the Euro 4 standard and the power rises to 63 horsepowers.
The Atos Prime is marketed as the:
The original Atos was sold under the Hyundai brand but rebadged as the Atoz (or "AtoZ") in some markets, including the United Kingdom. The Hyundai Santro is a rebadged version of the city car Hyundai Atos sold in some Asian markets.
Kia Visto is a re-badged Hyundai Atos Prime.
Hyundai entered the Indian market in 1997 with the Atos, marketed under the name Santro and various variants as Zip Drive, Zip Plus etc. Produced at Hyundai's factory in Chennai, its primary competitor at that time was the popular Maruti Suzuki Zen. The distinctive styling of the first generation had mixed reviews, but the car was a success primarily due to its power steering feature and price.
In the years since, the Indian version has undergone a number of upgrades in styling and technology to respond to consumer preferences. In 2003, the first generation (Zip) was replaced with the second generation Atos Prime, marketed in India as the Santro Xing, which enjoyed great sales success. The car was also exported from India in large volumes to the Asia and Oceania region.
In its final few years, Santro had become a popular option as a hatchback taxi, and the car was still selling close to 30,000 units per year when Hyundai made the decision to discontinue production.
The Hyundai Santro was first released in India in 1998.It came with three variants:
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