Hyundai is the second-largest car manufacturer in India. The South Korean car manufacturer has been present in the market for over two decades. In 1998, Hyundai launched its first product, the Santro hatchback, in the market. The tall-boy hatchback quickly became popular among buyers for its looks, as it had a very different design from other cars available in the market at that time. Over the years, Hyundai made several changes to the hatchback, and the latest generation was recently discontinued from the market.
Here we have a video where the driver of a Hyundai Santro is seen carrying not one or two, but five cupboards on the roof of the hatchback. The video was probably recorded somewhere in South India. The exact location is not clear, but it looks like Karnataka. It is a very short video in which we see a black-colored Hyundai Santro Zip Plus hatchback being driven on a narrow two-lane road. The video has been recorded by a person driving just behind the Santro. The instrument cluster of the car shows a speed of 60 kmph, which means the Santro was also maintaining a similar speed.
What made the driver record a video is the luggage that was kept on the roof of the car. The Santro was being driven with five almirahs or cupboards on the roof. These appear to be the metal cupboards typically installed in houses. The person driving the car can be heard saying that there are five cupboards on top of the car. The cupboards are secured using ropes, and blankets are wrapped around the cupboards to avoid scratches. The cupboards were actually wider than the car itself, making it definitely an unusual sight on the road. The Santro driver was not bothered about the dimensions of the object they are carrying and maintained a good speed.
During turns, you can actually see the rear of the car bottoming out due to the weight of the object on the roof. As mentioned, the car was being driven on narrow roads; the Santro driver even attempted to overtake but aborted the mission at the last moment upon seeing another car coming from the opposite direction. The driver then continued driving behind the autorickshaw.
We have seen people use their cars to transport small objects while shifting houses, but this is probably the first time we are seeing a car being used like this. It may seem like a funny video to many, but it is actually very dangerous. The car carrying the cupboards poses a risk to the driver and other road users. The car is carrying a wide and heavy load, especially on the roof. The Santro is a tall-boy hatchback, and the center of gravity shifts upwards after the cupboards are loaded on top. The chances of the car losing balance and tipping over are quite high. If something like that were to happen, there is even a possibility that the roof might collapse due to the weight. A few months ago, we also saw a video of a Maruti Alto carrying a metal shipping container on the roof.