Toyota Etios : Test Drive & Review

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

The ratings are from 3 (highest or best) to 1 (lowest), relative to its class (C-segment sedan). Same ratings indicate equally good/ poor perception on that attribute.

Most of your ratings are assumptions as far as Etios is concerned.
You can never tell the real ranking till the car is atleast 6 months old.
The 12000 odd bookings too must have been made on the assumption that a Toyota won't go wrong.

[RoadTiger]

You're right, Daewood. These are obviously assumptions about the Etios since obviously since only GTO has been lucky enough to test drive it so far - and hence, based on his first impressions.

With that caveat of the camparo being a little premature, still looking to stir up opinions!

[Palio_2005]

Thanks for the review GTO. Car looks cheap with lot of unfinished cheap bits. Is this what Toyota has to offer? I mean look at the cheap console, a/c knobs, bonnet opening knob (a knob?? who gives a knob), unfinished foot well, chipping paint on the gear lever, integrated head rests, garish interiors and a boxy design.

It will sell because it's Toyota but in any mature market it would be just trashed.

[prashanthyr]

Excellent review, covers all the points a prospective buyer would need to decide on a car. However, looking at onroad prices for the top end, I am thinking maybe Honda's City is priced reasonably afterall! I was told at the Nandi Toyota dealership that the top end would be Rs 820,000 on road, where as the City starts at about 10,40,000 on road. For 220,000 extra, one does get a lot more extra with the city - for starters, no signs of cost cutting, better looks, more equipment, a proper entry level luxury car rather than a cut price product and many more extras. Am I alone in thinking that top end Etios will actually favor the City's sales?

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

Thanks for the review GTO. Car looks cheap with lot of unfinished cheap bits. Is this what Toyota has to offer? I mean look at the cheap console, a/c knobs, bonnet opening knob (a knob?? who gives a knob), unfinished foot well, chipping paint on the gear lever, integrated head rests, garish interiors and a boxy design.

It will sell because it's Toyota but in any mature market it would be just trashed.

Used to be found in old Ambassadors and in trucks I guess. I wonder how the general opinion would have turned out in this thread, if this was a TATA product for instance.

But anyway, you can't ask for more for this price, that too from a manufacturer like Toyota!

Well detailed and excellent review. Thanks to GTO

[Palio_2005]

Originally Posted by clevermax

I wonder how the general opinion would have turned out in this thread, if this was a TATA product for instance.

You dared to ask this question

[samsan02]

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

It will sell because it's Toyota but in any mature market it would be just trashed.

Yes! Thats very true, Looking at Etios it seems Toyota has done the research on how to target the mass Indian customer base by giving them a basic VFM offering. The Etios has been tagged as an India first launch, but I doubt if it will be sold else where apart from India, and looking at the equipment levels it may soon go obsolete even in India. At first look it felt as if they have bought a 8 year old car from Japan and stuck a Toyota Badge on it.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by clevermax

I wonder how the general opinion would have turned out in this thread, if this was a TATA product for instance.

None of the TATA cars except the Nano look as downmarket as this Toyota. Even the Indicab has better interiors
Maybe Etios on the roads will be a blessing in disguise for Indigo and Manza. We might see the sales of these 2 cars go up considerably if only people really care to compare it with the Etios rather than go by the badge.

[Nilesh5417]

Feels like its been designed to succeed albeit in the cab market. Why would i want to save those 50k and not buy a well appointed car like the dzire. The Dzire is light on the pocket (we own one in the family since april this year), its got space, its well appointed as compared to the etios, it drives really well (in fact the gear shift is amazing with that tiny stalk) and its light on the pocket.
Beats me if toyota thought that short changing indian folks will do it any good in the long run. Price to value is offering the same value at a lower price point. Don't do a maruti on us toyota!

[nkg77]

Thanks GTO for such a detailed review. Etios was in my radar ever since I decided to buy a car. But dropped the idea once I saw the pictures and read the review. Basic features like MID, driver seat height adjustment and electric mirrors are missing. The picture of the footwell is also a big put off. If at all it sells it is just because of the "Toyota" brand name it carries.

[drrajasaravanan]

Hi
A very well written review, as always. Liked the phrase comparing tata and toyota entering different segments. Though cost cutting is obvious the cost effectiveness and after sales service is way ahead with toyota. Did not like the central console. But given the price, abundant boot space and ability to handle high speeds is very good news. I guess both dzire and manza will face a pinch now.

[gitartha]

Guys, Dunno about the motor, but the body shell is definately 10 YEARS OLD !! This is the same body shell that came on the Toyota Echo 2000 model (no surprise then about the old fashioned pull type door handles and the truck like bonnet knob). The engineers at Toyota must have spent a lot of time dusting the cobwebs from the body panel dyes before shipping them to the plant in India . Sorry to disappoint people who thought that the Etios resembles the Logan or the Innova, both of them are far more contemporary vehicles in comparison.

Coming back to the power plant , all gasoline engines in Toyota vehicles sold in India and abroad come with VVT-I technology, but sadly Toyota did not think that sub 6 lac customers in India deserve the same. Shockingly, even the Toyota Echo 2000 came with VVT-I 1.5 litre DOHC engine.(India is truly a decade behind the rest of the world) . CanadianDriver » Test Drives » Test Drive: 2000 Toyota Echo Second Look

Engine 1.5 litre 4 cylinder, DOHC, 16 valves, VVT-I
Horsepower 108 @ 6000 rpm
Torque 105 lbs-ft @ 4000 rpm
Curb weight (4 Door Manual) 928 kg (2045 lbs)

This seriously prompts me to think whether the mechanicals (with the reduction in "over-engineering" effort by Toyota) are even older than the bodyshell. I agree that worldwide, the USP of toyota is Quality and not Flamboyance, but as the World's No.1 car maker, was not it the moral responsibility to provide a contemporary product to Indian customers who have till date reposed immense faith in the Toyota brand name.
I think rather than Q class, toyota should really come up with a "C "class(C as in contemporary, not the Merc). Contemporary will anyways take care of quality.
(p.s. can someone help me to convert lbs-ft to Nm)

[Satya79]

Hi Githartha,

105 lbs-ft is 142.5N-m approx.

Thats a great catch you made. The Etios does look strikingly similar to the Echo. I guess Toyota had to pull out some old moulds and tooling to really reduce the price of the car in India.

I suppose that peace of mind, great after sales and the Toyota name would matter most to the target market; however, one does wish that Toyota could have launched something contemporary - C class as you put it.
That would have really made it a segment benchmark on all points.

[MCR]

Excellent review GTO. How do you rate the Etios as compared to Logan? Is the build quality, fit and finish similar?
Logan is very spacious and based on your review and Photos, I assume, Etios should have similar space. Not considering the waiting period of 6 odd months,but considering the features and price we have to pay for it, don't you fell that Tata Manza is still a more VFM entry sedan?

[Technocrat]

Amazing Review yet again, Kudos GTO & Rehaan

But I got to be honest, this is probably the most boring new car I have seen in recent years. The looks are dated, the interiors weird & the feature list seems missing.

The only thing going for it & which will make it sell are -
1) The Toyota Badge (A Cheaper Toyota)
2) The overall quality of product(As expected from a Toyota)
3) The no non-sense, does what its supposed to do nature of the car