[CARDEEP]

Mod Note : Please continue the Liva 1.5L TRD Sportivo Discussion in Our Official Review. Thanks

ACI have uploaded a scoop that Toyota has plans to launch the 1.5L 90bhp Petrol hatch in India:

SCOOP! Toyota plans Liva 1.5 hot hatch | News | Autocar India

I believe this is more about building brand's image as sporty rather than staid/ meek car. I believe one of the BHPians have also posted similar in one of the other threads.

[vibbs]

Thats interesting. How about a 1.4 Litre Swift hot hatch in response to the Liva? But the moot question remains, will there be any takers in India for a hot petrol hatch retailing at a higher price range?

[amitg79]

At 90 bhp, its not very hot. Warm, maybe. Though I've heard that the driveability of this engine is amazing.

[the VTEC guy]

I think treating Liva/Etios a sporty car just doesn't go.
I was watching the Liva and Etios TV commercial other day where in these cars were sporting racing graphix. Just felt that racing graphix and Liva/Etios just don't go together. Its just like one of those bollywood actresses who may show a lot of skin but just don't appeal (I hope this is not offensive).

[acurafan]

Assuming this is based on Etios engine it can be one of the best hatch to drive. Liva already has one of the best bhp/tonne ratio and adding 11 bhp with Etios' smooth engine is really wonderful. Contrary to the popular belief here in TBHP, Liva is a fun car to drive, if one does not care about the kmpl.

[Nilesh5417]

How lame can toyota get? Always ages behind! When most others are pulling their so called hot hatches off the shelves, here they come with something that looks ugly, has only 10 horses or so more. They can do so much if they wish to but nopes!

[swiftnfurious]

Hope this remains a rumour itself. If indeed this is coming, I would say Toyota is confused about its strategies in India! Being a diesel dominant market, how would this move help them gain sales or brand value? If they had decided to bring in a 90 bhp variant for Diesel, would have been better. Dont they have enough examples of "hot" cars being failures? I hope they put that time & effort to design the interiors and roll out a better one soon!

[DicKy]

The ordinary Etios petrol is already said to be lively to drive, though only 90BHP, it has the best BHP/tonne ratio.
So plonking the 1.5 in the Liva will make it a pocket rocket. Though it doesn't figure in my to-buy list, in the future as pre-worshipped it's certainly on top. Only fly in the ointment is the steering.
BTW, as other's said the 90bhp D-4d should make it to the Etios atleast.

[audioholic]

If it is offered at a minimal price difference, then there could be some bookings, usually as upgrades from people who earlier booked the VX. If there is a considerable price difference, this will surely be a 'limited edition' For an average non-petrol head customer, these things hardly matter. Added to it is the fear of lesser FE compared to the 1.2. Even if they get a diesel with VGT, the price will go up by a fair margin, to a point where people will no longer be ready to spend so much on the car(the competition will please better). So that is also a doubt.

I, for one am very disappointed seeing the amount of cost cutting that has been made in the Etios/Liva. Any common person who speaks about the car can make it out. IMO, toyota must think about aggressive tuning in the 1.4l diesel so that it can pump out more power. It is diesel which is selling and it is diesel that needs development if TKM plans of improving the car's image.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by audioholic

If it is offered at a minimal price difference, then there could be some bookings, usually as upgrades from people who earlier booked the VX. If there is a considerable price difference, this will surely be a 'limited edition' For an average non-petrol head customer, these things hardly matter....

I expect atleast a 75-100K increase in the prices of 1.5L hot car over the Liva 1.2. When the engine is beyond the 1.2L, an additional ~50K will be added as there will be NO excise savings. Plus the higher capacity engine should cost more. They also might get a size bigger alloy wheels to improve the ride & handling package. This will see the price goes up. Instead, if they bring in the 90 HP diesel engine, it will still be eligible for excise benefits.

[KarthikK]

While it is good to know that they are thinking about enthusiast-like vehicles, a few things that they should think about looking at, before projecting it as an enthusiast machine by merely plonking the etios sedan's engine into the hatch and calling it a 'hot' hatch.

- the build quality - I was shocked to know the Liva weighs in at only 800 odd kgs. I understand this will boost power to weight ratio, but seriously, what material is this thing made of? How safe is this car in absorbing high impacts? with increased power, I would prefer a more rock solid build as a potential customer. Polo 1.6 / Palio 1.6 / Fabia 1.6 were superb in this department.

- In today's fuel price scenario, how many Liva 90s do they see selling? Petrol vehicles have already taken an irreversible hit in sales figures. Pricing is the key, but with the loss of excise benefits, how well can they price it?

- Trivial factor - An enthusiast vehicle CANNOT have the instrument console panel in the centre of the dashboard! Do they want the entire set of passengers to keep the driver in check all the time? Change the instrument panel layout to a more driver-focused one, I say! and while at it, change the instrument panel to something other than this current 'analog weighing scale' look.

[oxyzen]

It is a bad move.
No I take that back. It is a horrendous move.

In-spite of being an enthusiast, I will not even touch liva even if it is equipped with a 1.5L engine. Why? Because there are Polo & Fabia with 1.6L engines that handles better, looks prettier & offers a lot better built quality inside and out.

What really makes sense in India is to launch a hot hatch with a diesel option. Like Polo 1.6 TDi, or a Cruze Hatch or a Punto 1.6 MJD or even the i20 with better suspension setup.

A petrol hot hatch makes no sense unless you are talking of Golf GTi / Ford Focus Rs / Renault Cleo / Mini cooper etc. You buy them for snob value not bloody FE figures.

[joey645]

Japanese carmaker Toyota plans to launch a sporty, more powerful version of its Etios Liva hatchback with some major makeovers next month in a bid to boost its premium appeal and revive sales in India.

The new Liva variant will be powered by a 1500cc petrol engine and will sport re-tuned suspension, improved brakes and wider wheels to cope with the additional power, a person closely involved with the project said. The existing petrol variant of the car has a 1200cc engine.

Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director and COO (marketing and commercial) at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the Japanese carmaker's Indian joint venture, refused to comment on the matter. "There are several product plans going on in the company and I would not like to share them at this moment," he said.

The new Liva model will also use better quality plastic to give a premium feel to the dashboard, switchgear and door panels and use a new colour scheme to allay criticism that the Etios platform compromised on quality from the Toyota stable.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/18375712.cms

[rajshenoy]

No reaction to this news. That explains why Etios twins are not selling. Toyota, leave your ego and start listening to customers. You cannot charge a premium for something that does not look premium(in this case interior only !!)

[MetalBuff]

Hopefully, these changes should bring in the volumes for Toyota. Clearly, relying on the Fortuner and the limping warhorse (Read: Corolla) has not helped and will not help in the future as well.

As far as the customer feedback goes, it was skewed mainly when it came to interior quality and NVH levels. The exteriors, though not that elegant, can still be lived with (We are discussing exteriors of a segment which is dominated by the quirky dZire . Fellow mates owning the dZire, no offence please)

Time for Toyota to gear up, bring in well deserved makeovers for these and head to a better place where they could have reached, had the pricing and quality for these models been topnotch since Day-1

-Shivang Gandotra