[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by naut

Lastly, I think you meant 3 point seat belt for rear center passenger. I think this is a segment first! Heck, it could be a first for any car this side of 15 Lakhs in India (If I am not mistaken)! It can be clearly seen in the picture that you have posted in your second post where you have clarified the reduced boot space!

Three point seat belts were present in previous generation i20s but then they decided to skip them in current gen.

[kotirajendra]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

More than anything else, I'd say the interiors lack the sense of luxury provided by soft touch materials. On the plus side, they are very well screwed together and are hard wearing, so they won't rattle or look much worse than what they do when new.

I suppose what they lack, like the rest of the car, is flair. Basically, the car looks like the honest workhorse that it is. Again, those that own it, have very little to criticise it about.

I own an Etios too and agree with what you say and its in relation to the price, its perfectly OK. I bought it in Dec 2015 at a cost of 8.2 OTR with discounts. At this cost, there are no complains.
When I went to the showroom, they had a limited edition Etios with touchscreen Head Unit and some more frills at higher cost. But I plumped for the lower version because I wasn't willing to "pay" for anything extra beyond that. If you see,the G and GD variants are the most common as they have almost everything that you need.Given a choice to have an Etios with flair at a 2L+ cost, I will still prefer what I have with the centre console and all. The basics in terms of safety, comfort, and in-city and highway driving are spot on. Its the basic minimum real sedan at a reasonable cost. Remember this car gets no excise benefits and its compared to ones that cost similar with excise benefits.

[Doc_Hudson]

Any idea if Toyota have included the rubber door beading or its missed even in this upgrade? That is one sore point that most Etios/Liva owners have complained about.

[sub.g84]

The Etios twins have always been decent to look at save the dashboard. I somehow had high expectations this time from Toyota when I first heard the news of the facelift, only to be dismayed. Wonder what was going on on the mind of the designers when they plonked that dashboard

[amalji]

Originally Posted by ram.rise

Amol Ji, I had bought Etios 20 months back, trust me, till now I dont have any complaints regarding the car. As on today I have done 70000 kms.

70,000 kms in 20 months ? Or did you mean 7000 kms ?

Originally Posted by ram.rise

Is Etios interiors are so bad compared to Hyundai cars? In terms of Design or Color or quality of the plastics? Finding Hard to understand the opinions. Btw I have seen the interiors of Creta.

Rewind back 6 years when Toyota released the 1st gen Etios.

This is how the interiors of the top end variant ( VX ) looked like



Does that colour combination make any sort of sense ?

• Red tones on the seats which looked worse than what you see in the pic. It actually looked like 5 year old seats because of the colour tone used.
• The quality of fabric used in the outer layer of the seat was just plain pathetic.
• Silver tones on the door pads which didn't make any sort of sense.
• Red borders for the floor mats!
• And the famous cartoonish speedo design.

The first time, I went and saw the car, my thought was that someone purposefully wanted this car to look ugly so that Corolla sales is not affected because everything else ( be it the engine, the space, the comfort and the dynamics ) was comparable and in some cases ( like space,dynamics ) better than the Corolla.

I still decided to stick with it because I was able to look at its strong points ( Space, comfort, performance, ergonomics, utility, and brand Toyota's durability and low maintenance cost ). These strengths far out weigh its negatives with regards to aesthetics. And GTO's comprehensive review did help me a lot as well.

And the 1st thing that I did when I bought the car was to put a seat cover to cover the ugly seat fabric.

Today's Etios looks much better with regards to the interiors ( minus the speedo ). But, whoever has seen the 1st gen will have the notions set already and will not even give it a second chance. Toyota will have to bring the VIOS to get into 5000 plus monthly sales.

Originally Posted by Doc_Hudson

Any idea if Toyota have included the rubber door beading or its missed even in this upgrade? That is one sore point that most Etios/Liva owners have complained about.

It's just a different design. Where rubber beedings are placed on the inside of the door openings instead of the actual doors. It doesn't affect the functionality anyway.

[amalji]

And here comes the Toyota official TVC for the Etios platinum -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgUFfj9FXyU

The speedo meter in night mode looks better as well.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by amalji

And here comes the Toyota official TVC for the Etios platinum.

Love the new ad. Specifically showing target customers. The family man or the middle aged guy who just wants a dependable sedan.

An Auto should really see some buyers after all peace of mind guarantee from Toyota is a major selling point for customers.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by amalji

Rewind back 6 years when Toyota released the 1st gen Etios.

This is how the interiors of the top end variant ( VX ) looked like

I had not realised that the interiors were as stunningly bad as these. I can only see this as reflecting the very racist attitude that Japanese have towards Indians, an attitude that is very visible inside the Indian company - that this better be good enough for these Indians!

But on the other hand, this isn't so visible in Honda India cars, so there may be other factors at play in both places. Maruti is a different story, and Osamu Suzuki is a very atypical Japanese man.

I looked to what works for me and bought the car three years ago and have no regrets, but at times it is nice to see that the car has failed, a feeling that was re-awakened on seeing this interiors picture. The Japanese had it coming.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I can only see this as reflecting the very racist attitude that Japanese have towards Indians, an attitude that is very visible inside the Indian company - that this better be good enough for these Indians!

I'm not sure about that part. Whichever Japanese person, I have ever met has always been quite humble and down to earth in their attitude.

Even my wife, who had taught a lot of Japanese students have very high regard for their attitude and humility.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I looked to what works for me and bought the car three years ago and have no regrets, but at times it is nice to see that the car has failed, a feeling that was re-awakened on seeing this interiors picture. The Japanese had it coming.

The aesthetics part whoever was in charge of it ( the colour combinations used and the speedo's visual design ) couldn't have done a worse job than what was done in the 1st gen Etios.

Even while I say that, I appreciate nice design cues which provides very good functionality. Some of them like.

• The location of the speedo which allows us to use the steering tilt to the most comfortable position without having to worry about the speedo view getting blocked.
• The placement of the center AC vents which ensures that the AC goes straight back into the rear seat without being obstructed by the driver's hand and at the same time not causing discomfort to the driver.
• The small hump at the rear floor which gives the comfort to the rear passenger.
• The air cooled glove box which I always use to keep a few oranges or apples to have it with a nice coolness to it.
• The ergonomic slant of the dashboard which faciliates a very relaxed driving position for the driver's legs.
• For making the central lock remote completely water proof.
• The dual arm mono wiper which gives a humongous wipe due to its non-circular wipe

And there are many more. So, I respect the Japanese for putting in a lot of thought there. But, the art/beauty part of it was completely messed up.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by amalji

• The location of the speedo which allows us to use the steering tilt to the most comfortable position without having to worry about the speedo view getting blocked.
• The placement of the center AC vents which ensures that the AC goes straight back into the rear seat without being obstructed by the driver's hand and at the same time not causing discomfort to the driver.
• The small hump at the rear floor which gives the comfort to the rear passenger.
• The air cooled glove box which I always use to keep a few oranges or apples to have it with a nice coolness to it.
• The ergonomic slant of the dashboard which faciliates a very relaxed driving position for the driver's legs.
• For making the central lock remote completely water proof.
• The dual arm mono wiper which gives a humongous wipe due to its non-circular wipe

And there are many more. So, I respect the Japanese for putting in a lot of thought there. But, the art/beauty part of it was completely messed up.

Gosh! You are speaking my mind here. These are also the elements that I have come to value in the car. I didnt know though that the central lock remote is water proof.
For a change it is good to read about the positives of the car, over and beyond the usual criticisms, which too I admit aren't out of place when shared by others.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by amalji

I'm not sure about that part. Whichever Japanese person, I have ever met has always been quite humble and down to earth in their attitude.

Even my wife, who had taught a lot of Japanese students have very high regard for their attitude and humility.

I have experience of TKML from the days before and during their labour troubles. You perhaps haven't met too many Japanese corporate types. Toyota practices Lean, a philosophy built on team building, involvement of all and consensus as a foundation for progress in quality. However their consensus building did not extend to Indian managers and workmen, because they weren't Japanese people.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

I didnt know though that the central lock remote is water proof.

Yes, it's water proof. And I have tested it in real life a few months back by having it inside my washing machine.
Works perfect.

[sibot]

I was really hoping the interiors to be a bit more aesthetically pleasing. I have been following this car for quite some time and it possibly checks out on all practical aspects of owning a sedan. From what I can gather, if someone wants a no nonsense car and doesn't pay too much attention to the wow factor, this car fits the bill. I quite like the way the exterior of the car looks. This car provides you the safety that every car should have as default. Also, let's not forget that Etios fared 4 stars on the NCAP.

On another note, is there any news on the Vios? Or are they going to hold that back so it doesn't kill the Etios? I really wonder why they didn't bring the upgraded digital console to India?

[PCS]

Truly a no nonsense car which gets its basic right.

Somehow am also getting bored of these fancy cars with smart entry and stylish designs. These guys forget basics and focus on style. Toyota has really not given up on the car. Considering its 80k more than all small sedans like zest ameo or xcent or aspire... This one is really doing good in sales at 2600 per month... At least more than zest and amaze ...

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by sibot

From what I can gather, if someone wants a no nonsense car and doesn't pay too much attention to the wow factor, this car fits the bill.

I agree. Actually, I don't even know of any other car that fits the bill as well as this one does, for people that think like you, at the price point.
And don't play down the value of the service support. My new car came with a rattle somewhere inside it, and a wobbly rear view mirror. In surprising contrast, a Nano I bought at the same time was flawlessly built. With the Toyota, what was a minor irritation was turned around by the exemplary manner in which DSK Toyota fixed the two issues. And matters have remained satisfactory, and the annual attention to the car is still done better than any I have experienced from over half a dozen brands in the last three decades.
But the ultimate test of any product in the market place has to be of obtaining enough customers willing to pay for it. And by that standard, the car is a failure because I am sure that the target market for it was not just taxi fleets. A case of Japanese arrogance, in a similar way that Fiat continues to fail in India because of Italian arrogance. But Toyota at least has the Innova/Fortuner success to learn from, if they choose to do so. Fiat has nothing.