[vb-saan]

What Toyota missed here is to work through the segment with a no-nonsense car, playing to its strength of reliable and dependable commuting. And they have really stepped up the game by offering some of the first-in-segment features like airbags all around. The Yaris is not a superstar material but Toyota wants it to be one.

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

Calm down Sir!! You are taking the pricing too personally. Your role as an enthusiast reporter, is to report honestly the pros and cons of a vehicle, and we all know how good you are at it!

Honest reporting with pros and cons definitely will have a mention about price, and the value it offers for that price and how it goes against the competition. Hardly anything personal there IMO.

[SchumiFan]

The car has 7 airbags in all variants. Surely will pass crash test since the Etios itself did. Has decent amount of features even in the base variant.

I expect all safety concious Team BHPians to go and buy it in hoards 🙂

If this car doesn't do well in the market, then we as consumers have no right to blame the manufacturer for not giving preference to safety while consumers themselves are least bothered.

On the pricing part, it seems sensible. Not touching the Corolla while not under pricing itself to make the sale.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by cmani0000

Nice pricing strategy from Toyota, I think they are competing with Corolla and have priced lesser than that, Well done!

Precisely. And who, pray, will buy this car when the Corolla Altis, a D1, is only a few lakhs more? Unless of course there is a Corolla price increase in the offing to further differentiate between the models and minimise expected cannibalisation.

But the pricing doesn't surprise me one bit. I have been mentioning on this thread this car WILL be priced at par with the City (14-17L on road)and will NOT be a discount model. If an Innova, a van/people carrier, can sell for 25-28L on road <roll eyes, yeah TKM gets away with it> this pricing does not seem far fetched at all.

Thing is, this is a family car and yes, while it lacks features that appeal to some of us enthusiasts, it will tick nearly all the boxes for a family man looking for a new model upper C segment car.

[sajo]

Sad, as a buyer, I have lost interest. Would have been a good buy for reliable and dependable motoring for my parents and wife, at a price which is lower than the City. The J is the only variant of interest(if at all) now.
I like its strengths, the reliability and distinctly appliance like feel, presumed low cost of maintenance and acceptable dynamics.
At nearly 17L on road for their top variants, the sedans have priced themselves out of my reach for the foreseeable future.

[arun687]

I'm not surprised by Toyota's pricing strategy and kind of expected it. They'll absolutely want to take advantage of the fuss free ownership perception of their cars and have also thrown in many, many features. Probably meets all the requirements of their target audience, the aspiring middle class families.

Soon we will have sub 4 meter sedans reaching 15L OTR with midsize sedans moving to 20L ranges for their top end automatic variants. It's the sad reality, I guess. Sure, we're starting to get a lot of equipment in the form of creature comforts and safety features. We're paying a ton of tax to the govt on these cars. The newer crash and emission norms will only make this dearer, as the cars get safer, cleaner and loaded with features.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

Your role as an enthusiast reporter, is to report honestly the pros and cons of a vehicle, and we all know how good you are at it!

Thats the job of the official review.

For every other posts in team bhp (even in subsequent posts of an official review), GTO posts as a fellow automobile enthusiast and not as an 'enthusiastic reporter'. Thats been the trend in all the threads till date, irrespective of brands. So he is very well entitled to express his opinion on the pricing of the Yaris as well - and that opinion seems to be similar as that of majority BHPians too.

PS - Infact, enthusiastic reporter sounds rather weird too IMO. Automotive Journalists or similar words might be more appropriate.

[ssm0304]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Feedback was not from any Toyota staff - it was from independent observers on the parameters of driveability, ride quality and features on offer, which left them very impressed.

Cannot disclose their names due to obvious reasons.

Oh, alright! Thanks for the clarification. The wording made it seem so.

[Waspune]

I kind of expected this kind of pricing which applies to all Toyota's products including the Etios twins. The most important USP for this Toyota is the 7 airbags, period! The top variants have been priced idiotically but the the lower variants do make sense and would plausibly drive the sales.

Originally Posted by GTO

Honda & Hyundai can beef up their safety features a lot easier than Toyota can cut prices now.

I guess Honda and Hyundai won't beef up the safety features until the Yaris becomes a runaway hit which looks quite improbable because of pricing and that it doesn't have a diesel.

I mean 7 airbags which means additional 5 airbags would incur a lot of additional cost/car for the manufacturer and it would then lead to a price increase which again would take the pricing (for Hyundai and Honda) above Yaris' ball park. This might work in Yaris' favor.

[CarJunki]

Very interesting pricing strategy, let's see how long it takes toyota to increase it further.
The prime competition is not exactly unsafe or unreliable (Verna and City are both very reliable and safe). It will be fun to watch how market moves in a segment where reliability was never lacking.

Verna Diesel AT looks very good product and VFM.

Yaris is definitely aimed at individuals and family, not Taxi segment.
Taxi segment may not be interested in 7 airbags.
For family the rear bench space of City top end with 6 airbags is quite safe and comfy. City does hold a good resale value even after 5-6 years ownership.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by cmani0000

Nice pricing strategy from Toyota, I think they are competing with Corolla and have priced lesser than that, Well done!

They have ensured that the prices are cheaper than Innova and Corolla and at the same time did not want to tempt the cabbies from picking up a car having 7 airbags. Or perhaps want to create belief among people that they too can consider Corolla, Elantra as an option

[volkman10]

Volkswagen will be very happy with this pricing as they will move in the same direction when the GEN Next Vento (VIRTUS) will be launched.

Toyota Yaris will get its dedicated customers and I will be surprised if it dents the sales of Honda City.

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Thats the job of the official review.

For every other posts in team bhp (even in subsequent posts of an official review), GTO posts as a fellow automobile enthusiast and not as an 'enthusiastic reporter'. Thats been the trend in all the threads till date, irrespective of brands. So he is very well entitled to express his opinion on the pricing of the Yaris as well - and that opinion seems to be similar as that of majority BHPians too.

PS - Infact, enthusiastic reporter sounds rather weird too IMO. Automotive Journalists or similar words might be more appropriate.

I might have messed with the choice of words there. Enthusiast automotive journalist should have been better. My apologies! But i guess, it would be better if we just comment on the pricing objectively and leave it at that. It was a constructive advice from my side, i have high regards for GTO's journalism prowess, and my post had no negative connotations.

[anu007]

Yaris has been launched. News came.

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/toyota-ya...5-lakh-1842517

Price starts from 8.75 lakh and goes up to 14.07 lakh. Considering that only petrol variants are available, price seems to be on the higher side to compete with the likes of Verna and Ciaz.

[MaheshY1]

This is S-Cross all over again. It was entering a jam packed segment full of competent products with a high sticker price.

At least the s cross had the 1.6 which deserved all the praises. The Yaris is just plain mediocre with an inflated price tag.

Toyota is running on full steam at the UV plant that makes the Fortuner and the Innova. Their other plant has twice the capacity and less than half the roll out numbers compared to the UV plant. Looks it's going to stay that way for some time.

[PrideRed]

To me its pretty easy pick.
If I need to save big and a hardcore Maruti fan, stop looking elsewhere get Ciaz.
If I am hunting for a entry or mid variant Petrol, pick the Yaris J/G.
If i have the money to get a top spec petrol variant, pick the City ZX
If i need a diesel, get the Verna.
I have not considered Vento/Rapid as majority of the C segment customers will be content with Fantastic Four!