[akhilesh]

Originally Posted by vid6639

We're comparing against cars falling in the same segment. If you compare weight wise you can't compare any 2 cars in that case. Lower weight is achieved not only by thinner sheet metal but many other factors. A light weight engine, seats, insulation, plastic moulding and lots of other stuff.

Well I can favorably compare Swift, Polo, Punto and i20. Can't I?
Putting into perspective again, Etios is just 40 kgs heavier than WagonR inspite of being much bigger in size and having a much larger engine. The 1.0 K Series engine in Maruti is one of the lightest around.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by VeluM

So much for it being “World’s First, India’s First”. Looks horrible, like a mash between a Corolla and a Logan.

I thought the outside was pretty ugly, and then I saw the pic of the dashboard. Good grief!

1. Single Wiper - I can't say about others, but that's cost cutting a lil too much. It doesn't even have the benefit of looking good like the Merc's does, and I'm sure it wouldn't wipe 88% of the windscreen, as claimed by Mercedes
2. Looks Ugly. In fact, fugly
3. Under tyred, or too big wheel wells
4. Incredibly horrible looking centre console. Yes there are a few good bits like the steering wheel, but if they were doing a centre console, then at least make it look good? Also, the competition doesn't have a centre console, not even the Manza
5. Thin seats to make good rear leg room. Not sure if the bolstering is good, but will they hold up over time? Can't say, but the buyer can't keep a car for five years and then decide - purely speculative point in the decision making process
6. Super light-weight => thin sheet metal => light brushes will dent the metal. Also, safety wise a heavier car will fare better in a collision between two cars. I'm not impressed that most hatchbacks are the same weight. But not sure if this will be a factor for most buyers [/quote]

Velu, You are spot on.

I ain't a toyota naysayer but that single wiper thing is too much from Toyota. If i were an insurance company guy i might double my insurance premium on the thin sheet metal thing.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

On one hand when a Tata Motors does this kind of thing it is called "Value engineering" and "engineered to meet a cost target".

When toyota does it is called "compromising"

why?

Since when did the toyota mindset changed from "Built to Last" to "Built to cost"

Now that you have brought on the Tata-Toyota Comparison I have just this to say- -- Launching Etios on the day when a similar "built to cost" approach car's sales tanked by almost 90%(Nano). It Doesn't Augur so well for toyota now.

[kapilvgupta]

Firstly I am not a Toyota fanboy but respect their way of engineering. They may not make awesome looking/performing cars but their products are reliable and get the work done.

There has been quite some talk about a single blade wiper sytem that the Etios uses. This should not be perceived as a safety concern coz some Mercedes models in the past have also used a single blade wiper system and moreover ARAI has a very specific test for the wiper system and I know for sure that no car can be sold in India untill it clears this or an equivalent test. (Ammendment No.1 to AIS-011/2001)
This test clearly defines the requirements of a Wiping System in terms of cycles per minutes, wiped area etc..

peace,
~kg

[theMAG]

Jaggu,

Good coverage. I am sure you would have utilized the Jayamahal Palace restaurant after this !

Originally Posted by ajmat

Etios reminds me of the OHC + Logan concept combined - small light, cheap to manufacture

I was about to say that too. Toyota have been able to provide lean vehicles for the Indian market with remarkable success.

Originally Posted by ajmat

It will sell and have appeal to the majority and those willing to pay a little more for less hassle compared to an Indigo

It sure will sell. A Toyota for that price range = sayonara Maruti/Tata/Logan/Hyundai

[bharatbs]

Originally Posted by rajdoll

Even I'm wondering about people going ga-ga over Toyota's quality and reliability. Do they have such short lived memory that they have forgotten about Number of recalls Toyota did recently for kind of quality problems their products had across the board, the no. of lawsuits which they still have to negotiate etc? I feel, in today's world, every new product irrespective of the company, has to prove itself in real world and past performance can only help to certain extent. As they say in mutual fund industry, past performance can not gaurantee future performance.
So I'll not give much importance to quality/reliabilty and place toyota at the same scale as its competitors and will wait for the product to prove, as it is their first venture into mass market, where issues are completely different from the niche/luxury market. In terms of product, I liked the pricing but looking at the interior design, plastic quality (old Indica like) and the horrible back, I feel it deserves to be at that price. I feel Manza has much better road presence and interiors are much better in both Dezire/Manza either design or feel. Toyota badge would have given it an edge but last 18 months have really pulled them down and badge does not exude as much confidence/aspiration as before. Even they have to prove *** for mass market, which is not an easy task.
Overall I'll say just another budget car without any excitement.

If that is the case no single TATA passenger vehicle should be on the road. No seriously

Japanese companies are typically highly quality conscious. On the contrary the fact that they recalled the cars voluntarily shows to what extent they go to ensure that their cars are reliable and safe for consumers on the road.

[rajdoll]

Originally Posted by bharatbs

If that is the case no single TATA passenger vehicle should be on the road. No seriously

Japanese companies are typically highly quality conscious. On the contrary the fact that they recalled the cars voluntarily shows to what extent they go to ensure that their cars are reliable and safe for consumers on the road.

Well, let's not get into that argument of recall, as we have enough opinions on the forum about that, specially in Nano fire thread. But just would like to clarify that recalls were made for some life threatening faults and not for some pesky issues, and I guess even some casualties happened too, though not sure. Anyway my point is, ignore past, as it is good as well as bad and let this new product perform and then come to conclusion about certain traits.

[xingamazon]

One good thing about the Etios that I would appreciate!!!

For sure this cost cutting would have been achived only be reusing the old body presses and old platform.

But Toyota has managed to camouflage the car in such an extent that no one, not even auto experts are able to find which earlier model platform is being reused..

[Seagull76]

Videos Posted by A.R. Rahman: Dec 1, 2010 6:17am | Facebook

source : facebook

[foby.sebastian]

Yeah , the Etios is ready , now the people thinking in multiple dimensions of cost cutting will think of fitting a LPG / CNG kit on it to nullyfy the running cost , how feasible is the engine to this kind of experiments ? Gurus please throw in some light(I have seen CRV and vitara running on LPG)

I know a person who took a new ford ikon when it was launched and fitted a BRC LPG kit and it was a failure ending up in great mess for a new car.

Now the petrol version is ready and when will the CNG/LPG turns up ? any notifications by TKM ?

[Jaggu]

No other engine option was mentioned during launch. Only environment friendly process they followed including water based paints. Fitting a LPG kit should not be an issue, if you can source the right unit for this EFI engine.

[Mpower]

I hear no mention of VVT so its safe to assume there is none. First of its kind because quite a few years ago Toyota had announced that each and every single car in their fleet would use VVT down to the cheapest Aygo 1.0

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Yeah , the Etios is ready , now the people thinking in multiple dimensions of cost cutting will think of fitting a LPG / CNG kit on it to nullyfy the running cost , how feasible is the engine to this kind of experiments ? Gurus please throw in some light(I have seen CRV and vitara running on LPG)

Now the petrol version is ready and when will the CNG/LPG turns up ? any notifications by TKM ?

Its really no different from any other car. The kit manufacturer needs to work out the fitment, ECU communication and tuning.

[hemantwaghe]

One of my Auto Enthu friend ( Ex owner of Qualis) said "ARE THEY GOING TO GIVE TEST DRIVE POST JAN 1 ,2011?" What is first lot is overbooked?

Btw he is extreamly upbeat as he saw the value he got for his qualis which clocked 150000 KMs!!!


What do you think???

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by hemantwaghe

Btw he is extreamly upbeat as he saw the value he got for his qualis which clocked 150000 KMs!!!

You could show him the resale prices for pre-Altis Corollas. Qualis seems to be quite an exception, and prices are almost increasing with age. However, that is not the case with every Toyota.

Looks like the lower variant is gunning for the taxi market, and such an image will hurt the resale value of a sedan.

[Crank]

When I looked this in the Toyota web page it looked better. But here, when I look at it in these pictures it looks very much low market. Is it a Toyota? I doubt it.
The fit and finish is not up to mark. The seats look too bad IMHO. Overall I was disappointed. Loganish as well.

If it is made for India, does it mean that they have to compromise on quality. That's pretty bad.

[cyqed]

This car is not appealing at all. It looks like Toyota designers ripped off logans design. Dashboard looks very horrible. This is a display of incompetence. Totally unacceptable.