Hello BHPians!
I got my Liva Diesel delivered yesterday.
It's a long story on how i ended up buying the Liva.
HOW IT STARTED
We have a 2004 Santro Xing with 40k Kms on the odo, all was well until last September when the car started giving problems. The car returned a mere 8-9kmpl in the city. With the rising petrol prices, it got us worried. The problem was with the clutch! , the whole clutch assembly was changed, the engine was tuned for mileage and yet made not difference. We still got around 9 kmpl.
Things got even worse, the Air con failed , whenever we switch on the air con, the speed would drop rapidly. One of the rear doors' child lock system got jammed and could not be opened from inside. The engine showed signs of aging, it felt strained when revved hard while overtaking.
So, we decided it was time to get a new car as our poor old Xing was already running out of breathe!
The i10
It was in march when my dad himself was interested in trying out new vehicles. So, we decided to check out the Santro's younger sibling, the Hyundai i10. Dad and I drove down to KUN Hyundai in Anna nagar to check out the New i10.
Dad was very much impressed with the i10's styling, it was fresh and very much futuristic. So, we decided to take it for a test drive. None of the test drive vehicles were available so, they asked us to test drive an i10 that had come for service :Shockked: .
Both me and dad tried the i10. The steering was super light and the throttle response was really good. Dad liked the Gear shift indicator and the super slick gear shifts. But, the thing was the SPACE! Nothing compared to the Santro's space and Legroom. I'm 6 feet tall and i didn't like my knee brushing the center console all the time and moreover , i10 was bit narrow than the Xing. So,
i10 - RULED OUT RITZ and SWIFT
In the month of may, we visited the Popular Maruti showroom in Anna nagar. We first saw the new Swift, it looked stunning and had excellent interiors compared to any other Maruti ( Leave alone the SX4 ). The driving dynamics were really good but lacked space! We are a family of four and we travel a lot so, space was a major concern. Space was the biggest let down in the swift. We never really gave a look at the Dzire because of it's Aftermarket like Boot!.
Then we checked out the Ritz, surprisingly, the Ritz too was a bit cramped. The quality of the plastics were not as good as the Hyundais. The boot was small and yet again the center console kept hitting my knee like the i10.
As a result,
Swift and Ritz - RULED OUT Honda CITY & Honda JAZZ
Dad always had an eye on the Honda City, he loved the City's looks and the outright performance! The new City was much more appealing compared to the old one. It has a presence/appeal that even the Corolla lacked ( well , that's according to me). The interiors were top notch. The seats , the steering , the dash, everything felt so premium and a class above!
But the major problem was with the City's length and maintenance.
The City wouldn't fit in my compound and we were not willing to buy it and park it on the road either. Many friends of mine who own a city warned me about the servicing costs and mileage. So , it was clear the City was definitely not our Car.
On the other end of the Sundaram Honda Showroom in Mount road was the Honda Jazz. It was very, very spacious and had upmarket interiors. With Honda's recent aggressive pricing, the Jazz was just irresistible! But then, i heard from people having the Jazz about the problems they faced with the car and yes, the Jazz too wasn't our car!
So,
City and Jazz - RULED OUT
SKODA RAPID & NISSAN SUNNY
It was a dull Sunday afternoon when we visited Gurudev Motors in poonamallee high road to check out the Skoda Rapid. The Rapid was absolutely stunning. The car had very good seats, the doors shut with a good THUD. It was much better than the City in terms of quality. The 1.6lt powerhouse under the hood is a bomb of an engine! Blistering performance, had a blast driving it on the empty stretch of poonamallee high road.
The Rapid Active was priced competitively at Rs.8,06,000 OTR Chennai.
But then, the Skoda sales rep suggested that we go in for the Rapid Diesel which was almost 1.5 lakhs more than the petrol. But, Skoda's scary A.$.$ and maintenance costs were good enough to scare us out of the showroom.
Then, we visited the Jubliant Nissan showroom in Egmore to check out the Sunny. The Sunny wasn't so good looking, but the rear leg room was just amazing!. The Sunny base model ( XE i suppose) had absolutely nothing to offer. No rear air vents, no power windows even in the front and bland black interiors!. But the real thing that ruled out the Sunny was the very pathetic Nissan's service network!
Thus, the
Rapid and Sunny - RULED OUT TOYOTA ETIOS
It was in June when dad saw an advertisement from toyota in the newspaper. It was for the Etios. Toyotas are always close to his heart, he was in Muscat for 10 years during which he owned a Camry and a Toyota Yaris. He absolutely loved the Brand, well Toyota's one of the most preferred brands in the Middle east.
We went and saw Etios at Lanson Toyota in Koyambedu. All of us loved the Etios. The ample leg room, the seats and the ENORMOUS boot!.
We even had a look at the Liva , but we were more interested in the Etios.
The Etios G was priced at Rs.6,20,000 . Both mom and dad were ok with the price.
Then we rang up Harsha Toyota to ask them about their pricing. Surprisingly , they offered it 5000 bucks cheaper.
The next day, we drove down all the way to Harsha Toyota which is in Bangalore highway ( 15 kms from my place). The staff were very courteous and welcoming. Dad and I saw the cars on display, but the Etios G came with no equipment, we wanted the V but the V variant was priced at 8 lakhs OTR, we weren't willing to spend 8 lakhs on a car like Etios.
Then came the real deal. The Rep at Harsha toyota told us that they have a 2011 Etios V in stock and they can offer it for Rs.6,75,000. That sounded interesting and irresistible as well. We gave many thoughts on whether we should buy it or not.
After days of argument and altercations, it was decided that we will go in for the 2011 Etios V. We went and personally inspected the car, it was in top condition. We payed the booking amount and the deal was struck.
TWIST IN THE TALE
Everything went on well. Mom decided to keep the Santro so, we made the payments instead of exchanging the car. The loan got sanctioned. Everything was going fine. We went to Toyota on 14th July(Saturday) to pay the balance amounts and to select the accessories ( Toyota had given us Rs.10,500 worth accessories ). They said that the car would go for registration on Monday and would be ready for delivery on wednesday.
It was 16th of July (Monday), we got a call from Harsha Toyota around 10am saying that rats had infested the electricals in the car when it was parked in the garage. So, Harsha Toyota asked if we want to go in for the 2012 Etios V instead.
I some how convinced dad that we go in for the Liva Diesel, i even showed him the ownership reports and the Test Drive reports on Team-BHP ,which worked! He agreed to get the Liva diesel instead.
The next day, Mom and dad visited Harsha toyota to finalize the deal. Toyota gave us a discount on the Liva diesel. It comes around Rs6,90,000. They gave it to us for Rs.6,75,000 , the same amount we payed for the Etios V. They even offered free accessories and stuff for the Liva and they promised to deliver the car the very next day.
FINALLY - DAY OF DELIVERY - MY WHITE KNIGHT
It was 18th of July, i was in college when i got a text from dad saying that the car got registered and we would but getting it in the evening! I was overjoyed!. It was a sweet sight, my car was standing inside the showroom. It was all polished and was sparkling in the showroom's lighting! Toyota gave us a Sony Xplod music system as a gift ,which was the icing on the Cake! clap:
The sales rep from Toyota gave us the Toyota LIVA bag and then took us to the car and explained the various features and other stuff. I thoroughly inspected the car for any scratches or dents. The Sales manager handed over the keys to my dad in a traditional way ( with betel nuts,leaves and banana). We sat in the car and dad cranked up the engine, all the staffs from Harsha Toyota stood beside the car , were clapping and sent us off. Well, that truly was a special moment, never had such an experience with Hyundai and Maruti. Toyota really stand apart! Toyota are the best!
Here are some of the pictures that i snapped during the delivery!
Harsha Toyota rep Mr.Kishok explaining the features to my dad 
Liva's rear 3 quarter view 
Ready for delivery! 
The Liva's rear looks better than the Etios' rear! 
|-----INITIAL OWNERSHIP-----|
It's been only a few days, I find the Liva to be very comfortable compared to my Santro Xing. Though i find it not as peppy as my Santro ,primarily because it's a diesel. Liva has better road manners compared to the Santro & the suspension is far,far better than the Santro's!. The Santro sends in even the smallest of jerks, all the vibrations and shocks are sent straight to the occupant's spine! The Liva on the other hand has a better suspension and absorbs all the potholes and broken roads with ease!
Well, it's been 4 days & the Odo reads 136Kms. Filled up 40 Litres of diesel yesterday and drove a good 65kms, the fuel meter shows all the bars! Really happy about it.
Here are some of the Pros & Cons of The Liva Diesel,
PROS
- Very good engine, the D-4D unit of the Liva is the same one you find in the Altis diesel.
- Crisp & smooth gear shifts, it's a breeze to drive in the city.
- Very little turbo lag, has abundant torque and has good acceleration ( but nothing beats the Figo diesel in the 2nd gear acceleration)
- The car is well built. Yes, there are panel gaps in the exterior but they are consistent.
- Its quite wide for a hatchback, as a result, you get amazing space on the inside.
- The Clutch is super light & has short travel.
- The EPS is also very light. It's light in the city & weighs up as you build speed in the highways.
- The brakes are best in class. The Diesel Liva comes with ABS & EBD as standard. They are precise and offer sharp braking. One must be careful not to slam the brakes in the city as two wheelers or auto rickshaws may rear end you.
- The Air Con is very powerful. Even when it's set in position 1, the whole car gets freezing in about 5 minutes.
- The boot has an amazing capacity of 251 litres, can swallow up medium size suitcases & bags.
- Now, coming to the best part. The Leg room is just amazing! Both front & rear legroom are fantastic.
- Rear seat can fit 3 well built adults easily, it can also fit 4 medium sized adults.
- The absence of the transmission tunnel hump makes it easy for the middle occupant to sit comfortably.
- The seats may look wafer thing , but they are really comfortable. They are very soft and the rear passengers wont complain during highway runs!
- The headlights are well designed & the beam spread is excellent.
- Single wiper does the job, but not sure whether it can withstand very heavy downpours.
CONS- The engine gets quite noisy when revved, it does not like to be revved.
- There is literally no power delivery in the first gear, no point in revving the engine. Shift up to 2nd and you can feel the car moving.
- There's leakage in the air con below the glove box. Took the car to the service center and addressed the issue, they said that it's common in Etios cars. They even showed us that there's leakage in other Etios vehicles as well! SHOCKING!
- The damping materials are of no use, the diesel clatter manages to filter through into the cabin.
- The plastics are hard to touch, the steering may feel light but the plastic is very hard to hold!
- The black interiors are dull & boring.
- No one touch auto-down for the power windows!
- The centrally mounted instrument cluster is not so good, no rev counter either.
- No dead pedal -Even my Santro has a dead pedal!. Dead pedal will be missed badly during those long highway runs.
- Single reverse light! Only the one on the right works, the left one is a dummy!
Overall, the Toyota Liva Diesel is a very good car. It does have few negatives but they are overshadowed by the positives & the TOYOTA badge! This is one of the best diesel cars you can get for less than 7 lakhs!
The car is small in dimensions , big on space , has a powerful & a fuel efficient engine and above all has a T badge! . If you want a diesel Toyota at an affordable price, then The Liva diesel is your car!Congratulations Saadat.
This is one VFM car in today's scenario. You really made a good deal by getting Sony music system free.
You mentioned about some problems faced by Jazz owners... can you name few of these for other fellows benefits? appreciate.
enjoy LIVA.
Your free music system with Diesel car may be the result as per below article:
CARMAKERS CASHING IN ON MARUTI HALT, OFFER FREEBIES
Financial Chronicle
Sensing a rare opportunity to invade Maruti Suzuki’s territory, rivals automobile makers have started making fresh offers to wean away potential buyers of diesel cars like Swift and Dzire. They are all set to cash in on longer waiting period for these cars as Maruti Suzuki announced an indefinite production halt at its Manesar factory. Carmakers like Ford, Toyota, Fiat and VW, which hardly offered any discounts or freebies on diesel cars, are now upping the ante for a slice of the Swift and Dzire pie.
wrd.mydigitalfc.com/news/carmakers-cashing-maruti-halt-offer-freebies-769
Congratulations Saadat. The car looks quite neat, cute and simple in white. Liva is indeed a great choice in todays automobile market. And the free sony xplod system makes it more greater. :D
Congratulations once again. Take care and Drive safe.
Indeed, Toyota must be planning to market the Etios to the Europe where the regulations mandate multiple airbags, ABS, TC & ESP! However, I guess they dont find the lives of Asians precious. The same applies to Skoda Fabia.
saadat1992, I have booked a white Liva GD-SP at Lanson . They have quoted me an onroad price of 7.00 L . Who is your sales rep at harsha ? can you give me his number?
Ram
Congrats saadat :) Good to see that Toyota is offering ABS and EBD as standard in the diesel variant.How is the ride quality and handling when compared with santro?
