[pranjal1984]

Finally got a demo and test drive of Liva VX. The Toyota people were generous enough to come to my home at 5PM. The Liva VX they brought was a Vermilion Red model. We were impressed with the space especially at the back. The car looked elegant from outside. However the interiors were spartan and felt like a taxi. Toyota has improved and added features on the Liva which includes

-Adjustable head rests on front seats and rear seats
-Height adjustable driver's seat.
-Good quality and comfortable seating.
-Good quality AC although no automatic climate control is present.
-2 DIN audio with USB, bluetooth, aux.
- New style on front bumper.
-Medium sized boot of 251L although I didn't see much difference with the 204L boot of the Swift ZXI.

Parents loved the back seat comfort of the vehicle. We then went for a test drive. The road manners are mature and the suspension absorbed the potholed roads very smoothly. I felt that the vehicle is wider than my Polo which I sold recently. I just want Toyota to make the interiors especially the dashboard area more premium to compete with Swift, i20 and the upcoming Jazz.
All in all Liva is a very practical and low maintenance vehicle as evident from servicing costs and long life of consummables.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by bulletboy76

Thanks coolmel and Kn1ght1941 !

I am almost decided now - It is going to be an Etios Petrol , 'V' variant.
The dealer is offering freebees / discounts to the tune of 25K. Old Santro will fetch me around 110k.

I have received extremely positive feedback from friends, based on their personal experiences too.

Awesome! Utilise the saved money in getting a Michelin XM2 or the Bridgestone AR20s or any better tyres for that matter.

I have a query folks. Is there any way to make the clutch of the diesel variant any lighter? I find it hard enough and becomes a pain in traffic s much so that even when I don't need to take a break, I have to!

Please suggest.

[RavenAvi]

The Sportivo editions of the Etios Liva hatchback have been discontinued by Toyota India due to poor sales' response.

The cars were designed in conjunction with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and also displayed the numerous accessories that customers could pick at the showrooms.

The hatchback hasn’t been doing too well for a while and this probably is the reason why company decided to discontinue these editions. Also, it didn’t work in Toyota’s favour that the petrol version with the bigger engine did not classify as a small car, attracting higher duty and costing lot more than the competition.

Carwale

[saadat1992]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

The Sportivo editions of the Etios Liva hatchback have been discontinued by Toyota India due to poor sales' response.



Carwale

Hatchbacks with huge engines never really sell like their smaller engined counterparts due to two main reasons:
1. Price
2. Efficiency

This is the case with Liva TRD 1.5, Polo 1.6 to name a few.

Alternatively, they could go the Polo way and launch a turbo charged petrol with a much smaller engine! Like Hammond says, "moving with the times".

They can't really cater the hot hatch market with the design cues & the interiors of the Liva cos people tend to look for upmarket interiors when they pay a premium. I'd say, Toyota could do better in this segment by introducing Auris TRD in case they want to cater the hot hatch market where we already have the GT TSi & the Punto Abarth in the pipeline.

[kotirajendra]

Originally Posted by pranjal1984

Finally got a demo and test drive of Liva VX.

How were the other driving characteristics? Power, torque, NVH, gear ratios?

[pranjal1984]

Driving was quite mature . NVH has been reduced than the earlier models. The petrol engine has decent power but will struggle with 5 persons . You should take a test drive yourself since opinions and feedback vary from person to person.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by pranjal1984

Driving was quite mature . NVH has been reduced than the earlier models. The petrol engine has decent power but will struggle with 5 persons . You should take a test drive yourself since opinions and feedback vary from person to person.

The 1.2 L Petrol engine on the Liva is dull to drive. 1.4L Diesel and the 1.5 L Petrol Engine is a delight though.

[vinit.merchant]

With a plan to replace my Palio in the current year and the news of the refreshed Etios siblings around the corner (13th Sept?), decided to test drive the current gen in petrol version.
A call to DSK and an SA promptly calls back. This was a week back. Says has stock of Liva G/V in 3 colors, no problem at that.
3 days back, I call for a test drive. Says is out for new car delivery. Will arrange the next day. No call, no follow up, nothing.

Today I call him up and he arranges a test drive.

Distance between my office and home is ~2 kms.
As I drive towards my house, the guy starts asking me to take a turn. Had to explain that my family also needs to check the car and is not too far. The SA gets reluctant. He already brought the car to my office from his showroom, which was already like 10 kms, I did not understand why he was so finicky about the test drive. I have seen longer test drives offered multiple times by lesser brands.
After my better half checks the car, we head back for my office.

I enquire on the booking etc.
Guy says Liva is in very strong demand and that there is a waiting of 3-4 months. I was shocked at this information, because I remember them hardly managing any numbers and I was interested in the petrol variant.

Anyways, as I was nearing office, I asked him whether he would drop me inside the complex or outside and I walk. Says whats the need for taking it inside.

So I stop the car outside, and start walking. The guy did not even hand me over the brochure and the price list. I had to ask for it after stepping out of the car.

So much for Toyota experience.

Though I liked the car per se, and it meets most of my requirements, I was very disappointed at the way the SA dealt with a potential customer.

Seemed he was least interested in selling the car. After the way he treated me, I wonder why he even bothered to give me a test drive in the first place.

Thankfully, there are two dealers in Pune for Toyota and if I decide to go ahead with it, I will check out how the other dealer treats its customers and decide.

[srinivasmhn]

Yes , looks like the focus is only on Innova & Fortuner. Had got 40K service done few weeks back from Ravindu Toyota Bangalore and until now did not get the follow-up call on the service and feedback.
Last time had given less rating of 8 (scale of 10) due to few issues. Had reported that wiper water dispenser is not working and has asked them to check it out. After some 4 hrs service adviser called mentioned that plastic container has a crack and need to be replaced and I had agreed for it. Later in the evening they mentioned that it was only connecting pipe was broken. Delayed the car delivery by almost 3 hrs, had left the car for servicing at 8 AM and got it back around 7 PM. After few days later checking the engine bay and see the coolant is near low mark so had average feedback

[aamateen46]

Surprised to know such behaviour from Toyota. In Hyderabad, Harsha Toyota continues to provide excellent service and attention. Experienced it in July during one if the routine servicing of my Liva.
The warm reception with tea/coffee, documenting feedback, proper servicing of my car without any hassles are all still there.
Must be specific to the dealer is guess.

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by pranjal1984

Finally got a demo and test drive of Liva VX.

-Medium sized boot of 251L although I didn't see much difference with the 204L boot of the Swift ZXI.

How can the boot of the Liva be 50 liters smaller than the Kwid? Are your figures wrong or is my figures about the Kwid wrong?

[amalji]

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

How can the boot of the Liva be 50 liters smaller than the Kwid? Are your figures wrong or is my figures about the Kwid wrong?

Both are not wrong. The kwid's boot size is second only to Honda jazz!
And in a crash test Liva's structure remains stable with a 4 star safety rating while the kwid scores a zero. That's where the basic structural difference is.

[subratasenn]

@Vinit, I am really surprised by your test drive experience. Normally Toyota service is fabulous.

[saadat1992]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

With a plan to replace my Palio in the current year and the news of the refreshed Etios siblings around the corner (13th Sept?), decided to test drive the current gen in petrol version.
A call to DSK and an SA promptly calls back. This was a week back. Says has stock of Liva G/V in 3 colors, no problem at that.
3 days back, I call for a test drive. Says is out for new car delivery. Will arrange the next day. No call, no follow up, nothing.

Today I call him up and he arranges a test drive.

Distance between my office and home is ~2 kms.
As I drive towards my house, the guy starts asking me to take a turn. Had to explain that my family also needs to check the car and is not too far. The SA gets reluctant. He already brought the car to my office from his showroom, which was already like 10 kms, I did not understand why he was so finicky about the test drive. I have seen longer test drives offered multiple times by lesser brands.
After my better half checks the car, we head back for my office.

I enquire on the booking etc.
Guy says Liva is in very strong demand and that there is a waiting of 3-4 months. I was shocked at this information, because I remember them hardly managing any numbers and I was interested in the petrol variant.

Anyways, as I was nearing office, I asked him whether he would drop me inside the complex or outside and I walk. Says whats the need for taking it inside.

So I stop the car outside, and start walking. The guy did not even hand me over the brochure and the price list. I had to ask for it after stepping out of the car.

So much for Toyota experience.

Though I liked the car per se, and it meets most of my requirements, I was very disappointed at the way the SA dealt with a potential customer.

Seemed he was least interested in selling the car. After the way he treated me, I wonder why he even bothered to give me a test drive in the first place.

Thankfully, there are two dealers in Pune for Toyota and if I decide to go ahead with it, I will check out how the other dealer treats its customers and decide.

That's so not Toyota!
Reminds me of my experience at Jubliant Nissan, here in Chennai! Never even bothered to explain to me about the car.

Really sad seeing that you had to deal with a bad dealer , or at least a bad SA. I highly recommend that you switch your choice of dealer. The Toyota dealers here (Lanson & Harsha) are really courteous and are customer centric. I've never faced issues with my dealer, Harsha Toyota. Right from the cup of coffee offered when you're waiting for your estimates to the security guy collecting the gate pass, every thing is nice about them. That's what I have heard from other BHPians and Toyota owners alike.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

A call to DSK and an SA promptly calls back. This was a week back.

I am surprised to hear about such an experience from DSK Toyota. My experience has been nothing less than fantastic with them. I suggest you mail/call them and narrate your experience. I am sure they will take the required action to your level of satisfaction.

Asit