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Old 23rd April 2012, 14:29   #196
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

I am using 185/65 instead of 175/65, which means 5mm more GC
Liva VX also uses this tire size. So I do not think its the tires, and you have confirmed this. Big headache lifted of my head.

That said, what about the reverse gear. Is it notchy as compared to other gears.
In the liva, all gears are "click into place", while reverse is more like the gears of other cars I have driven (Micra, Ritz etc.,)
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Old 23rd April 2012, 14:34   #197
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
I am using 185/65 instead of 175/65, which means 5mm more GC
Liva VX also uses this tire size. So I do not think its the tires, and you have confirmed this. Big headache lifted of my head.

That said, what about the reverse gear. Is it notchy as compared to other gears.
In the liva, all gears are "click into place", while reverse is more like the gears of other cars I have driven (Micra, Ritz etc.,)
yeah, it's not the tyres in our case.
The reverse has a different feel compared to the other gears. It doesn't click into place like the other gears.
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Old 23rd April 2012, 17:13   #198
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
I am using 185/65 instead of 175/65, which means 5mm more GC
Liva VX also uses this tire size. So I do not think its the tires, and you have confirmed this. Big headache lifted of my head.

That said, what about the reverse gear. Is it notchy as compared to other gears.
In the liva, all gears are "click into place", while reverse is more like the gears of other cars I have driven (Micra, Ritz etc.,)
The suspension noise is more to do with the abrupt rebound of the dampers in the front suspension. I did this test on quite a few sharp humps and bumps on the road. It does sound weird as if the suspension gave away. Try driving slow over these, you wont hear the noise at all.

Checked with the SA as well, he took me on a test drive with another Eitos and Liva where the noise was replicated by going fast and when driven slow it was perfectly normal.

The reverse gear is sometime difficult to engage. When you face this issue, get back to neutral, let go of the clutch. Press the clutch again completely and try engaging the reverse gear it slots in much easier. SA told me that with higher engine rpm it gets difficult to slot the reverse gear and its a safety thing (which I did not buy). Though the solution he gave of letting go of the clutch and getting back to neutral. Pressing the clutch again completely and engaging the reverse gear has worked for me.

By the way even I have 185/65 R14 tyres (Michelin XM1+). Which ones do you have?
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Old 23rd April 2012, 17:18   #199
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by nkrishnap View Post
The suspension noise is more to do with the abrupt rebound of the dampers in the front suspension. I did this test on quite a few sharp humps and bumps on the road. It does sound weird as if the suspension gave away. Try driving slow over these, you wont hear the noise at all.

Checked with the SA as well, he took me on a test drive with another Eitos and Liva where the noise was replicated by going fast and when driven slow it was perfectly normal.

The reverse gear is sometime difficult to engage. When you face this issue, get back to neutral, let go of the clutch. Press the clutch again completely and try engaging the reverse gear it slots in much easier. SA told me that with higher engine rpm it gets difficult to slot the reverse gear and its a safety thing (which I did not buy). Though the solution he gave of letting go of the clutch and getting back to neutral. Pressing the clutch again completely and engaging the reverse gear has worked for me.

By the way even I have 185/65 R14 tyres (Michelin XM1+). Which ones do you have?
I got very slowly over bumps, but sometimes, its not avoidable.
I have apollo acellers in the same size.

As for reverse, I never rev while engaging reverse. It does not jam. Its just that, its a bit notchy.
good to know its a feature, and not a bug.
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Old 23rd April 2012, 20:10   #200
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post

As for reverse, I never rev while engaging reverse. It does not jam. Its just that, its a bit notchy.
good to know its a feature, and not a bug.
I agree to both of you, the reverse gear is a bit notchy indeed at times.
At times it would not fit in completely, and i would need to try a couple of times, to get the gear in place.
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Old 24th April 2012, 08:39   #201
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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I agree to both of you, the reverse gear is a bit notchy indeed at times.
At times it would not fit in completely, and i would need to try a couple of times, to get the gear in place.
If you follow the method I mentioned about getting the gear back to neutral and letting go of the clutch. Then again press the clutch pedal completely and then engage the reverse gear. It works, please try and let me know.

It was surprising to me as well, but now most of the times I use this method to engage reverse when the reverse gear does not engage the first time.
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Old 15th May 2012, 14:28   #202
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

Took the TD of the Liva. Im impressed with this car. Of course the car lacks the aesthetics and refinement of the Swift diesel but it has lot of practicality going for it. We were 5 people, 2 from the dealership and 3 including myself from my office, and the car could swallow us without causing much discomfort to us. The engine was peppy with this full load and driving in the city was a pleasure which is where this car will spend 90% of its life if bought. Driving position was good, but front seat lacks a bit of lower back support, Swift is clearly better in this regard. But otherwise this car is good, very practical and quite boring. But with ABS+EBD, which i think highly of, and 22k less than the Swift VDi i guess this car provides value. I'm more impressed with this car than the Swift even though it looks a lot lot better inside and out and has a more powerful engine.
  • The engine note reminds me of the Qualis.
  • Suspension and road noise filters through.
  • Sitting in the drivers seat of this car feels like i'm sitting in my office chair with my work desk in front.
  • This is the Jeep of the hatchback world, feels very utilitarian and honest with an engine note that reminds me of a Diesel MUV.
  • Ride and handling feels sorted enough, not sporty but stable.
  • Front seat support could've been better.
  • I didn't feel cocooned, which is good.
  • I think i'm getting old.
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Old 15th May 2012, 15:33   #203
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Took the TD of the Liva. Im impressed with this car.
I would suggest you to compare this with Ritz and Figo than Swift as the both resides at the similar price line as of Live. If you do so then you will identify what is missing in Liva.
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Old 15th May 2012, 16:21   #204
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Took the TD of the Liva. Im impressed with this car. with ABS+EBD, which i think highly of, and 22k less than the Swift VDi I'm more impressed with this car than the Swift
A friend of mine who bought Liva diesel in March, is very happy with the car. He needed a practical car for family, Swift was his first choice but long waiting periods & news of price hike pre-budget, pushed him into buying Liva. I had booked the car with him but later changed my mind on cars arrival at dealership. Lack of Tacho. & very utilitarian interiors coupled with extensive cost-cutting, held me back.

Apart from this the car is a practical choice with good Ride & Handling & Toyota backing. ABS sure is a big plus. I was earlier looking for hatch but now I've thought of stepping up to sedan range. Will be trying out Etios in higher variants which have Tacho, etc. as standard.

Do keep an ear out for noises from the body & suspension.
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Old 15th May 2012, 16:30   #205
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

All Toyota need to do is launch the V-D and VX-D variant of the Liva. It's a very practical car and with the goodies it will increase sales substantially.

The 2 main reasons why people reject the Liva are lack of high end variants and cheap quality interiors. They can easily fix the 1st drawback by getting the V and VX diesel trims since these are already available with the Petrol!
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Old 15th May 2012, 17:26   #206
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post
All Toyota need to do is launch the V-D and VX-D variant of the Liva. It's a very practical car and with the goodies it will increase sales substantially.

The 2 main reasons why people reject the Liva are lack of high end variants and cheap quality interiors. They can easily fix the 1st drawback by getting the V and VX diesel trims since these are already available with the Petrol!
Very true.

I had a TD of the Diesel G_D and was not impressed with the quality and features offered. The quality of the interiors are very bad and did not feel like a Toyota. I feel Toyota should leave a thing or two from Hyundai on how to offer good interiors without hiking the price.
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Old 15th May 2012, 17:34   #207
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by rnidumolu View Post
I would suggest you to compare this with Ritz and Figo than Swift as the both resides at the similar price line as of Live. If you do so then you will identify what is missing in Liva.
I'm comparing this with Swift as i'm dilly dallying between Swift and Liva in the Diesel segment. Figo, Ritz, Micra, Punto etc are not in consideration due to various reasons.

Ritz is a tallboy hatch and its wheelbase is the same as that of my AStar even though the width is more. So i want the next car purchase to be slightly larger, either for sportiness or for practicality, which the Swift and Liva undertakes respectively.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWD View Post
Apart from this the car is a practical choice with good Ride & Handling & Toyota backing. ABS sure is a big plus.

Do keep an ear out for noises from the body & suspension.
This exactly is the reason why i shortlisted Liva. Toyota backing and maintenance costs, which is supposedly in the range of Maruti.

The test drive car did have its share of suspension noises, it was on the higher side.
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Old 16th May 2012, 10:52   #208
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Sankar View Post
  • Front seat support could've been better.
Your observation is correct. However, seat covers with some extra padding fix this issue. Almost all seat cover installers have left over foam, which they happily give away for free.
You can look at my detailed review.
Points to note
1. Suspension is noisy. Some stopper mechanism in front suspension makes scary noises
2. Ditto for rear. When going over undulations on highway, you hear a metal tearing sort of sound(sometimes).

Other owners have also reported this.
So the car is fairly agricultural. If ritz had space, it would be a far better car, but since it does not... It loses out.
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Old 16th May 2012, 11:07   #209
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
Your observation is correct. However, seat covers with some extra padding fix this issue. Almost all seat cover installers have left over foam, which they happily give away for free.
You can look at my detailed review.
Points to note
1. Suspension is noisy. Some stopper mechanism in front suspension makes scary noises
2. Ditto for rear. When going over undulations on highway, you hear a metal tearing sort of sound(sometimes).

Other owners have also reported this.
So the car is fairly agricultural. If ritz had space, it would be a far better car, but since it does not... It loses out.
I went through your unbiased ownership report before i shortlisted the Liva, it was interesting to read and it helped a lot!. From your review i knew what to expect from this car and expectations were set as such.

I was telling my colleagues that if this is the car which ends up with me then i will have to get the front seats redone for better support or better get the whole interior re-done by Stanley or Karlsson to put some excitement into the cabin. I'm okay with the rough engine sound kinda adds some character to the car, suspension sound is not it feels like something is gonna fall off.

If the Ritz had a wheelbase similar to that of the new Swift or the Liva then it would've been on the list up top.
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Old 16th May 2012, 12:25   #210
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Re: Toyota Liva Diesel : Test Drive & Review

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I'm okay with the rough engine sound kinda adds some character to the car, suspension sound is not it feels like something is gonna fall off..
LOL. Even I have come to like the engine sound. It sounds so much like a nice tractor. Many times, I accelerate just to hear that engine note.
I was wondering that whether its something wrong with me, that I am actually finding the engine note musical. Looks like I am not the only weird one here

Last edited by Vid6639 : 16th May 2012 at 15:27. Reason: closing quote braces. :-)
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