[mercedised]

@amalji:

By the space between the front 2 seats (handbrake) I meant that, the plastic looks cheap (indeed very much!), and the finish on the edges (where that plastic cover meets the carpet) is not looking to well.

@avishar:

Thanks.

[t-jet-mahi]

Looks like deliveries have started. Spotted the first ETIOS (Silver color) in Bull Temple road, bangalore. First comments from my wife was that looks are not as bad as i had pointed out to be.

[ani_meher]

Some people had question, as to how the speedometer would look in lower model, where there is no tachometer. While checking out the car, I found its manual tucked in the glove box It was titled 'Etios/Etios Liva', so I hurriedly browsed through it hoping to find some info about Liva, but it was all about Etios alone. Guess the cost cutting extended to cover of owner's manual too!

So, coming back to the speedometer, the versions that don't have the tachometer have the speedo in center of the console, like a rising sun. It fills almost completely the space, but does look a bit odd atleast by the pictures.

[prashanthyr]

One of my friends is in the market for a 7 Lakh rupee mid segment car - your typical Toyota Etios target customer. We did a 'touch and feel' of the Etios at Nandi Toyota on Kanakapura road. Here are our impressions:

Positives:
a. Outside body finish is good - panel gaps are consistent, paint finish is topclass
b. Tires - we saw the VX model and it definitely was wearing proper shoes - you wont need to drive from the showroom to the tire wallah to upgrade. The tires are fine for normal use
c. Interior Space (Front, back, boot) - acres of space. no shortage anywhere
d. Steering wheel feels top class
Negatives:
a. Whole car feels built to a very tight price. Result - A car that feels fragile from the word go - just open a Manza door and a Etios door and you'll know the difference
b. Dashboard - less said about the design. Everything screams CHEAP - from the air vents to the AC switches to the headlight height adjust switches
c. d. The Red touches in the VX model are out of place. Apparently that is the feedback from most customers as well. The salesperson told us that 70% of bookings are for the V version whcih has grey interiors
e. The instrument cluster looks like its from a 1980s video game console. Awful is the word.

Overall: A car I would buy only if I am going by brand value - TOYOTA and need the space. If you dont need the space and are ok with other brands, there are much much better cars out there in the market.

Why other brands, even a 4-5 year old, 60k Km Corolla feels better than a new Etios!

[amalji]

Kochi Toyota showroom says the test drive for this car will start only by mid january! The strong point of this car is the performance and the ride comfort, and they don't want us to try out that. Bad planning!

[tj123]

Seeing quite a lot of Etios bashing, the point we fail to notice is that this car is made as an entry level sedan .Toyota has made all sorts of cost cutting to make it a functional car at the lowest price point without compromising on critical factors like comfort, space, FE and performance. Toyota has well researched what is important for its target customers and a testimony to it is over 20K bookings.

Surely Toyota could have given better plastics but then it would have increased the overall cost of the product hurting its intended customer base. But I agree that interior colour combinations could have been better.

Most of the test drive cars given to journalist were pre production cars hence I hope that we can see some improvements in the overall fit and finish of the car.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by tj123

Seeing quite a lot of Etios bashing, the point we fail to notice is that this car is made as an entry level sedan .Toyota has made all sorts of cost cutting to make it a functional car at the lowest price point without compromising on critical factors like comfort, space, FE and performance. Toyota has well researched what is important for its target customers and a testimony to it is over 20K bookings.

Surely Toyota could have given better plastics but then it would have increased the overall cost of the product hurting its intended customer base. But I agree that interior colour combinations could have been better.

I thought on the same lines before I saw it in person. It screams of cost cutting. If one wants FE, we have Maruti cars, if one can sacrifice FE for quality, there is always to Figo (I am talking about hatches). The Toyota quality is appearent on the outside alone, but certainly not visible on the inside. The grab handles above all the doors inside the cars, they are usually the foldable type, and people pull them downward for using. In Etios, it is fixed, and looks like they have used a door opener type for this job!

If Ford can give great appearent quality at less price, what makes Toyota skimp on these?

[Captain Slow]

I saw a silver Etios with TC plates being driven around brigade road today. The Engine was quite noisy!

[Snazzy]

Saw a silver Etios last evening opposite Garuda Mall. Did not look like a TD vehicle to me. Had normal number plates. Its not a looker but does look decent though.

[PCS]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

I saw a silver Etios with TC plates being driven around brigade road today. The Engine was quite noisy!

I also took a test drive and didn't feel the same about the engine. Can you specify what rpm was it. Etios has an aluminium block similar to Esteem and there was no such issue on Esteem which served us for more than 10 years and in those Esteem days , it was a luxury car.

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

One of my friends is in the market for a 7 Lakh rupee mid segment car - your typical Toyota Etios target customer. We did a 'touch and feel' of the Etios at Nandi Toyota on Kanakapura road. Here are our impressions:

Positives:
a. Outside body finish is good - panel gaps are consistent, paint finish is topclass
b. Tires - we saw the VX model and it definitely was wearing proper shoes - you wont need to drive from the showroom to the tire wallah to upgrade. The tires are fine for normal use
c. Interior Space (Front, back, boot) - acres of space. no shortage anywhere
d. Steering wheel feels top class
Negatives:
a. Whole car feels built to a very tight price. Result - A car that feels fragile from the word go - just open a Manza door and a Etios door and you'll know the difference
b. Dashboard - less said about the design. Everything screams CHEAP - from the air vents to the AC switches to the headlight height adjust switches
c. d. The Red touches in the VX model are out of place. Apparently that is the feedback from most customers as well. The salesperson told us that 70% of bookings are for the V version whcih has grey interiors
e. The instrument cluster looks like its from a 1980s video game console. Awful is the word.

Overall: A car I would buy only if I am going by brand value - TOYOTA and need the space. If you dont need the space and are ok with other brands, there are much much better cars out there in the market.

Why other brands, even a 4-5 year old, 60k Km Corolla feels better than a new Etios!

AGree to you. But this car has everything that this segment customer looks for.
If you would pay a higher price , then prob you would get a better quality higher priced corolla.
Overall, i feel toyota always provides you with something that you cant buy in market as an accessory. for eg Engine Performance, Passenger Comfort, Awesome Fuel efficiency, excellent service network etc.

[tj123]

As per this news Overdrive magazine has selected Etios as the "Car of the Year" CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards 2011 Honours Finest Automobile Champions « Best Media Info, News and Analysis on Indian Advertising, Marketing and Media Industry.

[GTO]

Remember my comment on the Etios' neutral road manners, and how it corners even better than the Altis? Karun Chandhok says (in the latest OD) that he was impressed with the Etios' chassis response, and that it changes direction extremely well.

I'm telling you....the Etios is the best handling Toyota this side of 20 lakh rupees. It's obviously not a vRS, yet the road manners are very balanced.

[vebmetal]

Test drove the Etios (VX) yesterday. We had already booked it, and in a nutshell after test driving we have decided to go ahead with purchasing it (V variant).

Basically here's my summary:

Positives
+ Good peppy engine, smooth ride, fun to drive in general.
+ Good visibility overall in all three RVMs and all windows.
+ Comfortable seats. Driver's seat is better than average in terms of back support.
+ Excellent space for rear passengers.
+ Great boot space.
+ Options for USB & Aux-In for stereo @ ~Rs. 500.
+ Reportedly good mileage.

Negatives
- Interiors tacky in places - poor quality of plastic apparent. Dashboard is pretty ugly.
- No frills at all - not even electric ORVMs.
- Audio system sucks - really sounds bad. Will definitely need speaker replacement if not also the HU.
- Car comes with bridgestones (Turanzas?) - and I hate bridgestones. Will have to negotiate with the dealer if they can provide Michellins (at whatever extra cost of course).
- The two tone red and black upholstery really doesn't fit the car. One of the reasons we decided to go with the V version. But anyway this can be fixed with seat covers.
- Chrome used in the interiors in VX is also tacky.

Misc
: We tried out the single wiper - it surprisingly did a very good job. It was as good for the driver's side as any other car with two wipers (maybe even slightly better?) but for the front passenger it left a small portion towards the top left - but this really shouldn't be an issue for anyone.
: There are no provisions for speakers in the rear doors, but rather in the parcel tray (and not for 6x9s but 6" speakers.
: You can see a list of the accessories at .:Make My Car:. along with prices, and a low-res mock up of what your car would look like.
: According to the salesman the service schedule would be 10,000km / 6 months after the fist 2-3 services.

Conclusion
For our use, this car is a very good match. The car will be 95% of the time be driven by a driver, who is let's say average at best. So the frills would anyway be wasted on him anyway. What is important for us in such a situation is mileage, comfort and reliability, and I think in this regard the Etios scores well (having regard to which segment it is in). If you are looking for a car that looks fantastic, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a car that exudes luxury, look elsewhere. But I think for a large segment of the population this car would be a good fit. If I was driving it myself 95% of the time, I would rather go with a Honda Jazz or some other car that's owner-driven centric. But this is a good driver-driven centric no frills car to get you from point A to point B.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by PCS

Overall, i feel toyota always provides you with something that you cant buy in market as an accessory. for eg Engine Performance, Passenger Comfort, Awesome Fuel efficiency, excellent service network etc.

Exactly. It's a fundamentally good car. And that's more important than compromising on the fundamentals and then giving better looks inside.

[amit.mishra]

Originally Posted by Snazzy

Saw a silver Etios last evening opposite Garuda Mall. Did not look like a TD vehicle to me. Had normal number plates. Its not a looker but does look decent though.

Have the deliveries of Etios started ? Wanted an opinion on a toss-up between the Etios and SX4, I know i am comparing across categories, but somehow I have a feeling that SX4 customers might get pulled into the Etios wave