[GTO]

Originally Posted by vebmetal

Comfortable seats. Driver's seat is better than average in terms of back support.

Didn't that surprise you? I certainly was, after seeing pictures of the thin sides. The front seats surely do the job.

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.

Didn't like the red at the Auto Expo or in the pics...but I didn't have a problem with it in our test car.

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.

Thanks for sharing! Similar observation to ours.

There are no provisions for speakers in the rear doors, but rather in the parcel tray (and not for 6x9s but 6" speakers.

You sure? Refer to the attachments on the 1st page. I don't see any room for rear speakers.

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by amit.mishra

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

Well these are 2 different customers. The Etios is high on fuel efficiency and low on equipment, looks and Presence( light weight 930 kg vs 1200 KG for The SX4).

However the price and the Toyota badge may tempt a few people.

The biggest turn off for most prospective customers will bew the long delivery schedule for the Etios.

[zulfi hansi]

anybody got the real world FE figures for this car as yet?
BTW today in TOI, Maruti cutting length of dzire to under 4 mtrs to counter etios.
(Dzr is 4.16m as of now) So another eCS???

[PCS]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Well these are 2 different customers. The Etios is high on fuel efficiency and low on equipment, looks and Presence( light weight 930 kg vs 1200 KG for The SX4).

However the price and the Toyota badge may tempt a few people.

The biggest turn off for most prospective customers will bew the long delivery schedule for the Etios.

Agree to you these are two different customers. But also look at this way...

There are lot of people who are at manager level and want an affordable sedan say 5-7 lakh bracket with not much of gizmos, in which the family member of 4-5 can travel happily without burning their pockets too....

Hats off to toyota for launching etios.

My only worry with any toyota vehicle is that they have very very long waiting period. it can be either etios/ altis/ innova / fortuner.

Why toyota why ???? Dreamt of owning any one toyota product . but could not due to high price.
Please consider this common man, to own one affordable toyota product without any delay in delivery !!!

[aniketi]

I am really afraid of Etios becoming a Taxi image as Indica. It is affordable & reliable so as spacious. So taxi people will buy it for sure. Same happened with Innova. I know some people who don't buy Innova because it looks like u driving taxi instead of a big vehicle. People don't like there car should have taxi image. Lets see how it goes ...

[sbhasin]

Had gone to Nandi Toyota showroom on Hosur road for some work and used the opportunity to check out the Etios. The G version was on display. Here are my observations:

Pros
1) Great space all around - front sears, rear bench and boot space
2) Back seats are quite decent though the bench looks quite flat. Backrest angle was nice and comfortable
3) Paint quality is awesome. Nothing in the Maruti or Tata staple comes even close to it. In general the exteriors look pretty good esp if you like sharp lines.
4) The interiors look better than in the photos. In photos, they look horrendous, but up close apart from hard plastics, interior quality is quite acceptable
5) Great to hold steering wheel and well placed gear shift

Cons
1) Not much space to the left of the clutch pedal to rest your foot. The footwell is quite narrow
2) Front seats not so great. The integrated headrests don't quite support the neck, the way you would expect. Maybe adding the aftermarket neck support things may help here
4) Limited under thigh suppport

Overall, it is a winner. I see why it will sell like hot cakes!

Note: Test drive car was available

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by gshanky

Great review GTO. (As always )

However, this product is all set to be a huge success and it would be a puzzle how a logan fails whereas Etios succeeds?

That is well said! I believe the Logan offers more VFM than this bare minimum tin can. *


* no I don't own a Logan; only my opinion.

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

Is it insane that I find this car desirable in some quirky way? The car is anything but quirky though.

Clearly, what Toyota dealers will have to work hard on is their attitude towards customers who will certainly not all be as rich as their Fortuner, Corolla buying counterparts.

They must be conscious about the danger of taking their potential Etios buyers less seriously than their Fortuner/Corolla buyers, or being more conscientious.

My recent experience at both Toyota and Nissan dealers indicates that high-handedness remains an issue. When I hinted a potential Corolla purchase instead, the attitude almost took a 180 degree turn in the positive direction.

I had a similar experience at the VW showroom in Hyd. We went after the showroom had closed and had helmets in our hands. The sales guy handed us over a brochure for the Polo even before speaking anything!!

Off topic, I was stopped at SVN Mall's entrance a few months back for probably the same reason that I had a helmet in my hand. I asked him (very pissed off) why he stopped me and he started giving me some vague stupid reasons. I went inside and then found the reason: there was no item for sale for below Rs150 (almost). Is this what has happened to my country?

[Virtualaman]

This is my first post, though I have been avidly following Team BHP since the last month, particularly this thread.

Went to Millennium Toyota (Thane) for a test drive today after having seen the display car a week back. Here's a roundup of the experience:

As I was expecting, the showroom was buzzing with groups of people either waiting for or having just finished with a test drive. Had to wait 15 mins before I could get my hands on the car (Vx variant). Though the salespeson was keen on making me do a pre chartered 5 minutes course, I was more keen on testing out the vehicle properly. Managed a 15 minutes TD with atleast 4 calls fron his boss about the whereabouts of the car.

While a lot has been said in this thread and also in magazines / auto shows on TV, here's my take on the points everyone has been debating about:

Liked:
- Performance: Even with the AC on in bumper-to-bumper traffic with 4 people on board, the performance was top notch. The pick-up from any gear has to be experienced to fully understand this. Just to compare - I test drove a Vento Diesel right after this and I think the Etios' was much better Nothing wrong with the Vento, except the Etios, I felt was even better. i was surprised

- Space: My dad who is 100Kg with an ample belly sat in the rear with two other gentlemen, and they were all comfortable. Note that the seat had been adjust to my height of 5' 9'', The boot has to be seen to understand what close to 600 litres of space actually looks like.

- Ride Quality: This was the best aspect of Etios, IMHO. At low speeds the ride quality wasn't surprising. But at speeds in excess of 60 / 70 is where I was surprised by the steadiness of the vehicle, more so give the weight of 930 Kg. Extremely comfortable ride.

Was ok with the cost cutting in aras such as:
- Out of place red colour (can be taken care of by opting for the V variant which has black and grey and then using seat covers)

- Single wiper (has a wider coverage area than the 2 wipers I have on my Santro Xing, pretty good I must say)

- Ordinary interiors (agreed, but they are not "ugly" as made out by some, but poor)

- Single horn (but the sound is loud enough, worked in getting attention every time I tried it in dense traffic)
- No rear speakers (can spend 500-1000 more and get them installed).

While I haven't booked the Etios yet, the more I am getting to know it, I am realizing that picking a car in my case is about things that matter ultimately such as performance, comfort and space in the long run. This car offers exactly that at a great price with the peace of mind of owning a Toyota.

Will let you know if I have any further updates, in my quest of buying my first sedan.

Cheers

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by Virtualaman

This is my first post, though I have been avidly following Team BHP since the last month, particularly this thread.

Welcome to the group

Went to Millennium Toyota (Thane) for a test drive today after having seen the display car a week back. Here's a roundup of the experience:

Thank you for sharing your experience

While I haven't booked the Etios yet, the more I am getting to know it, I am realizing that picking a car in my case is about things that matter ultimately such as performance, comfort and space in the long run. This car offers exactly that at a great price with the peace of mind of owning a Toyota.

These are exactly the things, which a family person like me would be looking for in a sedan. Though the looks & interiors might not be suitable for some peoples' tastes for me these are of lesser priority. The other aspects as you mentioned like performance, space, mileage & topmost, peace of mind are of prime importance where this car scores alomst a 10/10.

Will let you know if I have any further updates, in my quest of buying my first sedan.

Looking forward for further updates from you.

[PCS]

Originally Posted by Virtualaman

This is my first post, though I have been avidly following Team BHP since the last month, particularly this thread.

Went to Millennium Toyota (Thane) for a test drive today after having seen the display car a week back. Here's a roundup of the experience:

As I was expecting, the showroom was buzzing with groups of people either waiting for or having just finished with a test drive. Had to wait 15 mins before I could get my hands on the car (Vx variant). Though the salespeson was keen on making me do a pre chartered 5 minutes course, I was more keen on testing out the vehicle properly. Managed a 15 minutes TD with atleast 4 calls fron his boss about the whereabouts of the car.

While a lot has been said in this thread and also in magazines / auto shows on TV, here's my take on the points everyone has been debating about:

Liked:
- Performance: Even with the AC on in bumper-to-bumper traffic with 4 people on board, the performance was top notch. The pick-up from any gear has to be experienced to fully understand this. Just to compare - I test drove a Vento Diesel right after this and I think the Etios' was much better Nothing wrong with the Vento, except the Etios, I felt was even better. i was surprised

- Space: My dad who is 100Kg with an ample belly sat in the rear with two other gentlemen, and they were all comfortable. Note that the seat had been adjust to my height of 5' 9'', The boot has to be seen to understand what close to 600 litres of space actually looks like.

- Ride Quality: This was the best aspect of Etios, IMHO. At low speeds the ride quality wasn't surprising. But at speeds in excess of 60 / 70 is where I was surprised by the steadiness of the vehicle, more so give the weight of 930 Kg. Extremely comfortable ride.

Was ok with the cost cutting in aras such as:
- Out of place red colour (can be taken care of by opting for the V variant which has black and grey and then using seat covers)

- Single wiper (has a wider coverage area than the 2 wipers I have on my Santro Xing, pretty good I must say)

- Ordinary interiors (agreed, but they are not "ugly" as made out by some, but poor)

- Single horn (but the sound is loud enough, worked in getting attention every time I tried it in dense traffic)
- No rear speakers (can spend 500-1000 more and get them installed).

While I haven't booked the Etios yet, the more I am getting to know it, I am realizing that picking a car in my case is about things that matter ultimately such as performance, comfort and space in the long run. This car offers exactly that at a great price with the peace of mind of owning a Toyota.

Will let you know if I have any further updates, in my quest of buying my first sedan.

Cheers

Hey virtualaman, thanks for the short review and welsome to team bhp

Earlier during launch even i was complaining about etios. but since i have seen it in the showroom and experienced it during test drive, i have felt its an awesome car man.

Understood that toyota can never go wrong in making a car, no matter whatever price it may be. they always stick to their basics

1. OPTIMAL BALANCE OF PERFORMANCE & ECONOMY
2. AWESOME PASSENGER COMFORT
3. EXCELLENT SERVICE FACILITY

Toyota , are you listening
whats your next new model for india after etios ???

[vebmetal]

Originally Posted by GTO

You sure? Refer to the attachments on the 1st page. I don't see any room for rear speakers.

Yeah, see the photo. It's not obvious because the provision is there on the underside of the parcel tray and not on the top... I don't know what Toyota's plan is if you get rear speakers installed from them, but any after-market person will have to cut the parcel tray I suppose.

I am also attaching a bunch of other pictures I took at the test drive.

[emkay456]

Yes deliveries seem to have started for the Etios. Saw one with temp reg nos. in N.Delhi last weekend when I was there.

[Virtualaman]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Welcome to the group
Thank you for sharing your experience

Thanks

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Looking forward for further updates from you.

Sure. Will keep posted.

Originally Posted by PCS

Hey virtualaman, thanks for the short review and welsome to team bhp

Thanks. I tried to keep my first post short and crisp.

Originally Posted by PCS

Earlier during launch even i was complaining about etios. but since i have seen it in the showroom and experienced it during test drive, i have felt its an awesome car man.

Ditto here. Have been see-sawing in my opinion of the Etios ever since its launch. Was shuttling between reviews on auto shows and car magazine and Team BHP posts! But am quite re-assured now after an actual test drive. Might be doing one more just to be 100% sure. Btw I must add, I have considered other cars in the Rs 7-9/10 lakh range (which are supposed to be in C+ segment) but am still not able to find a better package than the Etios including Vento (didn't like the handling at all + space for fifth at back is non-existent thanks to the high centre tunnel), Sx4 (don't like the looks), Fiesta (doesn't have as much space, though is supposed to be more fun to drive) and Linea (the non-TJet variant has pretty bad performance and the TJet is beyond that price range) in addition to the direct competitors (Manza and Dzire).

[RoadTiger]

The Dzire seems to be feeling the heat of the Etios - its Dec numbers were marginally down (some buyers waiting for the etios?).

Also, in one of my previous posts, I had talked about Dzire playing its price game - actually, I had predicted that MSIL will pass on the excise benefits of the 1.2 engine and GTO had corrected me to say, that it applies only if the car is less than 4m in length - now, we have news that the Dzire is going through another butt-job to reduce its length to 4m - that will not only reduce the excise tax but i guess, also allow it to pass on the benefit of the 1.2 k-series vs. the earlier 1.3 petrol engine. Hope MSIL does a decent job of pruning the Dzire's rather prominent butt.

Deliveries for the Etios have certainly started - saw one in biege last weekend. Either it was the brilliant paint job or the shine of a new car, it looked better in flesh than in pics !