[andromeda]

This blog in NYT throws up an interesting perspective.

Toyota's India Announcement Belies a Greater Shift for Japanese Automakers - NYTimes.com

Seeing too many Toyota Etios ads. on the television (compared to the competition). Is is only me or others as well.

Now Toyota can use the under-utilized capacity for exports and also use it as a bargaining chip with their suppliers back in Japan .

[shortbread]

Its important that the Indian auto industry continue to push for exports. The advantages are plenty, not just for the country but for manufacturers as well. Volumes will definitely bring costs down and also provide a cushion to fluctuations in local demand.

This why I have greater respect to carmakers like Hyundai, Ford etc. who have seen India's car making potential rather than just an assemble and sell market. Others like Honda and Mitsubishi are yet to do this and their Indian operations suffer greatly each time local demand falls!!

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by fast&furious

Good news fellas good news!Had a chat with the sales executive outside the showroom.I told him about the mileage issue and he said many owners have been getting around 18 and 20!Even a 22 was reported a few days ago.He showed me the messages they sent him.I asked him about the FE in city and he said it should be around 12-14.He said this can be solved and asked me to take the car to the dealer when I get time.A few minutes later he asked me about the odo reading.I said 1250. He smiled and told me to wait until it completes 3k.Another fact I came to know from him is that Etios (generally) has a poor high speed FE when compared to other cars.70-80kmph is the limit if you're driving to save fuel .So,let's wait and see.
(I know this sales executive.He is a good guy and I'm sure he doesn't lie.)

Hi Fast & Furious,

What the SE told you might have been true. I noticed a jump in city mileage (from 9 to 11 kmpl) as the odo crossed the 3k mark with no major change in my driving style or road conditions. Then I went for two long highway drives - each 500+ km. Now my odo is 4k +. In the first long trip, I maintained the speed between 120 & 140 kmph and the car returned a mileage of 13.5 kmpl. Not bad since the car used to return only 12 kmpl in highways even with more sedate driving. So I drove the car between 80 and 100 kmph in my next long trip. The mileage I got was 15.7 kmpl!!!! I am not sure if you too noticed any significant jump in mileage after the odo crossed 3k.

[amateurpro]

4000 km report

I have completed 4000 km recently in my Etios petrol (V - serene bluish silver) and it is time to come up with a detailed ownership report.

1) Performance : Brilliant for city driving. Can feel the power right from word go. On highways, the car felt stable and firmly planted even at a speed of 150 kmph. My family was pleasantly surprised seeing the speedo at 150 when we could hardly feel any speed inside the cabin. The excess vibrations, noise etc. usually associated with such high speeds is missing in Etios and hence the pleasant, safe feel. I myself would have doubted the accuracy of speedo reading if I had not noticed how fast we were closing in on vehicles moving far ahead of us. I stayed at 150 kmph only for a shorter period as you need a long and straight stretch with little traffic. This does not happen often in highways and so it is better to be safe at lower speeds. The car feels perfectly safe at 120 - 140 kmph range in highways but it is more thirsty beyond 100 kmph. Certainly, Etios is sporty and brilliant to handle. GTO was dead right about this. It is this brilliant driveability that made me put up with Etios in the initial period despite my initial dissatisfaction on mileage. Now that my mileage problems seem addressed after the odo crosssed 3000 KM, I simply cannot stop loving my Etios.

2) Comfort :

Seating comfort is fantastic. Looks could deceive for sure. No problems on very long drives too. I preferred the steering column to be in "down" position for long drives and "up" position for city driving. I am not sure if this suits everyone irrespective of height, weight, age and gender. Dead pedal is badly missed to rest my foot.

A/C is fine. Initially we thought the our A/C was not as effective as the one we had seen during test drive. Then I changed the air circulation mode from "external" to "internal" based on advice from friends and fellow BHPians. Now the A/C is very effective. Most car manuals advise external mode of circulation but these do not take into account India specific factors like outside temparature, dust and pollution.

Chilled glove box is useful in long trips to store water, soft drinks or chocolates. But we cannot expect refrigerator chillness. We get mildly cold soft drinks even on hot days as compared to warm soft drinks we are used to.

Quality of music system is good (my expectations may be basic) for front row. USB is cool - no more CDs. USB supports a maximum of 4 GB pendrive. Tweeter is awesome. The absence of rear speakers is a sad miss as we felt it several times. It becomes too loud in front row when it is acceptable in the backseat. When it is right for front row, it is less audible in backseat.

3) Space : Wow. For both the cabin and the boot.

4) Safety : Rear defogger does its job well on rainy days. The single wiper has an amazing reach and does its job admirably. On ABS, I do not have any experience yet. I am not sure how one could feel ABS kicking in. Only once did I need to stop the car from a fairly high speed (100 kmph or so), The braking was effective though I did not feel ABS kicking in. May be, it did but I did not realise since Etios is my first car with ABS. Anyways, the best policy while driving is to be safe with minimal need for braking. Even if we drive at high speeds, we should slow down by taking the foot off the accelerator pedal the moment we see a traffic intersection or a cluster of slow moving vehicles ahead. This way, it is safer for us and less strainful on the car too.

5) Mileage : I was initially very disappointed with the mileage as I used to get. It was 9 kmph in city and 12 kmph in highways. I reported the problem to Toyota. They immediately responded by asking dealer to do mileage test. The dealer test returned identical figures. But I could see no follow-up action from Toyota but when I insisted, I got a communication from the dealer to wait for some more time. This was more like "wait, let us see" than "wait, it wil surely improve" and so it was less reassuring.

However, the mileage had improved drastically after the odo crossed 3000 km. In city, I get between 11 and 12 kmpl now (city driving has come down after crossing 3k. So, I need to observe longer in city). In highways, I get closer to 16 kmpl now (at 80 to 100 kmph speed) but it drops to 13.5 kmpl (if speed is between 120 and 140 kmph). High speed mileage is lower compared to mileage at moderate speeds. I am yet to report this mileage improvement to Toyota as I want to observe city mileage a little longer.

Why should mileage suddenly improve after 3000 km? Could the ECU be programmed in a way to give differential tuning before and after 3000 km? I dont have answers and I would be happy if someone educates me on this aspect.

6) Refinement

This is another area that delighted me. I was initially worried about the NVH levels seeing many initial ownership reports. But that seem well addressed in cars delivered later (mine was July 2011). You feel no unpleasant vibrations, noise or harshness anytime in Etios.

Final verdict

Etios is a brilliant car and it compares boldly with cars a segment higher. I am very happy owning an Etios now.

[parsh]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

4000 km report

Great amateurpro. You seem to have gelled very well with your car. It is indeed a fabulous car and a cruiser on highways as I have also experienced it at 140-150, highly stable. It only reminds me of the old horse OHC that we used to cruise on the Mumbai-Pune Highway quite some time back. Many happy miles to you.

One thing though, pls get all your thoughs into your very own independent ownership thread than in this common Etios P thread. And keep shooting pics to keep it alive.

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

4000 km report

I have completed 4000 km recently in my Etios petrol (V - serene bluish silver) and it is time to come up with a detailed ownership report.

Good ownership account that. And congratulations on FE improving finally! Gives me hope that, once I cross 3k, I can get city FE in excess of 15!

Final verdict

Etios is a brilliant car and it compares boldly with cars a segment higher. I am very happy owning an Etios now.

You sure should be. Except for aesthetics part, equipment level and NVH refinement in certain cases, Etios easily belongs to City/Vento/Verna level.

Originally Posted by parsh

One thing though, pls get all your thoughs into your very own independent ownership thread than in this common Etios P thread. And keep shooting pics to keep it alive.

You stole my thoughts, parsh! Amateurpro, you've been giving good reports ever since your ownership began. But in this thread, it will all get kinda lost. Your brilliant car deserves a dedicated thread. If nothing else, just pluck your own important posts from this very thread and paste them with dates. And post some good pics too. The community will benefit greatly.

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by parsh

Great amateurpro. You seem to have gelled very well with your car. It is indeed a fabulous car and a cruiser on highways as I have also experienced it at 140-150, highly stable. It only reminds me of the old horse OHC that we used to cruise on the Mumbai-Pune Highway quite some time back. Many happy miles to you.

One thing though, pls get all your thoughs into your very own independent ownership thread than in this common Etios P thread. And keep shooting pics to keep it alive.

Thanks Parsh & RadiantKarma. I would consider moving my posts to an ownership thread. But is it not better if any prospecrive buyer could get all the info that he wants (expert opinions, ownership reports, prospective buyer's thoughts etc.) under one thread?

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by RadiantKarma

Good ownership account that. And congratulations on FE improving finally! Gives me hope that, once I cross 3k, I can get city FE in excess of 15!


You sure should be. Except for aesthetics part, equipment level and NVH refinement in certain cases, Etios easily belongs to City/Vento/Verna level.

When you start getting 15 kmpl in city, please tell us how to get it in our cars .

On aesthetics, there is no doubt that the new fluidic Verna and Honda city are stunners. But Toyota has always been about understated elegance, a theme that runs in their cars like Camry, Altis or even Fortuner. I think they have carried forward the same theme in Etios nicely. The only discomfort I had initially was the way the huge chrome strip on the boot looked. But over time, even the chrome strip looks more acceptable to me.

It is in the equipment list that Etios could struggle in comparision to a Verna or a City. On NVH levels, I have not faced any major issue so far with my Etios. If anything, the noise at high speeds that I used to experience earlier is also coming down. Cabin is getting quieter.

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

When you start getting 15 kmpl in city, please tell us how to get it in our cars .

On NVH levels, I have not faced any major issue so far with my Etios. If anything, the noise at high speeds that I used to experience earlier is also coming down. Cabin is getting quieter.

Thanks amateurpro. I just completed 5000 kms. on my Etios petrol and pretty much have similar observations.

1. The engine noise is now pretty silent (noticed the change after the ODO hit 3k) compared to when it was new. The only noise I still notice is from the road when on higher speeds (> 80 kmph). That's most probably due to the Goodyear tires (documented elsewhere on TBHP). Do not want to change tires or get 3M under-body coating done as yet.

2. Definitely miss the dead pedal since I use the car mostly on the highways.

3. Now I'm pretty consistently getting 15+ kmpl with Shell fuel & A/C position 1 with 'internal circulation' mode. Switching to Shell is a no-brainer since it's peace of mind (no worry of getting cheated), 20+ outlets here in Bangalore and the price is on-par with the PSUs. Not sure if the quality of Shell fuel in India is 'better' than the PSUs (as in other countries).

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by andromeda

3. Now I'm pretty consistently getting 15+ kmpl with Shell fuel & A/C position 1 with 'internal circulation' mode. Switching to Shell is a no-brainer since it's peace of mind (no worry of getting cheated), 20+ outlets here in Bangalore and the price is on-par with the PSUs. Not sure if the quality of Shell fuel in India is 'better' than the PSUs (as in other countries).

I have not tried Shell yet. Will check out to see if it makes a difference. It is difficult to find a Shell outlet in most places in Chennai. Do you get 15+ kmpl in city or in highways?

[parsh]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

Thanks Parsh & RadiantKarma. I would consider moving my posts to an ownership thread. But is it not better if any prospecrive buyer could get all the info that he wants (expert opinions, ownership reports, prospective buyer's thoughts etc.) under one thread?

IMO, if it was a common discussion, I would say yes. But now this is beginning to be your specific experience with your specific car and in-depth at that. Each one will have their own and all these will get lost in the big thing. If somebody wants to refer to individual feedback one can always easily find individual ownership experiences thru own threads. Also, it will give your car a new Independent Identity with her own thread. So do copy your thoughts into your car's own thread.

[heman_369]

Guys, I have completed 10000 kms and have booked a service appointment next week. My observations are very simillar to all of you guys. Totally satisfied with this gem of a vehicle. I will put in a longer post covering my observations and also the service report.

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by heman_369

Guys, I have completed 10000 kms and have booked a service appointment next week. My observations are very simillar to all of you guys. Totally satisfied with this gem of a vehicle. I will put in a longer post covering my observations and also the service report.

Congrats on completing 10 K. Looking forward to know about your experience and observations.

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

I have not tried Shell yet. Will check out to see if it makes a difference. It is difficult to find a Shell outlet in most places in Chennai. Do you get 15+ kmpl in city or in highways?

It's on the highways, since my city driving is almost non-existent (Thanks to BMTC Volvo city transport and traffic/parking problems). Ever-since I switched to Shell, I'm noticing this kinda mileage consistently. Think it's more to do with getting the right 'quantity' into the tank (against PSU outlets) and partially due to Shell quality. Atleast in the US I know that Shell quality is better than others, comparatively expensive and gives good mileage (My Civic easily gives 36MPG/ 15kmpl). Not sure if there is a difference in the fuel quality between Shell & PSUs in India. Believe it was being discussed in another thread specific to shell. Would be interesting to know that.


Shell Station Locator - India
Fuel Pricing at Shell Stations | India

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by andromeda

It's on the highways, since my city driving is almost non-existent (Thanks to BMTC Volvo city transport and traffic/parking problems). Ever-since I switched to Shell, I'm noticing this kinda mileage consistently. Think it's more to do with getting the right 'quantity' into the tank (against PSU outlets) and partially due to Shell quality.


Shell Station Locator - India
Fuel Pricing at Shell Stations | India

Thanks Andromeda. Now I am motivated to look for a Shell outlet closer to home.