[fuel_addict]

Excellent detailed report from GTO as always.

At the price point, the missing features and plain vanilla looks of the Etios would be accepted by many. Not only Manza but also petrol D-Zire sales will be affected big time. Marutis typically have always known to have rattle issues and the Etios should definitely be better. Cost of ownership should favour the Marutis more though. In-city driveability of the Etios seems much better than D-Zire looking at the torque which peaks much earlier and as reported by GTO.

Looking forward to the launch of the diesel Etios and also the hatch. Hopefully the hatch will also have a diesel option.

[arunkk]

Great and crisp review GTO

No doubt this car is going to see volumes. Will be interesting to see whether Toyota can live upto its A.S.S reputation with mass volumes. I personally can live with the dated exterior looks, but the interiors especially dashboard is way too old. Surely the cost conscious average Indian buyer wont mind such things.

[nilanjanray]

I was at Nandi Toyota yesterday to service my Fortuner. I was inquiring about Etios, and the person in charge of the payment counter told me that Toyota Etios has received 50000 bookings! And that Nandi Toyota has more than 1000 bookings. I am skeptical about these numbers, but it seems that people are lining up to buy Toyotas.

Btw, there was an Etios interactive video on a large flat screen at the dealership. I saw quite a few people playing around with features, 360 degree views etc.

[KumaravelS]

Originally Posted by RS_DEL

The question here is - have Toyota raised the bar to such an extent that the competition will be COMPELLED ( forgive the caps folks , this is just for added emphasis and not because I have forgotten my net-etiquette ) to tone up their act. Will this result in things such as Hyundai fixing the long pending rattle problem with theiir i20 or VW having a cavalier ( too strong a word?) towards the customers?

+1.
Now VW should focus on サービスへの車 (Das Auto service) to stay float on with Fabia/Polo and may I mention Vento..

Originally Posted by breezydrive

Great review as always!


It seems TOYOTA wants to sell ETIOS with much higher localised content. This is clearly reflected by the current waiting period of over 9-10 months!
10 months to clear 12 k bookings!

Probably, they are not ready with the plant as yet, otherwise going by their claim of 70 k production per year, the cars should be delivered by March 2011 (even if the Liva nos. are added)

TOYOTA should clear this!

Hmm!! Maruti, Hyundai & VW can breath to life due to perception of waiting period!!

[kalpeshc]

@GTO - If boot is not to be considered, would you consider Etios (ABS + airbags) a good buy at 6.7L versus an i20 Asta petrol? I know for sure that I am not going to use the boot for 90% of the times even though I would be traveling mostly on the highways. The i20's boot is enough for my luggage needs. I am sure there'd be others too who would be in similar situations where they have shortlisted the i20 but with Etios being launched are seriously giving it second thoughts.

[nkrishnap]

A very good review as always. A five star rating for the review.

With the booking already hovering around 12,000 units. The concern would be waiting period. With an assumption that 60:40 would be the ratio between the hatch and the sedan out of the 70K. The sedan's quota would be 28K units for the year and around 2300 odd per month which translates into a waiting period of 5 months for those booked now.

Toyota did a Fortuner again.

Wonder how would Liva fare in terms of waiting period.

[rajchetan]

Congrats GTO for yet another excellent Review.

Two years and a half back when i had been to Toyota Factory in Bidadi, i had seen the land they had acquired and the capacity plan for that Factory as told by few top authorities there was around a lac in the first year which would mean around 8k every month. So i don't understand why the 6 months waiting period.

Even in my dream i had not imagined Toyota making such a plan vanilla looking car. For me it's as if Toyota have purchased the Dyes of Logan from M&M and manufactured an Etios. The Etios looks same in all angle except the Grill, which looks lifted from the Innova.

Now Cost = Quality was Toyota's Mantra. and cheap = headache was what people perceived (Nano).

There is actually nothing to say about this car. As this is surely going to be a success, even though its just 5/10 in terms of being a complete car & as per me Desire rates higher at 7/10.
Now the car thats going to feel the Heat is not desire, but its the Manza. Even though its more car per car compared to Etios or the Desire, as it is a TATA.

Hence Costly/Cheap = Quality with Toyota's. Cheap/Costly = headache with TATA.
Sorry to bring this out like this, but it hurts me to see that TATA is not realizing this point. (Case - NANO, Aria, Manza, VISTA) they require a huge brand building exercise immediately and HOW

All the best Toyota for another successful launch.

Note:- Mod's i have no intention of making this a Tata vs Toyota tread. Hence If u find it misleading please feel free to delete.

[hiren959]

Etios is a nice example of "what is the value of Brand Image?" Toyota has done magic in our country!
Without even a test drive people are crazy to have the Etios home. One of my friend has been told that the delivery of this car would be in next November. Just imagine how much bookings they are having!!

[kapilvgupta]

awesome review!! 5 stars

couple of things I'd like:
Better looking rear combination lamps (expecting a big market for good looking aftermarket replacements for the Etios)
Powered ORVM - atleast co-passenger side, going by function over form...wonder why do manufacturers not provide a variant with single side powerd ORVM, would be a pretty nice addition while saving about 30% or more on the cost of regular powered ORVM's

peace,
~kg

[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.

[anoop.mathew]

Until Toyota increases their production capacity for Etios, I don't think Manza sales will be affected. The Dzire sales might be affected, as it has a similar waiting period (particularly for the diesel).

I really like the price/performance/fuel economy/quality compromise of the Etios, and would buy the G+Safety version, if I can confirm that it is OBDII compliant and will support a Scangauge II. As per queries at Toyota, it will be OBDII compliant. I prefer G, as I can put in my own music system with Bluetooth functionality.

While the sedan's looks are not great, they are not quirky either - like say the new Verna. And it does what the average Indian family man wants in a car - reliability (Toyota brand), good pricing, good space, good fuel economy, good in the city and adequate on the highway.

[vivekanand005]

Thanks for the Nice detailed review.

[travelwriter]

I saw reviews of this vehicle across some TV channels but I decided to hold my opeinions till I read one from our site.

Thanks, GTO. Very informative and unbiased, as always.

It is safe to say that this Rs.5-7 lakh segment is going to be the one to go for as far as the manufacturers are concerned. In that light, I am concerned that for all the Hyundais and Toyotas of the world, 'economy' or 'budget' or even 'value' seems to be equal to 'cost-cutting'.

The single light while reversing in case of Etios, the poor plastic quality in Tata cars, et al talk of compromises more than a trimming down. I would feel more comfortable driving a car sans bells and whistles but with all the 'must have' features like solid weight, balance at high speeds and potholes, parts that do not fall off (!!).

This is what the review of Etios, Manza and the likes makes me feel. Am I the only one thinking this?

[vebmetal]

I think what people need to also realize is that each person has different needs. For me, this is the perfect car for my parents who are driven around 95% of the time by the driver. The rear seat is fantastic for this purpose, and the dashboard etc. admittedly being badly designed, makes no difference to their experience. But having the reliability of Toyota, with a huge boot, comfortable rear seats and a great mix of fuel efficiency and performance makes this a fantastic buy for us. Drivers rarely maintain cars as well as the owners, and for us the fact that it's basic is actually a good thing, as I wold hate to get a Honda City and watch the driver destroy the interiors and stink them up over time!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

The game hots up ... wonder how MUL and Tata Motors will react to the new (and formidable!) kid on the block.

I don't see any short-term effect on the Dzire as:

- Dzire's waiting period runs into a couple of months anyways
- Has a diesel
- Maruti's sales network is 10X the size.

In the long term, DEFINITELY! The Etios must be the Dzire team's worst nightmare come true. Best part about competition is, you can fully expect Maruti to give "that much more" to the next gen Swift / Dzire. Who wins? I, the customer.

Dzire never passed on the excise savings benefit when they got the 1.2 k-series engine instead of the earlier 1.3

Dzire isn't applicable for the said benefits as its length is over 4 meters (Indigo CS is, however). What Maruti did NOT pass on is the excise benefits on the Swift.

Originally Posted by camchennai

Does the car come with immobilizer?

Yup

What is the service interval of Etios and how many free service??

I'd expect a 10,000 km interval (same as Altis).

I guess remote boot lock and petrol tank boot lock are standard

Yes

Why no extended warranty??

All Indian Toyotas come with a 3 year standard warranty only. Honda offers 4.

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

I had written to the mods earlier that your review on the Etios was long due

Quality takes time

Originally Posted by Amartya

it's looks (which are also disproportionate) and its blatantly obvious cost cutting measures.

For some reason, I knew you'd not like the Etios. Cost-cutting is glaringly evident, yes, and the design looks old...but I still insist that it's proportionate to my eyes.

Think about it, the Swift and the Ritz weigh almost a 100kgs more. An A-star with an automatic transmission weighs almost as much (895kgs, 860 for manual tranny). That's the difference in weight with cars made by Maruti, a manufacturer that usually keeps the weight down to the bare minimum.

What (negative) difference does kerb weight make if the car feels otherwise okay, and has decent road manners to? A lighter car is also inherently quicker & more fuel efficient. Look at the Micra! The lightest hatchback and yet one that feels good (though the Micra's highway manners aren't that good).

The bootlid is the only giveaway....and it's not something that the Dzire can brag about either.

I understand that brand value takes some building) would trump styling, glaring omission of kit and just about everything else each and every day.

Vis a vis the Dzire & Manza, sure the Etios lacks equipment. On the other hand, it has:

- Better driveability
- Presumably better FE (all that torque low down, and better weight)
- Etios' space kills the Dzire
- Etios' ride is much better than the Dzire, especially on the highway
- Toyota vs Tata reliability?

I'd take space over climate control any which day. The good thing about competition is, there's something for everyone.

Originally Posted by arunkk

Will be interesting to see whether Toyota can live upto its A.S.S reputation with mass volumes.

A million dollar question indeed. Look forward to the ownership reports.

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

@GTO - If boot is not to be considered, would you consider Etios (ABS + airbags) a good buy at 6.7L versus an i20 Asta petrol? I know for sure that I am not going to use the boot for 90% of the times even though I would be traveling mostly on the highways. The i20's boot is enough for my luggage needs. I am sure there'd be others too who would be in similar situations where they have shortlisted the i20 but with Etios being launched are seriously giving it second thoughts.

If you don't need the boot, why buy a cut-price sedan over a premium hatchback? I would definitely go the hatchback way in your situation though, the i20 isn't really my kind of hatchback (the Punto is).

Originally Posted by rajchetan

Note:- Mod's i have no intention of making this a Tata vs Toyota tread. Hence If u find it misleading please feel free to delete.

No need to delete at all. That's a heck of a post.

Originally Posted by kapilvgupta

Powered ORVM

Ugggh, I hated using those stalks to adjust the ORVMs.