Hie fellow motorheads.....
This is my first post so please bear with me for any shortcomings.This post is about the initial ownership review of toyota Etios Liva diesel.
Reason to buy-the petrol price bug bit us too so we had to change from our trusted swift vxi to a diesel car.We already had a qualis which has been in the family for 11 years and so when the news came of the same company launching a car in the segment we were looking at,well you could say the choice was unanimous.Toyota brand does command a lot of respect especially in our family thanks to the 'never say never' attitude that the qualis has showed throughout its time.
The booking process-well you could say it was easy because we had connections within the company so we ended up being one of the first bookings and we have had the car so early but the irony is that we were supposed to have the car a month ago if it wasn't for the incompetence of our sales manager,i don't want to further talk on that.So all in all after a shift from the (sp) model to the normal GD model finally we ended up with the car on 22-10-2011.
THE CAR
Before i start i have to warn you,i am an autobuff but there are two soft spots for me so in this post those two areas will be short and very less informative and they are the interiors (i sincerely thank toyota here because even if i were an expert about the interiors i really don't think there is anything to talk about in the liva diesel..heheh) and about the exteriors,i find it hard to express how i feel about the way things appear visually to me so please bear with me in these areas.
Exterior-well frankly its typical toyota,won't turn heads or make you showoff but i guess it looks similar to etios but better than the etios.I strongly believe the grill resembles every car toyota has in the market and if you look closely you can find bits and pieces of the honda city.Its about the size of the swift but not as tall and really feels wider.I guess it looks best from the 3/4th profile.One thing that people would seldom notice is the lines that run throughout the roof,its a nice touch.
Interiors- ha ha ha....i would leave this as blank because that best explains the interiors.On a serious note,i would say i am less effected by it because we have been inside a qualis for more than a decade so i guess not many complaints.I know the things in it would last a very very log time.Well the good bit is the horrendous looking instrument cluster looks nice in the night.I am sorry but i am not able to put its picture as my pc is prehistoric and not able to understand this 'enter url'.
One thing to talk about interiors is the space..its space space and then some if you look at hatchback standards,5 people are comfortable and nobody needs to adjust.The seating for the driver is really good and toyota scored a sixer with the steering whell an absolute beauty,drive it to know what i am talking about.Visibility is good,seats are nicely contoured,powerful ac even though i hate the way the blower looks when its closed.Equipment..well you do get light adjustment..hehehe.... and it works well,switches resemble a jeep more than a car.
Under the hood
well its the D4D and its spacious there too.The air feeder will poke out like a tractor's exhaust and toyota says its for the car to take in water...excuse me but aren't we talking about a hatchback here,not an suv!
toyota have put dampening pads and even though they perform well the engine noise wins the battle hands down!
Suspension-Ride
Well its mattress and i mean it.It absorbs anything and everything that a hatchback will be treated to and then some more.Its absolutely impressive if you do encounter bad roads as we do and this is were it prompts you to jump from the swift to this,it even felt more sure footed than our qualis on bad roads.Only the really really sharp ones will bother you.
Handling-its safe and predictable but please don't push it.Feels good in a straight line and well its stupid of me to say that because all things on wheels are so.On the curves you would not be smiling unless you get the tyres upgraded and once that happens it gets a lot more involving and you do get to see the the Swift and Figo in the corners ahead of you.Our swift had 225 tyres and well i would say the corners i would take at 140,i can do a 100-110 at best in the liva and be safe.All in all a good balance towards the comfortable side more than the corner craver but still competent.
Driving experience
We had a test drive and we were pretty impressed.Would hate to repeat what has already been said but no choice,Not much turbo lag and no 'kick'.Driveability ( oh god! whats the correct spelling????) is excellent and the trick here is to understand the way this vehicle is supposed to be driven.In a single sentence i would say 'this car is everything the swift diesel is not'.Get in find a comfortable seating,use the tilt steering and please do learn the way to engage the reverse gear ( the lift up and throw).The gear shift is par and the brake feels really good and trust me it gets much better with a tyre upgrade (195/60/R14 for the once restraining from an alloy like us).
Typically starts with a clatter and don't know why but it really reminds me of our qualis,cold starts are the most noisy.Now engage gears faster than you can say change and do a nfs style start and you will be left looking like an idiot,people...its not a SWIFT and the way to drive this is just the opposite way and trust me you will be a happy family.
Engage first a very short one and you would be hard pressed to go a gear up and 2nd is the most noisy and punchy but it becomes so loud you won't be using too much of it but the advantage here is you can do a start stop in 2nd gear if your left foot is sensitive enough heheheh....but you would still get a few stalling and trust me you will overcome it within a day.Power is really good but its like a NOS without the punch...i say this comparison only about the duration not the punch from it,it dies so fast.3 rd gear is 'THE GEAR' once you are moving you would find yourself in this gear a lot,typically defines the engine,nice slow build up and the turbo slowly feeds in and you just don't feel it and trust me you will be going faster than you think.ideal gear for everything be it pottering around in slow speeds or getting that all important overtaking done.4th and 5th well i say them together because they are same in almost every way,keeps you at a speed and i repeat its going to be higher than you expect and you can easily do triple digit speeds and still feel the car is a lazy performer.I want to stress this point again,this car is no slouch,it can and will deliver performance more than adequate in the real world.This is a car to relax in and enjoy the drive,not look at the speedo and make sure you are the fastest man on the road.Sedate driving and i have experienced that it is quick enough but i want to make it clear that if i were in our swift at the same time the liva wouldn't see even the smoke from it.
So sedate relaxed driving and you will know the purpose of this car and you will be happy like i am
.
Want to warn all the guys who are going to take this car and take a freind and show off that this is good,don't try to be fast and you wouldn't impress him.Let the car drive you and your friend would love the car for what it is and what toyota wanted it to be...a spacious comfortable economic diesel hatch built to a price.
My experience
Well the car has done about 180kms now and i have driven most of it.I would say my right foot feels a lot less attracted to the floor of the car,guys i really hope everyone of you who are going to own this car or already does find the way this car drives you because once you find it you will fall in love with this car and as they say love is blind ( the interiors...hehehe) Took delivery at 7 pm and drove around the worst of Ernakulam traffic and also had a few bursts of speed and they were not because i wanted them but it happens invariably and that is were you understand the beauty of the engine that is under the hood.Ac is powerful and you will love the space and the comfort this car offers.
Economy,well we had it topped up and well have done about 140 kms full ac and even traffic stops with ac and all kinds of driving,frankly the ac has not been switched off since we have taken delivery of the car and it still shows full.I would say a typical drive because it had bad traffic,bad roads,good roads and so it is efficient,sorry but can't say anything more about it.
Upgrades done
Well i did find the tyre too small and upgraded to 195/60/R14 and the handling improved as expected but more than that the ride has become more carpet like.
Lose the racer attitude and mature and you won't be disappointed,enjoy the space,the ride and the real world performance and see the smiling faces in your car that were not there when you were driving the swift over bad roads and you truly become a happy family..( last part is a bit over the top...bear with me hehehe)
Still settling into the new car and well i am not a computer geek so the replies would be late but do feel free to post any queries you may have and i would be more than happy to help you in anyway i can when i can,till then
WE ARE A HAPPY FAMILY!