[vinay_tw]

Originally Posted by automachine

Wow that is way too high considering that I already paid around 44k in taxes so B'lore taxes would be around 90K !

Absolutely! I am just looking at the tax receipt I received from Karnataka Government transport department and it mentions the tax as Rs. 1,15,282 being the road tax for the period between 31-Oct-2011 to Life Time Tax. This tax is broken up into 103858 (tax) + 11424 (cess).

That's a clear ~71 k more than what you've paid. Is this a royal rip-off for Bangalore buyers? Is this common across the board for all car brands? Simply unbelievable!

[vinay_tw]

@automachine and amalji
One more piece of information. The base price of Etios VD in Bangalore is Rs. 6,50,735. Value added tax is Rs. 91,102 making it Rs. 7,41,837 as the ex-showroom price. Is there a difference in prices even at the base price, VAT and the ex-showroom price in Ahmedabad in comparison with Bangalore? I am eager to know.

Add insurance (Rs. 27,182), Road tax (Rs. 1,15,282) and registration charges (Rs. 600) and the figure comes to ~Rs. 8.9L.

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

Thanks! I'll try this suggestion. What is the reason for this? Is it due to the tie rod hitting the bump?

Don't think so as it happens even over a tiny bump if you continue with the same speed. The service engineer said this is common feature for Toyota suspensions including that in Camry. If he is right, I have a sneaking suspicion that Toyota has designed it that way so the users learn to treat the suspensions with respect and they last longer!

Great name! Wow - ETIOSIAN!

Yes indeed!

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

How much have you clocked your vehicle? Any pointers on the service costs?

Well, just ~3300 kms in nearly 09 months. But I've had my car gone to the service centre 05 times - (i) 1st service (ii) to attend mild dashboard rattling (resolved in first visit) (iii) my persistent complaint about mild vibrations trickling inside the cabin for a few months now (not resolved though!) (iv) the recent change of fuel hose and (v) for replacement of a plucked Toyota Badge on the front early on in the ownership. The behaviour of the service centre staff has been very good. The service folks have been courteous, and willing to explain each and every query with an eagerness and patience to satisfy the customer.

[vinay_tw]

@amalji - Regarding the single wiper in Etios. I observed the functioning of the wiper. The wiper swipe clears 75% of the windscreen without a speck. However, water trickle lines appear outside this 75% coverage, especially on the left corner of the windscreen and small streaks at the centre top. This however, doesn't affect visibility in anyway. This could be due to more water surge from the nozzles on every swipe. Can't really complain as this wiper functions better than the dual wiper on WagonR that I am used to.

Regarding the on-road price. How much did VD cost you in Kochi? Is the road tax as heavy as it is in Bangalore? Need to be aware of how it varies in different cities. As it is Bangalore has the highest duties and highest petrol prices in the country, apart from innumerable cesses. This road tax additional burden would surely make Bangalore a very expensive auto ownership city in the country.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

Regarding the on-road price. How much did VD cost you in Kochi? Is the road tax as heavy as it is in Bangalore? Need to be aware of how it varies in different cities. As it is Bangalore has the highest duties and highest petrol prices in the country, apart from innumerable cesses. This road tax additional burden would surely make Bangalore a very expensive auto ownership city in the country.

In cochin, the road tax for etios vd is in the range of 45,000. Bangalore road tax does seem to be really expensive!

[virgovencat]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

I like the point about upgrading from another practical car. WagonR was a delight to drive. I am glad I made the right move from WagonR to Etios.

Thank you Vinay for a great review. Last 2-3 weeks have been very difficult for me as I am right now looking to upgrade my car. Two weeks back I had booked HONDA AMAZE after a TD. But for some reason I was not feeling happy about the decision and kept looking at all other cars in same category.

Yesterday, finally I decided to go for Etios Diesel and cancelled AMAZE for various reasons. Now after reading your ownership report, I am happy that I have made a right decision.

Thank you so much !!

Regrads,
Venkat

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[amalji]

Originally Posted by virgovencat

Thank you Vinay for a great review. Yesterday, finally I decided to go for Etios Diesel and cancelled AMAZE for various reasons. Now after reading your ownership report, I am happy that I have made a right decision.

The Etios surely is a practical car. Waiting for your ownership review of the car. :-)

The amaze is a good car as well. Could you please mention the reasons that made you cancel your amaze booking?

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[PatienceWins]

Vinay, Congrats. I am the same height as you. I did not find the driving seat of Etios to be spacious. The seat travel is also limited to provide ample space at the back. I tried by increasing the seat height as well. The lack of dead pedal did not help either. Do you find the driver seat space comfortable?

I found SX4 seat to be very comfortable because of the seat height. Sad that the diesel engine is small for the vehicle size.

[girishglg]

Vinay nice write up there on your initial ownership experience. Also good to hear many positives about the Etios which was not the case till recently.

Incidentally have been seeing many new Etios on the road especially the face lifted ones (can only recognize by the tail lamp though). One thing for sure it has loads of space both inside and the boot and a decent diesel motor too.

Curious on one part, why was the VD chosen instead of GD since the difference was very little in terms of specs and with Toyota you can always opt for the safety pack in either of the variants,

[amalji]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Curious on one part, why was the VD chosen instead of GD since the difference was very little in terms of specs and with Toyota you can always opt for the safety pack in either of the variants,

While Vinay can reply to it, I'll mention the reason why I went for VD.
The main reason was

VD - 15" lower profile tyres on alloys
GD-SP - 14" tyres on steel rims

Since, I wanted the former, upgrade after buying GD would have resulted in wastage of money.
Also, my mother bought a Liva GD-SP. So, I transferred the Toyota music player over to her car while I bought a new Alpine head unit.

With the current Etios facelift, GD-SP is quite an attractive option because it comes with 15" tyres already and also has a stereo.

[virgovencat]

[quote=amalji;3103463]The Etios surely is a practical car. Waiting for your ownership review of the car. :-)

The amaze is a good car as well. Could you please mention the reasons that made you cancel your amaze booking?


I was looking for a car with good leg space, comfortable seating for 3 people in the back and good boot space. Amaze did have good leg space in the back seat, but it's difficult for 3 people to sit comfortable on long drives. Also, the boot space was not much in Amaze.

Also, I liked the sturdyness of Etios on road, Amaze felt very light while driving. Plus, I heard about low maintainence cost of toyota cars..

Some of my colleagues at office and friends are saying that I took a wrong decision by cancelling amaze and booking Etios, But after have I read your reviews and other reviews on Etios, I am 100% sure , I will be happy with Etios no matter what !!