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-   -   My Toyota Liva GD SP (2012 Refresh model) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/126775-my-toyota-liva-gd-sp-2012-refresh-model.html)

Dear TBHPians: I am new to writing and its an effort on my part to put my mind on paper; oops the notepad on my laptop. Please bear with me for this loooong write-up.

The reason for a new car:

I was the first one in my family to own a car back then in the year 2005 when I had bought the Indica V2 Lsi Petrol. I have had a fair share of happy and not so happy and bad and real bad moments with this car. (This should be a longterm ownership thread, but !)

Off late the Indica began showing her age and her tantrums grew leaps and bounds. Almost 5 times of coolant overflow (overheating issues), countless blown fuses, loose connections, suspension noises and yes few major component replacements including ECU and Camshaft sensor and others drove me up the wall.

Mind you, with all the gyan on TBHP, I have been not only able to understand all these issues, but also able to get them fixed, repaired as needed even after B. U. Bhandari decided to part ways with Tata. (I still have a firm belief that good service stations are way better alternative to local mechanics, the extra money is well spent, dont take my words, you are all welcome to see the-rare-one, my Indica any time)

My local mechanic helped me in keeping my car in good running condition all the time. Even today she rides like a dream. But the problems kept cropping up and this being my daily ride and that too for 50+ km/day, I had enough of it. So the hunt began.

The decision:

I was nearing a milestone in my life by finally being able to pay off my home loan and that had made a room for another loan/EMI. I was contemplating between a new plot or a shop as an investment or buying a new car for my wife.

One fine day after long hours in my office (an IT professional working in Hinjewadi, Pune) I started my commute back home and was welcomed with the usual long que of traffic. With music and AC on, I was least expecting another tantrum. After I came on to the highway it was not bad traffic but definately slow that day. I suddenly heard a whoosh and the windsheild started fogging up on driver side. Yes, it happened once again, the coolant overflew from the auxilary tank lid (this aux tank sits right in front of the driver under the bonnet in the Indica petrol). I saw the temp needdle cross the half mark and I pulled over. Switched off the car, put on the hazard lights and called my wife. I told her I am buying a new car !

She was least expecting this as I had called her before leaving the office that I should be home in some time, and not expecting at all of a decision that she does not get a car, its a new one for me.

What my car should be:

There are so many different reasons why people buy a particular car. For me a car is means of safe transport mechanism which allows a lot of flexibility (like not being worried of catching a bus on time or not finding a taxi/auto to go somewhere and yes avoid 2 wheeling in traffic infested roads of Pune or anywhere for that matter).

When I bought the Indica, the only criteria was that I need to ferry 5 family members in it with safety and comfort. Period !

It changed over the years and I got to the following requirements with TBHPs help (Ofcourse, I am no match to you petrol heads out there, but I am sort of getting there) :

1. SPACE (Indica does spoil you)
2. Diesel (with my running going up over the years and petrol costs, its obvious)
3. Reliability (I am a long term keeper)
4. Service stations (availability and proximity)
5. Reasonable cost of ownership (Indica is al cheapo upkeep)
6. Hatch back only (financial ability and mainly the reason that I travel all alone in the car for 90% of the time, 7-8% is with family and the boot is hardly used, if at all then its only those 2-3% long drives where we pack heavy and the boot is actually needed - I prefer to hire a bigger car then)

TBHP influence:

You are a TBHP member, then the wish list on the car cannot be the
only things mentioned above :

1. ABS, EBD and Airbags
2. Good music system (not an audiophile but love music, all kinds)
3. A good loan and insurance deal

Well, by now you can make out that I am still not there being a
petrol head, isnt it ?

The HUNT :

With my requirement being clear and TBHP at help, I embarked on a confusing and tedious hunt.

So many options and so little to really diffrentiate the good, the better and the best. I dont feel any car is bad at all.

1. Swift & Ritz - most known people to me recommended these, I have not liked Maruti cars at any point, they dont really satisfy my basic need - SPACE (the new version swift was okay on that front but the waiting list was well in the waiting)

2. Vista - Acres of SPACE but a car from TATA and I had decided to bid TATA to TATA and its niggles. But all those goodies at that cost, okay lets keep it as an option.

3. Figo - Absolute contender, really nothing to mark out as an issue except the fact that my old folks would have hard time sitting down in it. (I would have ignored little expensive upkeep and small niggles as reported - heck I have lived with a Petrol Indica all this while)

4. Punto - Almost booked one 90HP sports version. The TBHPian spirit I must say really owned me for this part. Even took advise from fellow TBHPian. All this and to add to it, my wife really liked the car. But the cost on road and some situation at hand which drained off my buying capacity. Add to it, I was not at all happy with the space in the rear seat.

5. Micra & Pulse - ummmm, okay another option. Will consider only if I run out of other options.

6. Fabia - Horror stories at its best. So stay away.

7. Polo - Costly sister of Fabia.

8. Liva - This car was no where on the radar and my family and friends alike never expected me to go this way. But they did not know (still dont) that I have TBHP to help me. Yes, lot had been said about the not so good interiors and no this and that available in it. After reading and going through all the ownership reviews I decided to go and test drive it. Reason alone was it was satisfying all my requirements of a car and a Toyota at that.

Note: My friend has a Vista and I have driven that extensively. And my cousin has a Figo and I have driven that a little. No other real test drives done ! This is quite unlike petrol heads.

The buying experience:

12 years into the Toyota dealership, DSK Toyota has achieved something that most Toyota dealership across the world have not. They have more awards for service than any other in entire group. And to back it up, Mr. D S Kulkarni himself is on the rounds of this dealership atleast once a month to ensure everything is in order; all that with having to run an empire worth 7k crores, 2nd only after the Sahara group if I am not wrong. (Need to validate this info)

Ofcourse I had no idea of all this till I entered the showroom and met a friendly sales executive who kept his cool all through my list of queries on the cars (Etios and Liva) both being displayed and hence my comparo on the go. Little did he know that I came armed with TBHP :) He ensured all my queries got the exact right answers then and there and for only the 1-2 queries he could not, he called me back next day morning without a reminder. He was the one who made a difference by telling me all the above info on the dealership. He took me around the service and the yard at the same time to instill confidence of transperent operations.

With all that QnA done, it was time for a test drive. Car was available and in the trim and version I was looking for and only a DEMO Car at that. Not any customer car or not a new car being used as demo car. This was indeed a proper registered DEMO vehicle. They have multiples. I counted atleast 6-7 of them on the info white board which mentioned DEMO car in or out. Demo car summoned at the gates and I was in for the drive. A small 3 km drive was good enough for me to take a call. It was as punchy as my Indica (yes Indica
Petrol has torque in the diesel leagues - 110 nm at that) and the turbo boost after the negligent lag was which finalised the deal.

What was pending was to finalise the color and my wify came in to rescue. We together with my bro-in-law (a trainer in the Auto Industry, who trains on products of Maruti and Hero and an ex Dealership Head at that) went the next evening to finalise the color and book the car. My initial rounds in the yard on the available colors made me conclude it would be either of Silver, White or Beige. Blue, Black and Marron were out due to various reasons. Wify
rejected the options and said it will be only between Silver and White. Well then Silver it will be as white looks so political (wify still thinks that way). Booked by paying 51k on 4th Sept 2012.

My loan process for the car was already done in the background when I was finalising which car. I bank with HDFC for last so many years and it was approved in no time. So there was no real need for me to wait for registration process. To allocate the car, I had to submit documents and I carried it to the dealership the next day. HDFC had given me a corporate rate of 11.25% interest for 5 years on ex-showroom plus insurance if I took the insurance from them (ERGO).

I gave the documents for registration to the executive and he said he would also need the loan process executive to come in and take the loan documents. The loan executive walked in to the discussion with his manager and asked me if I would listen to their offer on Toyota Financial Services. I had never heard of Toyota Financial Services till then and was told that it was just launched in Pune after Mumbai and Bangalore. It already runs in 23 countries. They offered me 11.5% for 5 years and included the ex-showroom + insurance + RTO registration. It was a sweet deal. Rs. 7 lac loan on a 7.33 lacs car. I took the offer and processed the documents. Loan sanctioned in flat 24 hours.

Now it was time for accessories. The Rs. 7.33 lacs on road cost of the LIVA GD SP model includes 13k worth accessories pack. I did not opt for it. Also the executive gave me a discount of 20k as there was old stock in the silver color and I was fine with 2 months old car. So my onroad cost came to Rs. 7.1 lacs. I had paid the booking amount of 51K and had a loan sanctioned for 7 lacs.

41k at disposal for the accessories, I finalised most of it and was looking at seat covers (G Sport and Autofoam - art leather) which is when I realised all I am being suggested is GREY color. I was adament on beige and the accessories guy and my sales excutive were saying it wont look good on black n grey interior. That is when I realised that the silver color car in the stock yard has black n grey interior unlike the one that was there on the display with black n beige. Both the Etios and Liva I had seen on display all in
the 3 visits to the dealership had the new black n beige interior. It looked far better than the dull black n grey.

I called my wife about the dilema after being told that if I opt for new model with beige interior, I will have to forgo the discount. Also to add to it I was being recommended a white exterior color to suit the beige interior. (Sales and Accessories guy again at it saying silver with beige will look odd)

Confused, I requested to stop the allotment of the car and come back with color re-decision the next day to the sales executive. I came back home that evening to discuss it with my wife and BIL and we ended up finalising the white color. Yes the political one !

I emailed the sales guy for the color change request and then a wait began for a new lot car to get allocated to me. Most recent stock of August in the new interior version were booked and possiblity of delay in getting one allocated for me from that stock was a cause for worry. Finally the sales guy was able to get one car for me. I then went to do the PDI and re-check on the accessories. Some small change to the list and I was fine. But surprise - there were no beige seat covers in art leather. Most were more black and very less beige in it. I wanted more beige and less black. (Yet to get them,
new stock awaited, which is supposed to be in line with the new interior)

All except seat covers finalised, the delivery date was finalised to Friday 14th Sep 2012. But on the thursday when the tax was paid at the RTO, the systems had an issue and the number allotment could not be done. Hence the delivery got postponed to saturday. After lot of dicussions on whether we should take the delivery on saturday (dont beleive it makes a difference, but my old folks were against it) and add to it being an amavasya, Dad called up a pundit and found out we could take it on Sunday. So Sunday 16th Sept it was when I bought home the-new-one.

The first drive:

On sunday 16th Sept 2012, I took the delivery of the car. It was the only delivery on that day at the dealership as it is a half day and most people opting out to take it 2 more days later on Bappa's arrival time.

After the complete formalities (smallish PDI again) the sales executive and I took a small spin inside the dealership campus. Well thats the first drive of sort.

Later we visited a Sai Mandir (just opposite the dealership) and went out to lunch in the car. Went home with a wide grin on my face. More happy was the wife as she was happy that we (me and BIL) forced her to opt the political color. She likes it and it does look much better than the silver.

My first impressions:

After driving an Indica Petrol, it is a still trying to get used to the torque situation with the Liva diesel.

1st gear is useless other than moving the car from stand still, 2nd & 3rd is wow - almost an automatic in traffic. Highway manners are really good. Almost no lag on the turbo and I found my new car had more linear acceleration than compared to my DEMO car drive where there was a distinct turbo boost. Maybe I have not driven my car in the same spirit like the DEMO car :)

Ride is flat, hardly anything travels into the cabin even on my regular highway travel (the roads in Pune are in a pathetic condition at the moment, am comparing this with the Indica ride)

Unlike most people, I tend to have taken a liking to the central console, it does not get in the way. The speedo is well - SAD. It only looks a little better in the night when lit. Only sore point for me in the car overall.

Most have talked of engine noise inside the cabin. I did not really find it so much of an issue. It is more than my Indica for sure but nothing I cannot live with. I definately agree to all who feel the engine noise is very Innova-ish. My folks and wify both felt the engine is tad noisy than the Petrol Indica. (My Indica is still very silent in the cabin after all these years, zero rattles)

My mom definately felt that the Liva seats are lower than the Indica and the ride is a little harsh than the Indica. I seem to take this in a good way cause this only means that the suspension on the Liva is tuned a little more towards handling than only on comfort.

The cooled glovebox will be hardly used in my case. I miss the power window button lights or maybe yet to get used to the positions on the driver side. I opened or closed rear windows instead of front ones on multiple occasions.

I hate to keep adjusting the seat (back n forth) for ingress and egress. Indica, one setting and it is breeze to do it. Space is more in Liva definately and I find it hard to reach some corners where otherwise it was easy in the Indica.

The Liva glovebox access is somewhat restricted due to the size of the lid (part of the entire dashboard is made as the lid). This is from the driver side.

Other bits:

Sales exec told, that each bar on the digital fuel meter represents apprx 5 liters of fuel. Had got 11 liters of fuel with delivery.

The seats though thin are very comfy and seat covers with extra cushion will add to the effect. (Only thing remaining to add)

Last and important:

Make : Toyota
Model : Etios Liva
Varaint : GD SP
On Road : Rs. 7.33 lacs (with 13k worth accessories, Pune Municipal
Corp limits registration)

Break-up Cost:

Ex-showroom: 60884
Octroi: 14329
Registration (Individual): 69328
Insurance (ICICI Lombard 0-Dep): 22940
Misc/Handling: 5000
Toyota Genuine Accessories: 13159

My cost:

On Road : Rs. 7.10 lacs (10k cash discount and 13k accessories not
taken)

Accessories added: 42k

1. Mud gaurds
2. Door protector mouldings (black - these are yet to be put, wondering if I should or not, car is looking good as is)
3. Rain wisor on doors (black)
4. Fog lamps with kit
5. Auto Cop Flip 80 with motion detector sensors inside - 2 of them
6. Rubber matting (driver n passenger footwell)
7. Fabric matting in the boot (sadly it comes in grey and red colors - no black/beige to match the interior)
8. Garware classic 50% RTO approved film on sides and rear
9. Garware Ice-cool on the windshield
10. JVC AV50 double din DVD (got JVC 300W co-ax speakers in the rear for free)
11. Radio Antenna
12. Speaker MDF tray

Other than these, a napkin, a yellow duster, Ganesha idol and sweets were given free at the time of delivery. A proper pundit ensured a good puja too.

Loan details:

Toyota Financial Services (Just started in Pune this very month of Sep 2012)
Amount: 7 lacs
Interest: 11.5%
Tenure: 5 years
EMI: 15253 (Adv EMI paid at the time of delivery)
Processing & Stamp duty: 4.5k (dont recall the exact amount)

To sum up:

The Indica still puts a smile on my face when I drive her out; the liva has started to give me a W I D E grin ! 150+ kms after the first tank full and none of the digital fuel gauge bars have budged.
Waku-doki !

Now let the pictures take over:

Many congratulations on your liva. The car looks quite cute and apolitical in white :D.

Liva is indeed a good choice and with Toyota's reliability it should give a hassle free ownership for many years.

Congratulations once again. Take care and Drive safe.

The-rare-one buys the rare car on T-BHP stupid:.
Don't worry, we also have one Liva GD (P) in our family and we are generally happy with it. Congrats and happy and safe driving with this one.

BTW: one digit is missing from the ex-showroom price, or you got a real good discount from Toyota!

Congratulations on a very practical and long lasting buy. The beige interiors really make a huge difference, the car now seems so spacious and comfortable.

I also have an Indica Xeta 1.4 petrol, and the low end torque is really very good. NVH is very good and engine seems bullet proof. Have had zero issues in the past 6 years, and maintenance is damn cheap.

150 kms without a drop in the fuel indicator is stupendous. I guess this is the major difference between a new generation diesel hatchback and an old generation petrol hatchback.

Hi there, just want to congratulate you on your purchase and bring one point to your attention. In your accessories list, you have stated in No. 8 that you have put 50% transparent sun film.

Well I just wanted to let you know that as of June 2012 all sun films are banned in India be it 10% visibility or 90%. If you do a quick search on this forum you will find the relevant info.

Congratulations on your new acquisition. She looks stunning in white. The interiors look great too.

Hi the-rare-one!
Firstly, Congrats on the Liva & welcome to the Toyota family! :D
The Liva is an all rounder. Drives well, handles well and drinks less.
You should take it to the highway and you will be surprised how well planted it is. The torque is pretty amazing , not as great as the Figo though. And damn right, the first gear is just for moving the car, you won't get the pull in it.


Toyota!! Please make up your mind! Why do you keep changing the Dash color often?


What tires did your Liva come with?
I also recommend that you get the underbody coating from 3M. It not only protects the underbody but, also brings down the road noise by a great extent. Road noise will be audible only after you cross the 100kmph mark on the highways.

Also, get the Hella Flat Blade series wiper. It's like a 100 times better than the stock wiper.

Planning on any upgrades in the near future?

Wishing you many more Happy miles with the Liva. :)
Cheers.

Congratulations on your purchase mate. The liva looks cute and simple in that shade of white. And with those new interiors and Toyota's brand image, the Liva is a great pick.
I wish you many happy miles of motring.
Take Care and Drive Safe..!!

Congratulations for the Liva man. The interior color does make the ambiance more airy, definitely better than the earlier grey version.
How is the SP pack different from the normal G model and what is the price differential between the two?

Congratulations :)

Liva with new beige interiors certainly feels more roomy and spacious as well. It looks super cool in white colour.

Nice to see Toyota finally adopted the beige interiors. One of my friend had finalized Etios Top model but his family members were all thumbs down for interiors offered, once they took test drive of Honda City and he finally opted for Honda City SMT. With this change in interiors I am sure the prospective buyers will stick to Toyota.

Your On-road price was Rs 7.10 Lacs
+ 15 k Advance EMI
+ 4.5K for processing fees and Stamp duty.

Your Loan was sanctioned for Rs 7.00 Lacs

So does that mean you paid only Rs 29.5 k :D as Down payment or I am missing something here ?

Congrats on your new ride. The introduction of beige interiors in the Liva and Etios is a much welcome step by Toyota. The majority of people like beige as it adds to the roominess of the car and is much more pleasing to the eyes. Your liva looks really great in that white colour with beige interiors. It even makes the oddly placed central dash easier to digest. The ICE looks really good too.
Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

Many Congratulations on the purchase of "The-New-One". The Liva in white looks really cute. Based on your requirement of Space, Reliability and Cost of ownership, you have chosen the perfect car for yourself.

Wish you a long trouble free ownership of the Liva.
Drive safe.

I also had the same thing in mind. By now you must be knowing from TBHP that any type of sunfilm is banned by the SC, then why did you spent money on the sunfilm. Is it ignorance or is there anything else which I might have missed.

Thanks Arup: Apolitical it is !

Thanks avingodb: I am more happy than the Indica with my Liva now.

Thanks abeer: the first bar went off after exact 200 kms of running. Beige gets dirty too, but I still prefer lighter interior to all black.

Thanks amrisharm: Yes I know and have read and debated this film issue with lot of people. Have put something that feels like there is no film at all. I needed something to save me from the sun. Will deal with if I am stopped and questioned which seems very unlikely due to the transparency. (Will post a pic to demo that)

Thanks Vancho.

Thank you Saadat: I preferred Liva for all the stated reasons. I am very happy. She is shod with Goodyear boots. And I vouch for the stability as well as handling. The overall car is engineered to suit our Indian conditions.

I am happy with the stock wiper for now. And I like to keep my car stock. So no upgrades.

Thanks dZired ! I am a sedate driver and to top that a car like Liva in its current avatar is a blessing.

Thanks Utopian: The Liva I have is GD (G model in diesel) and the SP stands for safety option of 2 front airbags. All the Liva and Etios models come with ABS as standard. The price difference is somewhere between 50-70k.

Thanks driving_smartly: Indeed my loan is 7 lacs. And I paid the additional 10k + Adv. EMI and proc. fees with stamp duty. Also I added accessories worth 42 K so far.

Thanks drmohitg: The ICE was more for my kiddo. She gets bored on long drives with just music. And hence the DVD so she can watch her cartoons.

Thanks Sommos: I have not ignored the fact that films are banned now. But one look at an existing new delivery car that was shown to me with the film on and that too in the evening light I decided to opt. Yes there is a potential risk but I would live with that till it comes. (Will post the pic in day light and evening light telling you all what I mean - it does not look like there is a film at all on the car)

Thank you all for reading through my long thread. I was busy on the weekend for Ganesh Visarjan and hence could not reply earlier.

Congrats on the new buy, the beige color interior sure looks better than the older one. But I am surprised that you feel the road noise inside the cabin is less. recently I travelled for 100kms on a Liva Gd and while it was going on 80kph, I though it was doing 100 due to the road and wind noise. Maybe there has been some changes to the NVH.

Also, how much was the JVC double din? Does it have 3 RCA preout?