Team-BHP - The Black Knight: Toyota Etios Liva G

Thanks everybody for showing interest in this wonderful car. Before I begin I must tell you that this account narrates my car buying experience over the last six months. The views expressed here are strictly my own and I by no means intend to hurt the feelings and judgement of other members who are perfectly justified in what they thought or chose. This is a long thread, so you will have to bear with me on that. Those who would like to have capsule information, you can jump straightaway to the very end where positives and negatives about Liva (petrol) are summarized.

The search and the AMAZE effect
It all started by the end of last year when we finally decided to let go our trusted companion of last 9 years, the Alto Lxi. She had about 65K kms on the odo around that time and entered its 9th year with us. As with any ageing machine it showed a few technical issues like clutch and brake problems but they were addressed immediately and as a whole it was running perfectly around then and till now. But in West Bengal where you pay your road tax once every five years, we decided against paying another round of tax in 2014. Obviously postponing the disposal to 2014 would adversely affect the resale value of the car (West Bengal offers very poor old car resale value compared to other parts of India because of tax structure, I believe) and therefore we decided to look for buyers.

At the same time we also started thinking of what the new car would be. Personally in spite of all its practicality, I have never been a big fan of hatchbacks and therefore the initial focus was on compact sedans, because its bigger brothers were out of what my budget was permitting. Another decision was made that it has to be a petrol even though our monthly commute is close to 1400km. I know it is borderline for diesel vs petrol debate but decided not to allow myself to get fleeced by unreasonably priced diesel variants. The beginning of 2014 was greeted with the launch of Sail from GM stable in February. Basically at that point we had Dzire, Verito, Indigo eCS and Sail in our horizon. As because we are small family of three with a 6 year old kid, space inside the cabin and ride comfort were of primary concern. The rest of the other issues as a regular Joe, for instance, a funky instrument cluster or the exterior look were important but not a deal-breaker or maker. As the car is mostly driven for my son's daily commute to school and to my office and family trips to relatives' places in and around Kolkata or shopping, a speed demon was not on our radar either.

Naturally like most of buyers I checked Dzire first with a very customer-friendly MSIL showroom in Kolkata, Bhandari Automobiles. The inside space in Dzire put me off even though except for that, everything else work in favor of Maruti. Dzire's driveability is and will remain one of its strongest point alongwith the inimitable A$$ of Maruti but as space was my primary concern, I decided to wait till Sail is out. Come February, Sail was out and I duly went for a test drive in nearby Devansh Chevrolet. The car was indeed very impressive with oodles of space and good in city driveability. The interiors were spartan but the base model had useful features like all four power windows, internally adjustable ORVMs etc. On the outside also it had body colored bumpers and door handles starting from the base model and a very decent boot space and that too within a very modest price- I was terribly interested in the car. Around that time the news got around that Amaze is on the horizon and hence decided to postpone the decision till Amaze is launched.

I vetoed Indigo eCS and Verito for niggling issues and TML A$$ for the former and lack of service provisions for the latter.

During the second week of April as Amaze was being sent to dealerships around India, I called Pinnacle Honda in Kolkata if I can have a sneak peek of the vehicle to which they immediately agreed. As I said I was only interested in the petrol base model, Amaze from outside looked very well proportioned even though the rear bench space was smaller than Sail. Of course being sub-4m sedan, the boot can only be decent but not very large. What was a real let down from the outside was the ORVM in base petrol that looked no better than than grey market ones- that was really shocking. Overall Sail felt more luxurious as a package but given the expertise Honda has in terms of designing their engines, I still decided to wait till 19th of April, the official Amaze launch date.

Interestingly this particular place in Kolkata has three car dealerships in a row-Pinnacle Honda, Dulichand Chevrolet, Topsel Toyota. While coming out of Honda showroom I decided to check status with Dulichand Chevrolet about the waiting period for Sail. I got two discouraging info from them-one, Devansh Auto where I initially took the TD has gone out of business and second, no way the car can be delivered before June end even though that was in mid-April. I was a little perplexed for two things. One the car was new in the Indian market-so its overall reliability is not tested in Indian conditions and secondly GM A$$???? I did another thing that day, I went to the Topsel Toyota to inquire what Toyota has to offer. Obviously Etios was out of my budget but Liva, a hatchback not in my contention, was well within. Somehow as I was coming out I happened to just look inside the cabin and overall presence of the car. I read about the refreshed version of Liva being not that dull anymore. The inside space and the rear bench accomodation looked very good and half-heartedly I took the test drive. Surprisingly I found the drive to be very compliant and its ability to be driven like an AT and its steering feedback seemed ideal for in city driving. Overall budget and comfortwise it seemed a good package in the hatchback segment.

In the last week of April, I took an appointment for Amaze TD. It was a weekday around 3PM and the Pinnacle Honda showroom now resembled a Maruti one and within a span of a fortnight things definitely changed for Honda. The families were swarming in and out of displayed Amaze and the SAs were hardly having any time to gulp even a glass of water. As the appointment was already fixed, the TD started at the right earnest. Immediately after I started my TD, the petrol Amaze that I was driving felt very sluggish. The interiors were okay-it was not anything to write home about, just okay. The ground clearance was low so much so that the SA accompanying me was hesitant to allow me a drive over a around 20-30m long stretch of potholed road. I assured him that if anything happens they are free to charge me for that. The suspension was not bad but not impressive either. The drive was so average that I did not go into any further queries about the car. Next after returning to the showroom I opened the bonnet. There was hardly any space inside and not only that the radiator grill is so upfront that it seemed a minor collision at the front end would just bring the grill down. In addition there was a strange strong smell of hydrocarbon once the hood was lifted that I never experienced in any car here in India and abroad. Somehow (this is strictly my own opinion) it felt like Honda at least in the petrol version is handing down something that is not worthy of its badge.

I felt so disappointed because for these three months I was actually making excuses to buy Amaze. Others were simply sham competitors to justify what my heart wanted but now no way my brain would allow me to go for this car. I went home disappointed and summarized to my wife and son my observations about Amaze, Sail and Liva. Of course once Liva was discussed other hatches in the segment like Figo, Swift, Ritz or i20 were also discussed. But generally speaking these hatches were already discounted for one reason or the other:
Figo: poor ground clearance and Ford (un)reliability
Swift: poor interior and boot space
Ritz: body roll
i20: Hyundai expensive A$$.

The Booking
So, on 3rd May we all decided to check out Dulichand Chevrolet and Topsel Toyota to finally decide on the car and make the booking. In the meantime our Alto LXi also found a buyer who most graciously agreed to take delivery of the car by the first week of June. Therefore on the 3rd May our job was cut out- finalize between Sail and Liva after another round of TD and make sure the car is delivered by the end of the month.

We first went to Dulichand Chevrolet and checked the delivery status of Sail. Again, Sail was so much for the price it demands that we all fell for it. But the dealership people said no way they can commit anything before end-June even if the booking is done on that day itself. We decided against Sail U-VA as we thought its not worth taking the risk with GM with the hatch. If we go for GM we will do that for Sail sedan but not the hatch. We told them the decision will be taken within next hour once the TD of Liva is done and its delivery schedule known. We went to Topsel Toyota next door and took the TD of Liva. As I said before the space and driveability of the car is awesome and is very hard to find faults in these two aspects. The dealership said that the earliest possible delivery that they could manage would be end of the month but to be on the safe side they would put us on June allocation. This appeared to be the optimized solution for time, car, space and overall confidence in brand. We paid the booking amount of Rs. 50000 and insisted to deliver the car on 22nd May which they did not commit anything to.

We booked the Classic Grey color of Liva G as this was the newest color option available. During booking they also agreed to give us Rs. 5000 free accessories. In the meantime the financing options were explored and we decided to stick to SBI car finance and the prayer for loan was immediately sanctioned within three days on 13th May. I must say the entire process with SBI was extremely smooth with no hitches. We called Topsel Toyota and they told us to defer the signing of agreement till they are sure that the car has been despatched from the Bengaluru factory. As per their rules the entire amount including the delivery order for the financed portion need be deposited within two days of shipment from Bengaluru. Once the car is shipped it takes about 7 days to reach Kolkata and another 4 days for registration etc making it a total of 11 days from shipment to delivery. On 17th afternoon I received a call from the SA that a celestial black Liva G is being shipped and whether we are interested in that color and they cannot promise about the shipment schedule of classic grey petrol G trim. I told them I am ready to wait till 22nd (Wednesday) to get their final verdict or else cancel my booking. In the meantime I was also in touch with their DGM allocations and he told me that he is trying everything that he can do to get me the color I wanted. But with every passing day our window was getting shortened as I promised to the buyer of my Alto LXi that I shall hand over the car on 26th May (Sunday). I was feeling guilty to make him wait for a used car as if he was getting a new one. Thankfully he said he waited for 5 months for his Etios to be delivered in 2011 and he knows the process of Toyota. But I thought it was unfair in my part to keep him waiting. So finally on 22nd we went to Topsel Toyota to make or break the deal. The DGM came alongwith the SA and said he still cannot promise me anything- the car could be shipped tomorrow or could also be after a week but the decision is totally ours. He said the best that he can do is to offer us more freebies like color protection, more chrome attachments etc. free of cost on the black car that is coming. We were still hesitant but reasoned that at least this car can be delivered within 28th whereas cancelling the booking and going to another car dealership will no way hasten the availability. So finally we agreed and after depositing the rest of downpayment, we went to SBI and completed the loan paperwork. On 24th (Friday) morning I got the call from Topsel Toyota that the car has arrived at the dealership and if I wanted a PDI that should be done at the right earnest so that the registration formalities can start for possible weekend delivery. I rushed to the dealership and found the car free from any blemishes and the manufacturing date was marked as 0513. It was shod with MRF ZVTV 175/65R14. They did not open the car, which I think was not right. So on visual inspection as nothing was out of place, I submitted a few other paperwork related to registration and they said they will let me know by mid-afternoon on 25th (Saturday) if the car can be delivered on that day itself.

The delivery
Around 11AM I received the call that all the paperwork is complete and they are processing the color protection, 3M underbody coating and fitment of chrome accessories and I am free to come in the afternoon to take delivery of the car. So we went around 630 in the evening, signed wherever required to and drove out of the showroom. They upgraded the accessories to Rs. 12000 and we paid another Rs.11000 making it overall Rs. 23000. Even though I was initially hesitant to buy insurance from them but on second thoughts that they were upgrading the accessories package without asking, I went with them. Of course their point that even if the policy is bought outside from the same company that they were offering, the cashless facility will not be offered at the dealership workshop was not very palatable to me. But somehow for Rs. 4000 odd, I did not take the chance.

The first drive
The Odometer reading at the time of delivery: 4km. As has been reported in all the Liva reviews so far, you somehow feel immediately at home with this car. The car itself drives very sedately but it is not slow. The drive from the dealership to our house was 18km of which 12km is totally bumper-to-bumper traffic and 5-6km where you can actually drive the car at 60kmph. The drive was pleasant and very reassuring.

Initial Ownership and Driving Report
Now the car has been driven for about 1000km and we are already in love with this car. The initial tank full gave us a fuel efficiency of 11.5kmpl with 80% AC on with mixed city and highway driving. I am still running in the car and trusting my ear not to rev the car hard. On the highway I drove about 5km at 100-110kmph and the engine took that in nicely. One thing I noticed though the tyre noise increased considerably in speeds more than 80kmph. Secondly during the first 100km, the engine in the idle state was a lot louder and after the highway drive, it has come down considerably. The driving experience so far has been fantastic and it is so effortless that your mind may drift away from the drive.:ZZZ:

The space inside the car is simply awesome and I often joke with my 6 year old son that the backseat cuddles on long family trips will be rarer as he will be seated far away from his mom. There is absolutely no problem for three grown up adults to seat comfortably at the back. The little hump at the rear floor would not in any way compromise the seating comfort of the person sitting in the middle. The interior of the car has a dual tone black-grey theme, which is decent. I have put the beige/tan bicolor seat covers to make the contrast in the interior a little bright. The overall feeling inside the car is very refreshing and not for a moment you would feel claustrophobic. The ORVMs are manually adjustable and that is problematic for the passenger side adjustment. I think making it electronically adjustable would have made it so much better. I am really surprised that Toyota did not address the issue of just one rear parking light in the previous and the present refreshed version. This to me is downright silly. As some other members have already pointed out, the symmetry in the tail lights in right and left sides gives you a feeling that only one light is working and the other has gone kaput while the fact is there is no second rear parking light. :Shockked: AC is fine and only once I needed to crank the fan speed to position 2 and mind you, early June in Kolkata is pretty hot (38-40C). But the absence of sunfilms on the windshield or the window glass does make you feel uncomfortable during the long drive. Dont really know what to do- breaking the law intentionally will require many thoughts. The front suspension even though I read that Toyota has worked on it, makes a loud thud sound at a particular speedbreaker in the vicinity of my house but for the rest of the places even on the considerably bigger ones, read mountains, it is silent. I will take it up during the first service. If driven over 30kmph on rough patches, the doors and windows also rattle a bit which I find really annoying, another point to take up during first service. The last but not the least, the absence of beading in the door is a DIRT MAGNET. You really have to spend a considerable amount of time cleaning this car every morning- this car has got a BIG surface area and there are several places where the dirt accumulates to a good extent. Also since it is black, you can imagine the effort it needs every morning to make it presentable on the road.

The rear seat and back foam cushions are extremely thin but do their job pretty well. With the amount of legroom available it will be absolute pleasure in long trips to relax seating at the back. I have never been a big fan of integrated headrests and I am glad that the refreshed Liva came with detachable ones, and both front and back ones do a decent job. The front two seats are sufficiently large and provide good underthigh and back support. The driver seat height adjustment is a welcome addition though. No complaints there.

The bitter pill, on June 6, Toyota has slashed the price of Liva by Rs. 25000 in addition to other professional discounts- only if I did not rush the purchase but well, that's life.

A huge round of cheers to Team-BHPians in different forums who have helped me in making the choice- I did not even have 10% of idea what cars are all about before I chanced upon you guys. Any sentence that I write thanking you would be a huge huge understatement.

To sum up my initial ownership experience, I would give Etios Liva 9 out of 10 factoring in all aspects. This car is totally VFM and I think with the durability of Toyota engines and trusted service this is a good proposition for small families. Toyota claims that the cost of ownership of their vehicles is extremely low and I hope if that stays this way, there would not be enough room for complaining. The overall assessment of the car is as follows:

Positives:

1. Great driveability- its almost driving an AT. You need not press clutch or downshift at 4th gear even when driving at 15kmph.
2. Except the first gear, other gears are quite tall. You do not need to downshift while overtaking. The car will happily make you aware of its broad shouldered torque distribution over a wide range of rpm.
3. Wonderful steering response.
4. Short turning radius makes the maneuvering so effortless in tight corners- three point turns will be rarer.
5. Confidence-inspiring short braking distance even without EBD.
6. Space inside the car.
7. Central console once you get used to is fun. The blue background illumination is no longer offending as the white ones.
8. Headlights are decent. They may not be the best in the market but do their job well.

Negatives:

1. The lack of door beadings make the dust particles to accumulate in door joint.
2. The OEM ICE is very average- the sound output is just okay. The LCD display is very dim making it almost impossible to read anything with bright sunshine outside.
3. Tyre noise trickling into the cabin beyond 80kmph.
4. The 1st gear requires input from the gas pedal to get the car moving. Just a slow and gradual release of the clutch without right foot aid would stop the engine.
5. Absence of both tacho and engine temperature gauge make you feel very insecure, IMHO. However great the ECU might be in its behavior, you have to trust it blindfolded.
6. Use both your ORVMs. The IRVM's field of view is strictly through the rear glass and with the thick C-pillar, unless you have your LHS ORVM unfolded, it is practically impossible to notice the two wheelers which have a tendency to squeeze themselves in while stopping at traffic lights.

1st service done

On completion of 1000km, I went for 1st scheduled service at Topsel Toyota Maheshtala. Wonderful experience- they do pamper the car really well. We had the following problems as mentioned before:
a) A 'thud' noise from front passenger side suspension
b) A rattle from the doors on uneven surface at moderate speed
c) Headlight alignment was imperfect
d) IRVM was loose
e) The horn pad was not perfectly set

They addressed all these issues with precision. Worked on the suspension a little bit but did not tinker with the mount. They told us if the problem persists they will again look into it. Thankfully when I passed over the same monster speed breakers this morning, that thud noise is gone and so were door rattles. I would really give them two thumbs up on their job. The car cleaning was done immaculately- she looks a real beauty inside out. Everything done under warranty and I did not have to pay even a nickel.

Also subscribed to 'Toyota Smiles' program, appeared to be a great deal. Hoping that even without major technical issues even the monthly car wash for next 12 months would be cost effective with this program.

Last week, did the second tank full with 100% city drive with 60% AC on- got 12.65 kmpl. Can't complain on that either. Hopefully past 10,000 km which I presume would take another 6 months, the city mileage will stabilize at 14kmpl. That would be the perfect scenario- but lets see.

I lost the pictures as the CF card in my camera crashed. I will try to shoot them over the weekend and share with you..........

So long........