[kanwar_26]

I set off to buy a small reliable diesel car to be kept for a long time and in the end I bought a Toyota Etios Liva GD-SP.

So let’s begin the review.

First of all, I'll introduce myself.
I live in Ahmedabad and work for a chemical company. We already have Palio 1.6 GTX, therefore this was going to be a second car in the family.
My profession requires me to travel in and around the city therefore I needed a diesel car which gives me no hassles. Moreover, I had just started earning, so budget was tight.
These parameters were considered while searching for the car:
1. Anti-lock Braking System Equipped
2. Airbags equipped
3. Reliability and hassle free servicing
4. Interior and luggage space

Ideally I would love to have ESP feature in the car, but none of the premium hatch offered this. The only hope was Ford Eco sport which was still to come.
Anyways so with these parameters, I used to read owner reviews of all the cars in forums.
Add to that, after having some horrible time with owning a Fiat Palio, my brother and I were of the opinion that we should buy a car from either Maruti, Hyundai, Toyota or Honda. These manufacturers have good after-sales presence, which other manufacturers can't seem to match (no offense to other users. It’s my personal view).

Cars

1. Suzuki Ritz
Ritz was a close call. For about six months I was convinced that this will be my ride. But things changed when I went for a showroom visit. It was a cherry red Ritz. I opened the rear door and was surprised to see space for only two people to sit comfortably at the back!
Plastic quality was also not that great . The car seemed to be build to a specified width. I didn't like that. I am used to space offered by Palio.

2. Hyundai i20
It had all the goodies. It is also a very good-looking car. But the safety feature option was costly by a lakh. The quality of the car had impressed us. My brother's friend had recently purchased one and he was too impressed with gadgets and overall quality of the car. So it was short listed as an option.

3. Ford Figo
Once I had been in a Figo for a weekend trip from Chennai to Bangalore. The thing that impressed me about this car was its engine. We were most of the time above 120 kmph on Bangalore Chennai highway. The luggage space is good, but leg space could have been better. It is a good car. But we were skeptic about Fords after-sales service quality.

4. Suzuki Swift
Well I didn’t like swift from the beginning, and it was very common sight.Plus the ZDI version went over budget and long waiting period was against it. Therefore it was out.

5. Honda Brio
It lacked a diesel Engine, and Amaze was not launched.

6. Tata Vista:
A very good and capable car. We knew that this is a car which has been underrated by the people. It has space and a good engine. The only thing going against it was our experience of poor after-sales service. Once we had taken our Palio to TATA service center to for problem shooting, to be returned disheartened. So not making to the list.

7. Toyota Etios Liva

Well its story goes a long way down the line. When it was launched in only petrol variant I had said to myself that it's diesel variant is the one to go for, and in the scoops we were getting news that Toyota is working on a diesel engine. So I was pretty excited.
First test drive of Liva diesel was taken in Vellore TN, I had accompanied my friend(He was buying). The Toyota people were very professional. They took the driving license copy and then asked us to test drive a Red Liva GD. The plus point of the car on my first drive were comfortable steering wheel, precise gear shifts, pliant ride and very good brakes.
The negatives were black interiors and loss of acceleration after 100 kmph.

When I was transferred to Ahmedabad, I decided to buy a car because it was unbearable to visit clients on bike with scorching heat and pollution level off the charts.
My Bike


I began with visiting Toyota dealers.

Now, there are two dealers in Ahmedabad, Both are Infinium Toyota, one is in Naroda and other one on S.G Highway.
First I went to Naroda one, and enquired about the car. In that visit Liva was now being offered in new two tone interiors(for airbag varient). This was the first time I really started seeing my self owning the Liva.




I liked the sales person and the staff. All my doubts were cleared and quotation was given to me.

Next I went to the dealer in S.G Highway, just to compare prices, and to my shock the sales person resisted in giving me a formal quotation document to take it to the bank.
Then and there I decided not to buy from here.

I also checked quotation from Nanavati Toyota, Surat. It was almost same.

Decision

So we had to decide between Ritz, i20 or Liva . After removing Ritz because of limited space and i20 because of budget, we had Liva as an option. And since I wanted to keep the car for a long time, what can be better than a Toyota.

Therefore, It was decided that my first car would be a Toyota !!


Booking Experience:

After all the efforts, I was ready to book the car. Went to the Infinium Toyota,Naroda. And asked them for a final test drive. My younger brother has still not seen Liva in flesh, after mentioning this to the sales team, they arranged the demo car to be taken to his college campus which was 15km away and once there, explained him about the car and offered him to drive back to the dealer.

Colour Choice
From the start I wanted to have a blue colour Liva. But my sales team dropped a bomb !
A blue Liva would be delivered only in January'13. So next choice was silver, and a silver car was was available in their stock.

All done, I was ready to sign the cheque and did.


Loan experience

First I went to SBI, their rate was 10.25% and was the lowest. But they require Income tax return files for last two years and I had none. So this way SBI is out or rather I am out from SBI.
Next came ICICI Bank, their rate was too high!
Then I asked my Sales Person from Toyota to arrange for loan, he had his ties with Kotak Mahindra and could get me loan for 90% of the amount.

Deal!!

Pre-Delivery Inspection

After the loan was approved, I asked the car to be brought to dealer compound so that I can have a look before the car is registered to my name.
Here are some pictures. I took PDI on 25 October 2012 and car was manufactured on 11 October'12.















Delivery Experience

After PDI,I asked them to go ahead and complete other formalities, the process of registration started. As I am staying in a rented house, Police verification was compulsory for registering. This took lot of time and hence I couldn't get car on 26 Oct.
Finally got it on 1st November 2012, went around 4 pm to pick it up. One of my friend told me put a lemon under a tyre and crush it by driving over it for Good Luck. I know its superstitions but thought what the heck; I brought four and placed them under all tyres.
I had asked them to put on new seat covers, AC vent chrome rings, and sliver Gear Knob.





Gear Knob

Chrome AC Rings


New Seat Covers

[kanwar_26]

Continued;



After starting for home from the dealership, I noticed lack of certain things

• Temperature gauge , only high temperature warning light.
• Auto window up would have been convenient ( included in new models now).
• Only central locking by driver.
• No Clock.

Cost

On road Price: Rs 6.98 lakhs /-
Discount: Rs 9000/-
Amount I paid: Rs 6.89 lakhs /-
Free Accessories worth: Rs 5000/-

RTO Experience

2 weeks after getting the car I went for getting the permanent number. Sales guy in the Toyota had made all the arrangements. I just had to go there with car with original documents and the RTO personal will do his thing.
In this case my Toyota Sale guy told me wrong appointment time!
He told me to reach by 9:30 am instead of 1:30 pm!! Later when I asked about the goof up he simply laid blame on the RTO. Nevertheless I had to wait there for 4 hours.
It was a 35 minutes job. I had not brought any special number because I feel “Car should be special not Number “
1 week later RTO had Speed Posted me my Registration Card to my home. Pretty nice work.

Standing Alone


Got the number plates fixed.




Upgrades
I found the OE Horn is inadequate for Ahmedabad traffic, therefore it had to be replaced. I brought new ROOT Vento horn for INR 800/-.

On the first day, I happened to get in a traffic situation that made me press the horn for about 30 seconds continuously, this extreme usage blew up the fuse!! So I had to replace it with a higher ampere fuse. I think it solved the issue because I never had the problem again.

Problems/Issues encountered

• Noise from Dashboard---Now Solved ( I was told some airbag wire made noise)
• Rear mounted Brake light makes sound – Now solved
• In day light it is difficult to notice if lights are turned on. It may lead to battery dying out on murphy’s day.

Second service At 10,000 km

• Changed to Synthetic Oil
  
  
  
• Interiors and Exterior were thoroughly cleaned
• Consumables - checked and Top up.
  
  During this service I enquired about the Smile Package, My service adviser told me not to opt for this package now because all the features are already available in free service ( Like Wheel rotation, balancing etc)
  He advised me to buy this package after 3rd Free service.
  Secondly he said Synthetic Oil is not available in Smile Package (will have to check with Toyota about this ).
  

Fuel efficiency
I filled normal diesel in the car

• I got a city average with 100% AC: 17 kmpl
• Best average (80% highway and 20% City) with AC: 21 kmpl

Well after changing to synthetic oil, I didn’t find any difference in the low rpm drive but it’s much quieter and smooth in high rpm.

Driving experience

It is a sweet little car to drive around. The steering is very soft which helps manoeuvring at parking speeds. The ride height of Liva is good enough and it doesn't roll much on heavy cornering. This results in very balanced ride. One doesn't need to worry about grounding and can keep good speed on bad roads.

The clutch is smooth and offers good feedback. The gear engaging process gives good feedback and makes sweet sound every time. The steering is very nice to hold and the horn switches are very nice to press.

At high speeds the steering can be a bit sensitive. Small inputs results in big direction changes. The brakes are pretty much good. They operate well and the ABS function kicks in pretty neatly. Certainly Liva’s braking gives good feedback and builds confidence.

The Liva diesel can pull till 100kmph with aggression. After that the aggression tappers off till 120 kmph . After that it strains it way to achieve top speed of 150 kmph. The sweet spot of this diesel pot is between 100 and 120 kmph. In city limits this hardly impacts, but in express-way you would sometime miss the pull of a Fiat Palio 1.6.

Other Points Noted

• Wiper sweep of passenger side is not that good but driver side sweep is very good.
• ORVM offer good view.
• Rear space is good, can comfortably sit 3 people.
• Switch quality is good,
• No dead pedal, highway cruise a bit tiring.

Suspension Update

The famous “thud thud “ noise from suspension is a well know case. I ordered the new suspension set for front setup. It was changed around 14000 km.
The new suspensions are a welcome change. With this new setup the thud sound is gone for the good. Initially the suspension was very hard. But after some running they have softened. It took 1000 km for the suspension to become softer and nicer again. This setup has reduced body roll considerably. Curving roads are fun and now sometimes I find myself attacking one corner after another

When I took car for suspension change, they themselves took initiative and changed the bolt and washer in the transmission oil sump also. It had leaking issue in other cars.
A very welcome touch for this proactive approach.

About workmanship

During the replacement of suspension, I also asked to check for the dashboard noise. The Toyota representatives are very good listeners! The guy listened to me patiently and really showed interest in solving the problem. At that time unfortunately that particular sound was not audible. Still he took my inputs seriously and decided to suggest repacking of the dashboard. However, the process of refitting the dashboard caused a small mark at the fan speed controller switch.( At fan speed 4)



Next
Incidentally in this trip to workshop, I also found the fog lamp plastic housing broken. The representative told me that it might have been already broken and the water jet pressure might have done its part in nearly removing the plastic. Anyway I have fixed it with Fevi Quick in the meanwhile, till I fit fog lamps.

Overall I am happy with Toyota’s Service but these two incidents have made me over sensitive for future experiences.

P.S. All service had been done at Infinium Toyota, Naroda, Ahmedabad.

[Eddy]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[zalaps]

Congratulation Kanwar_26 on Liva!

Originally Posted by kanwar_26

The Toyota representatives are very good listeners! The guy listened to me patiently and really showed interest in solving the problem.

Such is the service of Infinium Toyota. We had a qualis in 2002-12. And my father always traveled 350KM from Vapi to Infinium Ahmedabad for Qualis service.

[Alive2Drive]

Congrats on your new ride !!!! Toyota is one of the best in terms of engine reliability !!! Happy Mile crunching !!!

Do you plan any audio installations/upgrades ?

[bblost]

Wishing you many happy miles. The Liva is an excellent car with such a solid engine and of course the legendary Toyota reliability and service.

Don't worry too much about the 2 small incidents. Once the fogs are installed the feviquik fix will be forgotten.

[ghodlur]

@kanwar

Congratulation on the Liva. IMO the colour Blue looks better on the car, what was the reason for the blue colour Liva to be available so late?

Liva was one of the contenders in my search for a diesel car. Three things clearly put me off - high engine noise clearly heard inside the cabin, ineffective AC (tested in May heat), centrally mounted instrument console. Plus no offers from Toyota dealer in my place. Did you too feel the above irritants? I would suggest to install sound deadening pads under the hood. The car was a good handler, never felt the suspensions to be a problem though.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

PS: Why didnt Punto make it to the shortlisted cars?

[kanwar_26]

Originally Posted by zalaps

Congratulation Kanwar_26 on Liva!

Such is the service of Infinium Toyota. We had a qualis in 2002-12. And my father always traveled 350KM from Vapi to Infinium Ahmedabad for Qualis service.

Thanks for the wishes! Indeed their service is very good. At the end, I leave their compound with a smlie everytime.

Originally Posted by Alive2Drive

Congrats on your new ride !!!! Toyota is one of the best in terms of engine reliability !!! Happy Mile crunching !!!

Do you plan any audio installations/upgrades ?

Thanks for the wishes! I have short-listed a 2-din Sony Xplod with navigation ready system. Will get it soon.

Originally Posted by bblost

Don't worry too much about the 2 small incidents. Once the fogs are installed the feviquik fix will be forgotten.

Thanks for the wishes!
You know,I said the same thing to myself when this happened.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@kanwar

Congratulation on the Liva. IMO the colour Blue looks better on the car, what was the reason for the blue colour Liva to be available so late?

Liva was one of the contenders in my search for a diesel car. Three things clearly put me off - high engine noise clearly heard inside the cabin, ineffective AC (tested in May heat), centrally mounted instrument console. Plus no offers from Toyota dealer in my place. Did you too feel the above irritants? I would suggest to install sound deadening pads under the hood. The car was a good handler, never felt the suspensions to be a problem though.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

PS: Why didnt Punto make it to the shortlisted cars?

Thanks for the wishes!
As per my sales team, the blue colour(with airbag) was less in demand,therefore they didn't keep it in their stock. I asked them to look for it from near by dealers but couldn't find one. Then I was informed that they could order one in the factory but then it would be delivered in January'13.

I agree about the engine noise. But I am hopeful that It would settle/reduce in time (as other owners have pointed out).

Regarding Air conditioning, I am happy with it.It cool's very fast and was effective in Ahmedabad summer. In fact I have set thermostat in medium cool.

I understand centrally mounted instrument console feels odd when using for the first time but one gets used to it. In fact I have noticed that it increases visibility to some extent.

I was prepared for the possibility that Toyota won't offer any freebies. But in the end it turned out okay.

Thanks for the advise on sound deadening pads. I will look into it.

Punto didn't made to the list because of the attitude of Fiat. Our family does own a Palio 1.6 and we have faced many problems with Fiat dealers and now Tata-Fiat dealers. Thus this personal experience forced us to stay away from Punto.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Hi
Fantastic review indeed. I had a TD of Liva D a couple of months back. Without doubt it is a very good buy. I fully agree your observations about power of the engine. How is the ride in comparison to Palio? Any reason for not trying Micra/Pulse. I have TD of both. IMO, city driveability of both are better than Liva. Going by FE figures reported by Bhpians, Micra/Pulse
are little better. The interior quality too is better.

Thanks

[iVento]

Congratulations Kanwar! Liva looks beautiful!

Originally Posted by kanwar_26

All done, I was ready to sign the cheque and did.

BTW, Won't you cross the cheques?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by kanwar_26

Thanks for the wishes! Indeed their service is very good. At the end, I leave their compound with a smile every time.

Toyota rocks

May be 1 in 10 would complain against them but 8 would be satisfied and have another Toyota as their next vehicle.

Originally Posted by kanwar_26

Thanks for the wishes! I have short-listed a 2-din Sony Xplod with navigation ready system. Will get it soon.

Any reason for choosing a Sony Xplod?

I urge to look at other options as I don't think Sony is a good bet here. Try JVC or Pioneer or Kenwood. For speakers if your looking for a change at a medium budget them JBL are good enough.

Anurag.

[puchoo]

Congratulations Kanwar_26 , wishing you all the best. Great review , very informative!!

[kanwar_26]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

Hi
How is the ride in comparison to Palio? Any reason for not trying Micra/Pulse.
Thanks

Thanks!
Well comparing both cars now would not be fair because Palio has done 80k and Liva has done 16k. However for the bigger picture handling and stability of Palio is much better but ride over potholes and rough surfaces is not good as Liva.

Nissan or Renault was not considered because I was looking for something that has established itself in India with good network. As it is my first car I was playing safe.

Originally Posted by iVento

Congratulations Kanwar! Liva looks beautiful!

BTW, Won't you cross the cheques?

Thanks!
Actually I did cross it before handing it over to the dealer. I too noticed that after clicking the photo.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Toyota rocks

May be 1 in 10 would complain against them but 8 would be satisfied and have another Toyota as their next vehicle.

Any reason for choosing a Sony Xplod?
Anurag.

Thanks, thats the reason i went for Toyota!
I am looking for a system which can be used as navigation also and Sony was the one offering that.
But after you said, I looked around and found Kenwood are too offering that. So sooner than later I will go and try them.
Thanks for the advise.

Originally Posted by puchoo

Congratulations Kanwar_26 , wishing you all the best. Great review , very informative!!

Thanks for the wishes !

[kanwar_26]

In earlier post I forgot to mention about the TVSS ( Toyota vehicle Security System) it was brought and installed after 4 days of ownership.
Cost: Rs 6824/-

TVSS indicator Light


Motion Sensor


Alarm Speaker


Bonnet Switch


Both the Motion Sensor( in the A-Pillar)


No Key lock in Passenger Side


3rd Service Update:
I took a appointment at 9:30 am, reached there and the service advisor was waiting. The car went inside in 15 minutes. And out by 12 pm.

In service bay






Good work practice, they never keep anything on floor( even the tyre)




An internet connection and phone in waiting room ( Nice touch indeed)


Progress Display


Waiting Sofa,


Total Cost: Rs 250/-

Engine Oil and and oil filter was not changed as the synthetic oil is recommended to be used for 15000km.


Update:
Installed ICE and front fog lamps.


Will give detailed review on ICE in another post.

[driving_smartly]

Originally Posted by kanwar_26

Upgrades
I found the OE Horn is inadequate for Ahmedabad traffic, therefore it had to be replaced. I brought new ROOT Vento horn for INR 800/-.

On the first day, I happened to get in a traffic situation that made me press the horn for about 30 seconds continuously, this extreme usage blew up the fuse!! So I had to replace it with a higher ampere fuse. I think it solved the issue because I never had the problem again.

Even i have updated my Liva's Punny horn with Skoda type horn ( Make-Minda). My horn fuse blew yesterday. Manual says horn fuse ampere of 7.5, What was the ampere you upgraded to ?

Did you do it at Toyota A.S.S or outside ?