Part 4 - A Second look at the car
I feel the etios needs a second look because from the car, it looks as if they looked at all the criticisms from the original team bhp review and fixed every single one of them. I'll just quote the relevant bits from the original review here where appropriate
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ve-review.html (Toyota Liva : Test Drive & Review) Quote:
What you'll like:
• A neutral family hatchback with the "T" badge
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That makes TWO family hatchbacks for me with "T" badges
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• Spacious interiors can easily carry 5 adults
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One of the main reasons I was happy with this car. there are plenty of premium hatches in this price range, but very few are true 5 seaters
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• Well-tuned suspension. Safe handling and flat ride
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Its nowhere close to the Swift or first gen figo, but I felt ride and handling to be above average. Mine has 15inchers, so that might help the ride quality
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What you won't:
• 1.2L engine lacks bottom end; isn't a class-topper like the Etios 1.5 (from which it is derived)
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I liked the engine - it was much better than the 1.0 and 1.1 and 3 pot 1.2 engines from the competition these days. Even the bottom end is fine - and I have pretty high expectations ( I'm coming from a turbodiesel and a 2.4L NA petrol). I felt it had better low end than some better cars (i20 elite petrol, altroz iturbo)
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• Economy-grade interior quality & unconventional dashboard |
It takes a special amount of effort for a car to make the owner of a 15 year old indica feel like he's downgrading. But the switchgear on the etior is atrociously poor. Would it have hurt them to design the window switch controls? or put backlights on the power window switches?
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• Missing equipment (climate control, height adjustable driver's seat etc.)
...Even the top variant Liva VX lacks a height-adjustable driver’s seat, |
My car has a Height adjustable driver's seat, so some progress
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• Poor insulation. Engine, suspension & road noise are prominent |
I felt road noise etc were in line with cars in the segment. When I opened the door pads for re upholstering them, I found a ton of damping material inside. Exposed thermocol inside the front fender is way too cheap though.
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Body kit (standard on the fully-loaded VX variant) looks neat: |
Mine is a VX, but doesn't come with any body kit - haven't seen them on any facelift models
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This unique shade of blue is very photogenic: |
Even more so in dual tone!
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185 / 60 R15 tyres mounted on 12 spoke alloy wheels. Not a bad design for OEM |
Mine comes with a Diamond cut design which looks great. Even the TRD Design is pretty sweet
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Unlike that of the Etios, the tail-lamps here are well designed & suit the rear profile: |
Being used to having fully functional reverse lamps on both sides of my older cars, this came as a rude shock to me. In my indica, after adding Autobahn LED Bulbs, they are pretty useful.
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Thick chrome strip is a hit or miss. Most BHPians found it too garish: |
Looks like they've made it an optional accessory. Mine doesn't have it
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The awesome, sporty steering wheel looks & feels the best in this class. |
Have to agree there - It feels great to hold, and the ergonomics of the car are spot on. Only wish it had Call buttons like the Brazil '21 Etios
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Next in line to catch your eye is the extremely basic looking, center-mounted instrument console. As much as I like the steering, I hate the instrument console treatment & position. What’s wrong with conventional placement anyway? |
I don't have particularly strong feelings about the center mounted console. I was ok with it in the vista, and am ok with this as well.
The facelift Digital tacho looks nice, though I would have preferred a digital Speedo and an analog tacho. Again the brazil Etios got the better design
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Space packaging is top class & interior room is equal to many C segment sedans. |
The indica had segment beating space back in the day, and this was the only car which felt like an upgrade space wise. I'm a plus sized guy and I need all the space I can get
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Toyota has made liberal use of red to brighten up the interiors of the VX variant. |
Mine came with almost entirely beige interiors. Having had Red seats in my Civic Si - they are sporty, but a pain to maintain. Beige works fine for me.
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Even the integrated neck restraints.... |
This one comes with adjustable head restraints
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All-round visibility is great,
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Again, special mention of this - being used to learning driving on cars from 20 years ago, I've found most newer cars incredibly claustrophobic, and resigned myself to a future of driving cars with tiny portholes for windows using cameras- With those expectations, driving the etios felt refreshing and old school in a nice way
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The Liva doesn’t come installed with a “headlamp on” buzzer either. |
That's been added now, but I don't understand the need for one - In my Indica, the headlights turn off the moment you remove the keys
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Slick looking red gearshift:
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I like the round gear knob, but in my car, the leather finish rubber had already started cracking and the chrome plating (instead of the red) had worn off. The black knob was no longer available- I got a grey one and painted it black. It looks fine now
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Stock audio has 4 speakers, all at the front (2 on the doors & 2 tweeters on the dashboard).
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Another interesting commonality with the indica - this is the only other car that has both dash and door locations for speakers (opening up the possibility of three way speaker installs). The head unit is a Pioneer OEM one which supports Bluetooth, but no DVD and isn't that great.
Taken from
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...e-edition.html (Letty - My Toyota Etios G Xclusive Edition)
It has rear speaker outs (if you want to add speakers to the rear one day). All you need is to buy the right wiring harness. Unfortunately no slots in the door so you'll need to put them in the parcel tray
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Air-conditioner controls are 10 years too old in look & feel. When was the last time you used a slider for recirculation / fresh air mode? Even the Figo gets a button:
Cable-type headlamp leveler (rotary knob) feels very rudimentary to use. |
Personally I'm ok with this - in the indica this switch would wear out frequently and you would need to replace the entire facia to fix. Given toyota's obsession with reliability, I'm all for sacrificing a bit of convenience if it helps with increasing reliability,
Same goes for the Cable type leveller. In the indica the leveler motor makes an INR2K headlight assembly a 3K part. And the aftermarket headlights comes with manual levelling systems which dont always work with the leveler motor. I had to take apart both a headlight and a leveler motor to make them fit so i could align them - even after that the leveling system does not work reliably. Given all these hoops I have jumped through - I am more than happy with a KISS principle applied mechanical adjuster.
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Rear seat can fold down for the airport service trips. Unfortunately, no split folding option for added flexibility: |
Heck, they dont even tumble forward - and that space at the bottom is blocked - I found that pretty inconvenient
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the Liva's 1.2L merely does the job; it simply isn't as impressive within the city.
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I don't know what tweaks Toyota have done, I felt it a joy to drive. I found the engine better than the Kappa 1.2 and on par with the K12 performance wise. Getting it off the line is a bit hard since I'm used a mountain of torque, I manage with a bit of parking brake and half clutch. But once its moving, its pretty lovely. the engine revs willingly unlike the contemporary 3 cylinders, and power delivery is linear. On a trip to ponmudi (a nearby hill station) I was adviced to move fast as I was the last car at the entry gate, and they were going to close the entry to the top in half an hour. I had fun ripping the car up the hills, unlike the indica where it felt like work.
Etios having fun on the twisty hill roads