[RegularIndian]

Fellow TBHPians, please bear with me around the pics, have not seen the car in daylight enough yet owing to being at work most of the daylight hours.
Pictures definitely coming on 19th Jan.

[GTO]

Congrats on the lightning fast delivery, RegularIndian!

Originally Posted by RegularIndian

Quality of plastics: HORRIBLE! the dash has three types/colors; the hood over the speedo is best in terms of quality and color, the flat surface in front of it..and the front surface that houses the controls etc...is like from a Tobu cycle

Honestly, I didn't find the plastic and part quality that bad. It's economy grade for sure, but acceptable for an otherwise competent car that starts at 5 lakh rupees.

Seats: Size, support excellent and comparable to my existing Baleno.

Surprising, isn't it? After seeing pictures of the super-thin seats, I was very apprehensive of the support they offer.

Boot space: Well, one could have a party in there...the cover that covers the spare tyre...hmm I had to ask the sales guy that if I put 2 suitcases in there will it not perforate (yes perforate is the word, given the thickness of it)?

You can say that again! I've even put a picture of the same up in my Etios review.

[RegularIndian]

Finally the pics!

Thanks for the comments GTO, always welcome!

I guess quality is again relative and comparisons individualistic. I wrote what hit me as I entered a new car in a showroom.

The drive is simple fabulous, no two thoughts about it!

Pictures here...

[m4ugr8]

Hi,Congratulations onyour new car.Could you please tell me which dealer didyou buy the Etios from???

[vebmetal]

I assume you got Goodyear because you got the G variant which comes without alloys, and therefore can't have tubeless tyres? I am hoping the V variant I have booked will at least come with Bridgestones! (though getting Goodyear will certainly give me a good enough excuse to upgrade to Michellins )

[nkrishnap]

Regular Indian congrats on the Etios. Doesn't the V version come with the Foglamps.

OT: The steels wheels as well can accommodate tubeless tyres, The alloys are not mandatory.

The goodyear tyres may be due the current lot coming with goodyear tyres. You can expect other brands like accelere, bridgestone as well. Not sure if Toyota will opt for JK Tyres like Maruti.

[M00M]

@ regular indian : congratulations on the etios. first one on the thread, keen to follow your ownership thread. i agree toyota couldve charged 15 - 20 k more and given more features and better quality but im sure a refresh will be in the pipeline in a couple of years. how is the suspension setting for our bumpy roads and ive heard that the steering for a full u requires more than the normal lock to lock turns ?

over all i wish you a great future with the etios.

[Utopian]

Congrats Regular for the Toyota. Finally, the 1st one on the forum. Interiors are quite utilitarian, to sum it up.
Wishing you happy miles with the Etios. Enjoy.

[aaggoswami]

Congratulations! All the reviews state the car to be good or great in one way or the other. I hope to see more details on :

1) Ground Clearence with load.
2) How comfortable the centrally placed instrument cluster is.

Now, to cut things short, how about a direct comparison of Baleno and Etios on ride, handling, performance, both flat out and in gear, and overall general feel as compared to Baleno. Also comparison of A/C.

By flat out I mean revving the engine high for performance which Baleno enjoys. And by ingear I mean how the torque. Baleno unit is one that has got good punch for top end and surprisingly good torque in bottom end such that one can get away with 3rd even at 20 kmph. I am yet to see such a great combo, is Etios better or not ?

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

OT: The steels wheels as well can accommodate tubeless tyres, The alloys are not mandatory.

The goodyear tyres may be due the current lot coming with goodyear tyres. You can expect other brands like accelere, bridgestone as well. Not sure if Toyota will opt for JK Tyres like Maruti.

Well, problem is that the steel rims can get bent and if they do, the air will be lost from tubeless tyres. This is one reason why tubeless tyres are not recommended on steel rims.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by RegularIndian

The tyres pick up gravel from the road, and gurgaon roads r full of it, and throw them in the wheel wells...the sound says there isnt enough sound insulation there.I have read this in some reviews and experienced it too. Any suggestions on how to reduce this noise are welcome!.

Spray the inside of the wheel wells with 3M rubberized coating. Do it before it accumulates a lot of dirt.

[RegularIndian]

Thank you guys for the replies and keeping your interest high.

m4ugr8, This has been delivered by Grace Toyota in Gurgaon, comes with Tubeless tyres on Steel rims and no fog lamps. This is a G variant. you can connect with me on sonudel at the rate yahoo dot come if you need more info on the dealer

Central instrument cluster is fine, this variant only has a 'sunrise' shaped speedo that lights up in white color, pretty good! and a small LCD display for fuel meter, odo and other signals.

Have not tested with full load so will have to wait till Monday for that. Also not revving the engine as its done less than 50 kms.

Comparing to Baleno, the drive feels light, the engine doesnt seem 1500cc but torque is top notch. Pretty much like Baleno, I have done 4th gearing at 30kmph and 5th at 40kmph effortlessly. I believe it is the right combination pretty much like a Baleno.
The engine just doesnt want to be in the 1st gear, I mean it accelerates fast enough to shift within seconds of a take off In city driving in 4th is what I have been doing and as I move to 5th it begs to speed up..you can feel the torque peaking in 5th around 2000rpm, it doesnt have a revv counter but u can feel it by experience

Its peak winters in Delhi so cooling performance is yet to be tested, however, the heater works well, warm air thrown in within a minute of a cold start.

MPower: Thanks a lot for the suggestion! I am going to do that over the weekend.

Weekend Plan: At least 150kms driving, partially with full load of 5 adults.
Getting a music system and two speakers at the rear
3M rubberized coating in the wheel wells
Floor Mats

Another suggestion I am seeking, for a place like Delhi that has summers for at least 7-8 months an year, is artificial leather seat cover good?

[amit.mishra]

congrats for being the 1st one on this forum to take delivery of the ETIOS.
Do post your ownership (or relationship, as i read somewhere on this forum) experience. Waiting for your review after the planned weekend drive

[SMK_BLR]

Congrats! More-so for being the first TBHPian to own an Etios.

Has the dealer put TOI newspaper on the pax footwell (4th pic) - cost cutting to this level?

Also, dashboard has good amount of space, for idol, perfume, etc. Any plan on ICE? I think the dash needs a good HU.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by vebmetal

I assume you got Goodyear because you got the G variant which comes without alloys, and therefore can't have tubeless tyres? I am hoping the V variant I have booked will at least come with Bridgestones! (though getting Goodyear will certainly give me a good enough excuse to upgrade to Michellins )

Hi vebmetal,
What exactly do you mean by "can't have tubeless tyres?" I'm a bit confused by that statement. Do you mean Etios comes with tubed Goodyear tyres for non-alloy wheel trims? Doesn't make much sense to me when entry level B segment cars come with tubeless tires across all trims...

@RegularIndian,
Good snaps and really nice colour. Do please also post some zoomed out / wide angle pictures of the interiors, rear, exteriors, boot etc. You'll have to live with our requests (demands :P) of more pictures as you are the 1st ETIOS OWNER ON TBHP, and being first has its pros and cons

[akshay_ritz]

Out of curiosity I went to DSK Toyota showroom in Model colony and checked out the Toyota Etios. The first words that came to my mind were "Practical Sedan". I always associated the sedan with a dash of luxary and Toyota may have made the perfect car for the Indian mindset by coming out with a purely practical sedan. The fact that the top end costs 7.5 Lakh on road shows in the quality of plastic used in a lot of places. However, one cannot complain since if you want premium sedan's the market already has a lot of offerings for you. The boot space would allow you to have a game of gully cricket inside it and cars rear shape is really good. I found the front seat to be slightly uncomfortable compared to the bucket seats of my Ritz and missed the seat height adjustment option which is surprisingly missing from even the top end variant. The rear seat should fit 3 moderately sized passengers comfortably and overall the car seems like very good value for money.

I am however surprised that the 1.5L engine from Toyota only generates 90 BHP when Maruti is claiming that its new 1.2L engine may actually top 92-94 and may be introduced late this year.

Astonishing Fact: I know what Toyota was thinking when it said we have developed this car after 4 years R&D and is now having waiting period of 10 months to 1 year. If they cannot make enough cars to meet the demand then its a huge opportunity loss for them.

My 2 Cents on the Car Market after Etios: The Etios will interest two primary audiences. Firstly people wanting to upgrade from a Hatch to an affordable sedan. Secondly, people who want their first car and see a value for money sedan as an opportunity. If Toyota cannot bridge the demand and supply gap, they will never be able to milk the opportunity for a market they created.

While people may think of Dzire as a sedan, its a swift with a boot which is forcibly called a sedan. However, if people go to Toyota showroom, like the idea of a value for money Sedan, they will probably end up buying the Dzire and Toyota will contribute to Maruti's sale by creating a customer and then letting them go.

PS: I am not counting Indigo and Manza here since Tata does not provide good enough service to inspire people and markets and create a trend as such.