[parrys]

Toyota is soon going to launch the Etios Cross.



The Toyota Etios Liva is in its third year of the product life cycle, but it has not created quite the ripple in the industry which Toyota would have expected. Nevertheless, Toyota is still trying to push out the Etios brand from the showrooms. In the process, the company has brought out the Etios Cross, which actually, just features some cosmetic add-ons to the mechanically same hatchback.

With the VW Cross Polo already available in the market, Maruti planning the SX4 cross and Fiat readying the Avventura, seems like Toyota has foreseen some potential in this segment and will launch the Etios Cross in the coming week. Going against the tide of offering the car in just a single variant and a single engine option, Toyota will offer the Etios Cross in both diesel & petrol versions. The 1.2L petrol will be available in the G variant while the 1.5L petrol will be available in the V variant. The diesel version will be available in GD & VD variants.

Note:
Since all previous versions of the Etios Liva have been reviewed, this report will focus only on the changes in the Etios Cross.

For reference, here are the links to the previous official reviews:

• Toyota Liva TRD Sportivo
• Toyota Liva Petrol
• Toyota Liva Diesel

[parrys]

They say small things can make a big difference, but that's not the case when you simply slap across some cosmetic changes to a mechanically similar vehicle. Parked side by side, the Etios Cross can be differentiated from the regular Etios Liva by the plastic cladding all around and the big front grille. Still, it remains a hatch. Make no mistake, this is no Ford Ecosport rival. The Etios Cross will be pitched against the VW Cross Polo, Maruti SX4 Cross & the Fiat Avventura. All of these have just received a cosmetic steroid shot and pose like off-roaders; to attract those customers who want a hatchback that doesn't look like one.

At the front, the most noticeable change is the big front grille + grille guard. With the cladding in black, grille surround in silver & the car's body colour, it is the most prominent change up front. This big grille has also resulted in a bigger / wider section to allow air into the engine bay. It also has a downside - flying debris can make its way straight through to the AC condenser. Headlamps have been re-designed too. The turn indicators have been moved down from the headlamps and into the front bumper, above the fog lamps on both sides. On the sides, the thick plastic cladding running across the car's length with a silver lip at the bottom tries its best to make the car appear like an off-roader. Chunky roof rails and diamond cut 15-inch alloy wheels have been provided keeping in mind the current segment trend. We are glad that Toyota has not chosen to mount the spare wheel on the hatch and instead, continued with the cladding in both the black and silver colours.

When you compare dimensions, the Etios Cross is 120 mm longer, 40 mm wider and 45 mm taller than the regular Etios Liva. The wheelbase remains the same at 2460 mm, while ground clearance has gone up by 4 mm to 174 mm.

Inferno orange, the signature colour of the Etios Cross. Look at the redesigned front end below the bonnet:


Plastic cladding all around makes the car look slightly rugged. We are glad that the spare wheel hasn't made its way on to the hatch:


Difference due to the cladding between the Liva and the Etios Cross is more apparent than that between the Polo and the Cross Polo:


The silver finish looks a little dull:






At the point where the headlamp meets the front grille guard, there is an additional piece, just for aesthetics:


Headlamps have been re-designed. Turn indicators have been moved down...


... to above the front fog lamps. Fog lamps are recessed in a silver surround.


Close look at the front grille + grille guard. Notice how exposed the AC condenser is to flying debris on the road:


15" 10-spoke diamond cut alloy wheels shod with 185/60 R15 Bridgestone Turanza tyres:


Plastic cladding feels durable:


"Etios Cross" engraved on the plastic cladding on the rear doors:


Chunky roof rails. The rear ends have been painted in black, but the front ends aren't. Did Toyota miss this?:


ORVMs get turn indicators:


Flap type door handles - the only place where chrome has been applied on the exterior (apart from the 'T' logo):


Not a single sticker mentioning what fuel the car runs on. Make sure to specify the type of fuel you wish to put in:


No changes to the tail lamps:


Silver "Etios Cross" badging on the hatch, do note there isn't any other badging on the rear, apart from the variant, next to the RHS tail lamp:


Chunky rear spoiler has a blackened lower section. Also seen in this picture is the rear wash + wipe & defogger:


Notice the gap between the bonnet and the front grille guard:


Small cut out in the centre of the grille guard to reach the bonnet release lever:


This is the 1.5L 89 BHP petrol motor:


Reasonable distance between the AC condenser and the front grille:


Some parting shots; these were clicked in Navi Mumbai:


The turn indicators on top of the fog lamps will act as a giveaway that it is a Etios Cross in low light:

[parrys]

If you have been inside the Liva TRD Sportivo, you'll feel quite at home with the overall interior colour scheme. However, the Etios Cross has its share of differences. The dashboard now gets piano black inserts which flow from the centre console towards the right; not one bit towards the left / passenger side. The steering wheel on the Etios Cross is identical to the regular Liva, not like the round unit of the TRD Sportivo. This wheel is flattened at the bottom and gets steering mounted audio controls on the LHS. Chrome application around the AC vents and on the gear knob has been carried over from the Liva. Instrument cluster remains in the centre of the dashboard. Seats are all-black with textured finish and "Etios Cross" branding.

All-black dashboard with piano black finish:


Steering wheel with perforated faux-leather is good to hold. Flat bottom looks sweet:


Audio controls on the steering wheel can be operated with your left thumb:


Average looking key, would have been great if Toyota provided a flippy key fob like the competition:


All-black interiors will be easy to maintain. Driver seat gets height adjustment:


Etios Cross branding, only on the front seats:


Close look at the seat texture:


Head unit has Bluetooth, USB and Aux-in connectivity. Call answer & end buttons on the head unit:


Remote provided for the head unit, reads Toyota, but is a Pioneer product:


Manual rotary AC controls:


Gear knob falls perfectly in your hand. If you wear rings, the silver paint is not going to last the distance:


Cooled glovebox allows cold air from the AC vent inside via a flap opening:


Stalks for internal ORVM adjustment:


Notice how the piano black finish moves along the RHS of the dashboard...


... and continues on the extreme right AC vent (LHS AC vent only gets the chrome surround):


Piano black finish on the door as well:


A look at the rear seats; nothing new here:


Parcel tray does not get a string to move up with the hatch:


251 litres of boot space:


Spare wheel is not an alloy:


Recess provided to pull the hatch down:


Front airbags for the driver + passenger:

[parrys]

Specifications:

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to The Indian Car Scene.

[Akshay1234]

I think Toyota has lost the plot with this one. I mean the Cross Polo was ugly enough, this takes it to another level. Its not going to fool anyone even with the cladding all around.

The TRD Liva was a good edition, but I predict this is going to be a dud.

[humyum]

Review is fantastic as always Parry, fine attention to detail there.

But Toyota, Sorry to say, this is an ugly duckling which no one in this country is going to touch. I guess even if you had this as a limited edition of 1000 units, you would end up giving tons of thousands off to dispose off the stock that would accumulate in your yard. Do you guys even do market research or even know the nerve of an Indian ? Blah

[sourav9385]

That is, without a question or a shadow of doubt, the most useless & pointless cosmetic do-over ever done to a car.

The Liva/Etios twins work best as taxis. That's it. Giving it all that cladding and arches is just like putting a suit on a goat. No matter what you try to do to convince anyone, the goat will still remain a goat.

Wake up Toyota, & admit it. You don't have anything in the offering other than your overpriced Fortuner & the Innova that people actually want to buy. So move on, and give us something better than this ridiculous piece of joke.

[dark.knight]

That is one of the busiest centre consoles I've seen, it has everything except power window controls. Until the tach is shifted to the driver focus there will be no noticeable improvement in the Etios. It doesn't have to be so big and bright that the driver in the car behind could see it.

Apart from the novelty value which could attract a buyer here and there, there is no practical value to the Etios Cross. It has the same front wheel drive, same light chassis and build quality. Even a normal Etios can do some mud slushing and go over stone roads. The cladding is of little use except to protect the almost unchanged ground clearance if one attempts moving on a rocky slope. Roof rails are just for visual effect in India. I'm assuming the price difference is about 40-50k for basically the same car with slightly increased dimensions (with no change in wheelbase), making it just not worth it when one can buy a decent super-hatch with better interiors and better build quality at an almost same price. Safety is most important for people choosing a hatch so one must never compromise on the gauge of sheet-metal/steel impact bars used to absorb bumps. The Etios though priced in the 7-8L on road range, is poorly built in that aspect. A Figo/i20 would be a better buy at almost the same price per variant. Toyota knows how to make solid cars, they aren't leaders in U.S for nothing. What irks an informed buyer is why they do not consider India as important.

[rednikhil]

Toyota had taken cost-cutting to a whole new low level with the Etios/ Liva iterations, and now they have started to dig!
Even the newer Tata vehicles feel much more plush when compared to these Toyotas. No amount of face-lifts or stick-on jobs can do anything to resuscitate these cars that were IMHO designed to fail. My 9 year old can design fresher products if she puts pen to paper. This one is Dead-on-Arrival.

[desdemona]

Thanks Parry, as always!

I disagree a bit with your framing of the Etios Cross' competition. The Ecosport has a tougher build but that doesn't make it any more convincing as a faux-SUV, since all Fords have a tougher-than-Japanese build. Other than higher ground clearance the Ecosport IS just a hatchback. While this Etios Liva-mutant is a monument to bad taste, I find the Ecosport a bit grating in that it is trying far too hard, especially the front, to masquerade as something more butch than the dinky little hatchback it is, albeit a very good one (the Fiesta).

I also think the Avventura from fiat is more (enough?) than a Punto with different cosmetics: the restyling is more thorough than that. The ground clearance will be 190 or 200 mm which is plenty SUV, as will be the bigger wider tyres! When combined with the already tough as nails build and suspension, the Avventura, ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, makes for a pretty convincing young person's showy pretend-SUV.

[torque!!]

Why Toyota, why? Is India the only country where Toyota is doing so poorly when it comes to volume business? Yes, I know they are doing well with the Fortuner and Innova but I really do feel that Toyota India has simply lost the plot. The Innova is getting older. Yes, people will continue buying it but Toyota no longer looks like the company which axed a hugely popular vehicle like the Qualis just because it was a older model. Give us something new and exciting rather than a shoddy plastic job on a boring car. Or are you content being just a fleet/ taxi provider in the volume segment?

Common Toyota, I am sure you can do better and learn a bit from your Japanese cousin. Give us a direct competitor to the Honda City. I am sure we could use another C2 segment car...

[iSpoke]

Originally Posted by parrys

Toyota is soon going to launch the Etios Cross.

Strange, somehow I was under impression that it's already been launched but never took-off!

Originally Posted by parrys

This is the 1.5L 89 BHP petrol motor:
Attachment 1236598

I notice that some areas under the bonnet are not (body color) painted, is it common to many manufacturers or a cost-cutting effect?

[aniketi]

For me it looks ultra cheap, after market modification. What Toyota thinks, just adding some plastic, people will buy this car? No way. It is looking more cheap now. Grow up Toyota. Customer deserve better car from Toyota, right?

I am not sure why Toyota even launching this car? Its a flop before it is launched.

[xjosephjacob]

This is gross. Why do they even bother launching it on the 9th. Yet another half hearted attempt from Toyota; their design team deserves a much needed overhaul. Those plastic claddings on the wheel arches and doors are plain ugly.

Had they put the same effort in altering the dashboard design or that silly smiling front grill of Etios twins, we'd seen more of them on road. With Avventura and Cross polo, both Fiat and Volkswagen have given their handsome hatches a flair of sportiness and exclusivity in a good way. Now what are we seeing here, God save Toyota Kirloskar.