[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Severus

Issues:
1. No way to control the brightness levels of the speedo and tacho dials, despite the manual saying to the contrary. Also, the brightness doesn't reduce automatically when headlamps are switched on. I got these things checked in a lower 'G' variant Altis standing at the service centre, and surprisingly the brightness did automatically reduce on switching the headlamps on! Though manual brightness control still wasn't there.
Regarding this issue, the technical guy along with a few more of his fellow workmen admitted that if the manual mentions it, brightness control should be there. Also, like in the lower variant, brightness should automatically reduce when headlamps are switched on. They fidgeted with the settings and even connected their Diagnostic machine (they call it 'IT', or 'Intelligent Tester'), but to no avail. They promised me that they will contact TKM (Toyota Kirloskar Motors) regarding this issue and will get back to me. They even apologised for not being able to solve my problem as this was a totally new model and I was the first customer to bring up those issues.

Have you tried turning on the ignition, not the engine by not pressing the brakes and pressing the start/stop button. This should turn on all electronics and the cluster as well. Then toggle the DISP stick on the left of the tachometer needle. When you keep clicking that you will see one of the menus as the cluster light intensity. If the left stick doesn't work try the right ODO one.

2. No manual-levelling for the headlamps. This feature also was there in the lower variant. I was told that the top-variant doesn't come with this feature as it has automatic headlamps with automatic leveling.
Well, despite the automatic leveling, I do miss manual adjustment. This is because I don't like to switch on the high beam very often for the sake of not blinding oncoming drivers, and the default low beam setting is on the lower side. Although the service guys said they could adjust the default height of the low beam using some lever just behind the headlamps under the hood, I didn't get it done. I don't know why. And it's only accessible using some long screw driver.

There is no way to adjust. The manual overide will work but can also be messed up if not correctly done.

There are 2 sensors for the light leveling, one at the front and one somewhere in the rear. The beam height adjusts based on the load at the rear and gradient the car is driving on.

I mentioned the same in my Altis review, the auto leveling is a little on safer side and too low, making you use the high beams sometimes momentarily.

[akj53]

@Severus

I own a Altis VL since 2009. My car also has the auto-dimming instrument cluster. which has worked faultlessly so far. This may be an issue specific to your car. If the dealership is not able to resolve then please escalate it to Toyota directly. Their website may have a link for escalation.

Initially I also found the lower headlamp beam level low and wanted that to get altered. The dealer was reluctant as the lamps are HID and their beam level is defined by law (at least in Europe and maybe US also) so as not to blind the oncoming vehicles. Toyota has followed the international practice in their Indian vehicle also. My dealer did alter the settings, but they reverted back. So please stick with the factory settings and you will get used to the lower level, like I did.

In India nobody bothers for such niceties like lower beam levels but they are a great way to keep the accidents rate low. Currently I am in UK and it is against the law to drive the car with full beams on, even on highways. So don't worry and enjoy your car.

I have driven my Altis for only 35000 KMs so far as I remain in UK half the time. I summarise my ownership experience as that its a very practical, very reliable, comfortable and trouble free car with least ownership hassles. Its a family car and NOT a driver's or performance car. If you maintain it as per the service manual standards and don't let the other 3rd party mechanics touch the car, it will work like new for many years to come.

Best wishes for your new car

[TB16]

Congrats severus for your latest aquisition.
I was trying to search for the official test drive review of the new altis but somehow get redirected to your ownership page everytime. Do we have an official teambhp review for this car or yours is the only one uptill now?

[s.prashanth]

Congratulations for your Altis. What is the mileage you are getting in city limits with air conditioning??. I am seriously considering cancelling my booking ofSkoda Octavia Diesel automatic and booking the altis, for only the reason of reliability and cost difference. Was thinking 4L+ difference in cost could let me run the altis for 4 years including maintainence with solid reliability and service

[RohitSh]

I own an Automatic Corolla and as per the MID I am getting a mileage of 10-10.5 km/L with AC on 100% in Delhi/NCR Traffic. On highways I have been able to go upto 16 km/L but this is with absolute easy driving and in D Mode. It will drop quite a bit if you move to different ratios or paddle shifters.

Also just to share with the group I had a touch up with a Taxi Innova a few days back damaging my right front bumper and fender. I got it done up from MGF Toyota Gurgaon and they did a decent job of putting it back together. Pretty happy with the way they dealt with me and the car. The total bill came to Rs. 11,500 and I had to pay approximately Rs. 2500 towards settlement as I had a 0% Depreciation Policy.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

Congratulations for your Altis. What is the mileage you are getting in city limits with air conditioning??. I am seriously considering cancelling my booking ofSkoda Octavia Diesel automatic and booking the altis, for only the reason of reliability and cost difference. Was thinking 4L+ difference in cost could let me run the altis for 4 years including maintainence with solid reliability and service

Didn't you have an Elantra? Was it automatic? If yes, then the Altis offers nothing more over the Elantra. The Elantra has some features whereas the Altis has different features. Elantra has 6 airbags, ventilated seats, dual zone climate control, ESP whereas Altis gets paddle shifts, touch screen with navi, reclinable rear seats.

The Octavia on other hand feels a notch above and the driving dynamics are a league ahead of the Altis and Elantra.

You will save on maintenance with the Toyota but there's a reason why people still buy Skoda and VW cars.

[s.prashanth]

Yes vidd. Sold the elantra. Feature wise was excellent but was not proud to own it. Like the way the altis looks.looks futuristic

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Severus

Have a look at this. The markings on boot opener and fuel-tank-lid opener are already gone! Within 1.5 months!!

I am a bit shocked! A 20L car still has manual boot and fuel lid opening mechanisms?

I understand that this involves lesser electronics and is mechanical (entirely?) but at least the boot opening could have been electronic/switch based. Unless I am missing something here!

On a different note, congratulations on the car! Excellent writeup and snaps as well. I loved the exteriors of the new Corolla although the interiors are a bit of a letdown. But that's just my opinion though.

[RakeshG]

Thank you Severus for the excellent thread and a very well written review, thoroughly supplemented with quality photographs

I must admit that your excellent review prompted me to take the plunge and book a pearl white Petrol GL variant of the new corolla altis last month. I expect to get the delivery by first week of October. I must admit that I am also smitten by the VL CVT variant (after an exciting TD) but still in 2 minds if I should spend another 1.75 lacs on top of the 17.5 lacs I am paying for the GL . Any suggestions?

[abhilashgp]

Originally Posted by RakeshG

Thank you Severus for the excellent thread and a very well written review, thoroughly supplemented with quality photographs

I must admit that your excellent review prompted me to take the plunge and book a pearl white Petrol GL variant of the new corolla altis last month. I expect to get the delivery by first week of October. I must admit that I am also smitten by the VL CVT variant (after an exciting TD) but still in 2 minds if I should spend another 1.75 lacs on top of the 17.5 lacs I am paying for the GL . Any suggestions?

Rakesh,

After some research, even I've decided to take the plunge to Corolla Altis. Planning on the GL CVT. Confused on the colours, deciding between whites, silver and champagne.

I don't think the GL to VL upgrade at about 2L (in Bangalore) makes sense from a value_for_money point of view. Most of them are pure cosmetic features except (1) Yokohoma tyres, (2) lumbar support, which also can be fixed with lumbar pillows. Unsure if the tyre is really worth while.

Are you getting any discounts on the car?

[RakeshG]

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

Rakesh,

After some research, even I've decided to take the plunge to Corolla Altis. Planning on the GL CVT. Confused on the colours, deciding between whites, silver and champagne.

I don't think the GL to VL upgrade at about 2L (in Bangalore) makes sense from a value_for_money point of view. Most of them are pure cosmetic features except (1) Yokohoma tyres, (2) lumbar support, which also can be fixed with lumbar pillows. Unsure if the tyre is really worth while.

Are you getting any discounts on the car?

Abhilash,

The name of your trim is VL which is the automatic variant of the GL (manual) top trim. VL gets the CVT and navigation in addition to all GL trim features. The additional 2L you pay for the VL is for the CVT plus navigation only.

GL is the top manual fully-loaded trim with all the bells & whistles. Besides the 16" killer alloys and yokohamas and 8 way electrically adjustable driver seat with lumber support, this trim offers many more goodies such as auto LED projection headlamps, push button start, leather seats, smart entry, rain sensing wipers, reverse camera and rear sunshade. I would say that it makes sense spending 1.75L on the above features.

As regards the colours, I feel that the super white gives it a fleet car look, the champagne is boring to me as I have driven the same colour Honda City for the last 8 years and silver as well as grey do not project the rear light cluster as it should. So I zeroed on the pearl white metallic which brings out all the chrome garnishes as well as emphasizes the front and rear lights very well. Still, colour is a matter of personal choice as well as the most difficult one also

No luck with any discounts as there is a 45+ days waiting period at my dealership - Galaxy Toyota. Though, I have managed to get a very competitive quote on insurance and saved around 32k compared to the showroom quote. Still in two minds as the new jetta has caught my fancy with the new DRLs and rear light cluster

Are you getting any discounts?

[Severus]

So I'm compelled to accept the truth that there is no manual brightness control for the instrument dials in the car. No auto-brightness-reduction on switching on the headlamps either. Also, video does NOT play. So much for the niceties, Toyota, thank you very much! The company doesn't bother to respond to my queries. And when they finally do after various reminders, they refer me back to the service center. The service center management refers me back to their workmen. And the workmen have no idea what to do. This has been the story in the last whole month. These were not issues worth so much time, and I honestly didn't think Toyota is so unprepared for such issues, how small the issues may be. Anyway, I'd been waiting for solutions to them and that is what was holding me back from updating here. But now that the souls at TKM have assured me of their rather incompetent existence, I'm in no mood to pursue this further and shall rather resign to the fact that I'll have to live my life without brightness adjustment for my instrument dials. My car's actually, same thing.

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

A few questions for you Severus. If I were to replace the stock touchscreen audio unit with a branded one, will it void warranty?
If yes then what should I do? Also, will the steering mounted audio and call functions work with the new unit? I am seriously thinking of changing it.

I enquired from the service center about your queries, mod. I was told that there will be no warranty for the aftermarket system, obviously. Also, if any alteration/tampering of any wires is done in the process of fitting a new unit, which most probably will be the case, then it will also void the warranty of any electronic/electrical parts affected by the wiring in any way, I was told.
So I strongly suggest you to stay away from any aftermarket Head Unit. Upgrading the speakers should be fine I guess.

Regarding the steering mounted controls, I was told they couldn't comment on that as it's a matter of compatibility with the aftermarket unit. The OEMs for Toyota are usually Panasonic or Kenwood, hence greater chance of the steering controls working with units from these brands, but it can also be model-specific. Check with your accessory shop.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Have you tried turning on the ignition, not the engine by not pressing the brakes and pressing the start/stop button. This should turn on all electronics and the cluster as well. Then toggle the DISP stick on the left of the tachometer needle. When you keep clicking that you will see one of the menus as the cluster light intensity. If the left stick doesn't work try the right ODO one.

Nothing has worked, Vid. At all.

Originally Posted by akj53

@Severus
I own a Altis VL since 2009. My car also has the auto-dimming instrument cluster. which has worked faultlessly so far. This may be an issue specific to your car. If the dealership is not able to resolve then please escalate it to Toyota directly. Their website may have a link for escalation.

Best wishes for your new car

Thanks, akj. As you must have read in the passage above, escalating to Toyota hasn't been fruitful in any way. All that the service guys say is that the feature might not be there in the car after all. I just have a feeling that the feature is there, just that there's an issue with my car. But, as I said, I'm too tired to push it further.

Originally Posted by TB16

Congrats severus for your latest aquisition.
I was trying to search for the official test drive review of the new altis but somehow get redirected to your ownership page everytime. Do we have an official teambhp review for this car or yours is the only one uptill now?

TB16, fortunately or unfortunately, mine is the only one on the forum yet.
And there's no official review yet either.

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

Congratulations for your Altis. What is the mileage you are getting in city limits with air conditioning??. I am seriously considering cancelling my booking of Skoda Octavia Diesel automatic and booking the altis, for only the reason of reliability and cost difference. Was thinking 4L+ difference in cost could let me run the altis for 4 years including maintainence with solid reliability and service

Well prashanth, sorry for the late reply. By now you must already be driving your new car, Octavia or Corolla. No doubt Corolla will be much easier on the pocket and you could actually use up all that saved money on its maintenance, but as Vid rightly mentioned, people still do go for the Octy. These are different cars offering very different things. In the looks and reliability departments, Corolla thoroughly thrashes the Octavia. In luxury and engine power, it's the other way around. In the end you have to decide what you want more.
Mileage I'm getting in the city with a/c is around 9.5km/l. No complaints there. Octavia Diesel will get you more mileage, but the steadily increasing price of diesel is definitely gonna offset that a bit.

Originally Posted by RohitSh

Also just to share with the group I had a touch up with a Taxi Innova a few days back damaging my right front bumper and fender. I got it done up from MGF Toyota Gurgaon and they did a decent job of putting it back together. Pretty happy with the way they dealt with me and the car. The total bill came to Rs. 11,500 and I had to pay approximately Rs. 2500 towards settlement as I had a 0% Depreciation Policy.

Oh what was the extent of the damage? Did any part need replacement? Rs. 11,500 seems a bit high for a repair job. Did the bumper and/or fender need a re-paint? Then the cost seems justified.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I am a bit shocked! A 20L car still has manual boot and fuel lid opening mechanisms?

I understand that this involves lesser electronics and is mechanical (entirely?) but at least the boot opening could have been electronic/switch based. Unless I am missing something here!

On a different note, congratulations on the car! Excellent writeup and snaps as well. I loved the exteriors of the new Corolla although the interiors are a bit of a letdown. But that's just my opinion though.

Thanks Gannu_1. Yes, most if not all cars of even this segment have manual interior levers. The boot does open electronically from the remote key though (by pressing and holding boot open button on the key).

Originally Posted by RakeshG

Thank you Severus for the excellent thread and a very well written review, thoroughly supplemented with quality photographs

I must admit that your excellent review prompted me to take the plunge and book a pearl white Petrol GL variant of the new corolla altis last month. I expect to get the delivery by first week of October. I must admit that I am also smitten by the VL CVT variant (after an exciting TD) but still in 2 minds if I should spend another 1.75 lacs on top of the 17.5 lacs I am paying for the GL . Any suggestions?

Thanks for the praises RakeshG! It feels great to know that the review influenced your decision.

See our decision was pretty straightforward as we were clear on an Automatic. That's why we did not consider the GL variant since it comes in manual only. For us, the real decision was between the G (CVT) and the VL (CVT). G variant offers too less, so we went for VL. As for GL(manual) and VL(CVT), no doubt 1.7 lac rupees is a little high for what you are getting (automatic gearbox, cruise control and Navigation), but as I said, automatic gearbox was an indispensable requirement. The advantages of an Auto'box are way too many these days, what with the swelling traffic and growing knee problems. Plus it's just too convenient to drive. If you regularly have to drive in rush-hour traffic, I would suggest you to shell out extra for the VL. Otherwise GL would also do absolutely fine!

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

Rakesh,

After some research, even I've decided to take the plunge to Corolla Altis. Planning on the GL CVT. Confused on the colours, deciding between whites, silver and champagne.

I don't think the GL to VL upgrade at about 2L (in Bangalore) makes sense from a value_for_money point of view. Most of them are pure cosmetic features except (1) Yokohoma tyres, (2) lumbar support, which also can be fixed with lumbar pillows. Unsure if the tyre is really worth while.

Hi there. There's no variant as GL CVT. Let me simplify this for you, as Toyota's variant naming scheme can be confusing.
Lower variant at the top, highest at the bottom:

JS (manual)
G (manual)
G (Auto)
GL (only comes in manual)
VL (only comes in Auto)

GL to VL differences are: Automatic gearbox, Navigation, and Cruise-Control. That's it. Where did you hear about the Yokohama and lumbar support thing?

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by Severus

I enquired from the service center about your queries, mod. I was told that there will be no warranty for the aftermarket system, obviously. Also, if any alteration/tampering of any wires is done in the process of fitting a new unit, which most probably will be the case, then it will also void the warranty of any electronic/electrical parts affected by the wiring in any way, I was told.
So I strongly suggest you to stay away from any aftermarket Head Unit. Upgrading the speakers should be fine I guess.

Regarding the steering mounted controls, I was told they couldn't comment on that as it's a matter of compatibility with the aftermarket unit. The OEMs for Toyota are usually Panasonic or Kenwood, hence greater chance of the steering controls working with units from these brands, but it can also be model-specific. Check with your accessory shop.

Thanks for laying down the facts bro. Have you used the navigation system yet? Does it work as intended?

[abhilashgp]

Originally Posted by RakeshG

Abhilash,

The name of your trim is VL which is the automatic variant of the GL (manual) top trim. VL gets the CVT and navigation in addition to all GL trim features. The additional 2L you pay for the VL is for the CVT plus navigation only.

GL is the top manual fully-loaded trim with all the bells & whistles. Besides the 16" killer alloys and yokohamas and 8 way electrically adjustable driver seat with lumber support, this trim offers many more goodies such as auto LED projection headlamps, push button start, leather seats, smart entry, rain sensing wipers, reverse camera and rear sunshade. I would say that it makes sense spending 1.75L on the above features.

Originally Posted by Severus

Hi there. There's no variant as GL CVT. Let me simplify this for you, as Toyota's variant naming scheme can be confusing.
Lower variant at the top, highest at the bottom:

JS (manual)
G (manual)
G (Auto)
GL (only comes in manual)
VL (only comes in Auto)

GL to VL differences are: Automatic gearbox, Navigation, and Cruise-Control. That's it. Where did you hear about the Yokohama and lumbar support thing?

Hey Guys,

Sorry, I meant G(Auto) rather than GL (I got confused with the model names). Have decided on G(Auto) rather than VL as I thought it was value more money. The key thing (for me) that VL gives over and above G(Auto) is the silent Yokohoma tyres and Lumbar support. All other features are nice to have, but ok to be without for a 2L+ savings.

Not getting any discounts on Toyota. All they are giving is 5k worth of accessories. Will get savings from the insurance as well.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by abhilashgp

The key thing (for me) that VL gives over and above G(Auto) is the silent Yokohoma tyres and Lumbar support. All other features are nice to have, but ok to be without for a 2L+ savings.

You can put the silent Yokohama tyres as soon as you get the G (Auto) at a tyre shop.

The ones on the VL are Yokohama Advan A460. Since the G has 15" you can opt for Yokohama V550 tyres which are also low road noise tyres.

The G does make a lot of sense instead of the VL AT.