[Upgrade]

Originally Posted by MadhuG

My response:
1) I am not sure abt. that though IMHO, it would develop a lot of rattles, since even the Liva test drive vehicle which I drove had a mildly shaking centre dash console cover.
2) Etios/Liva have good ride qualities...hence there is no such bounciness. In fact the ride quality is one of the plusses of Etios and Liva
3)My friend owns a Logan and I have not seen him complaining.

Yes. rattling is an issue. So far I reported 2 rattling issues that got fixed. Apart from these 2, they also fixed 2 more rattling issues in the engine bay. Now I have 1 more very mild rattling. I am not sure I could make the service engineer listen to the rattling noise now. So, I am planning to allow it to grow louder before fixing it.

[mayank10]

Originally Posted by AWD

@Sups, I booked Liva & then cancelled the booking after thorough evaluation. The car has below par bulid quality, interiors are pathetic & the heart of the car i.e. the engine is shared with Altis, in which it was know to have good appetite for engine oil.

Competition is offering some very good packages & also evaluate Nissan Sunny if hovering in the Etios segment. Also read various ownership threads on Etios, buyers were not happy with the car.

Altis/ Etios/ Liva share a D-4D engine. D-4Ds are one of the most reliable engines in the country, I wonder how you have mentioned this as a weak point for Liva diesel.
Just to add- Innova also has a bigger D-4D engine.

I accept the fact that competition is offering some good cars, however, Etios is a very good car and Most of the Etios members are more than happy with their cars. (Well, i don't count Mr. Munish as a genuine owner).

I agree that Interiors are not great (Pathetic is an over statement ), but build quality is good. Light weight does not necessarily mean bad quality.

No offence, i was just offering my 2 cents!

[kiku007]

Drove the Liva GD for a very small distance and I cannot help but notice the ultra light steering. Should be a boon in the city and perhaps a bane in the highway (Don't know).

The interiors screamed cheap esp the plastics(Did they have TATA as their benchmark to beat?!). The teeny digital display in the central display seemed to be of no use atleast for me.

[tsk1979]

Note from mod: All OT posts have been deleted. Please keep discussion to Liva, and be civil in your arguments.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Drove the Liva GD for a very small distance and I cannot help but notice the ultra light steering. Should be a boon in the city and perhaps a bane in the highway (Don't know).

No issues on highway. Its planted, and sure. One of the best as far as "driving" is concerned. However, there are other issues for highway runs. For example, seats are from a scooter, and offer as much support. I got seat covers+additional padding for lumbar and under-thigh area to have a comfortable ride. Seat covers (fabric) cost me around 2800.

The interiors screamed cheap esp the plastics(Did they have TATA as their benchmark to beat?!). The teeny digital display in the central display seemed to be of no use atleast for me.

The interiors are not cheap, simply they are of the scooter segment. Toyota wanted to be like the largest selling car. Which is the Alto.

As for us, we tested a pathetic interiors car, but got one with better sound deadening and better interiors. There are glaring omissions, which I will put in my review, but there is nothing which is a deal breaker.

If you want a hatchback with ABS and Airbags, this is the cheapest. Period. Nothing in diesel comes cheaper in cost than a liva GDSP. with ABS and both driver and passenger airbags

[amalji]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I got seat covers+additional padding for lumbar and under-thigh area to have a comfortable ride. Seat covers (fabric) cost me around 2800.

I'm interested in doing the additional padding for rear seat lumbar support. Could you please post photos and details on how you got it done. If possible please post information about the place from where you got it done as well.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by amalji

I'm interested in doing the additional padding for rear seat lumbar support. Could you please post photos and details on how you got it done. If possible please post information about the place from where you got it done as well.

I got it done from Delhi.
This is no rocket sciece.
When you get seat covers fitted, chose ones with foam padding. Then get some additional padding(seat cover shops has lot of these), and put it where you want to. I found the right spot after some hit and trial.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I got it done from Delhi.
This is no rocket sciece.
When you get seat covers fitted, chose ones with foam padding. Then get some additional padding(seat cover shops has lot of these), and put it where you want to. I found the right spot after some hit and trial.

My concerns are

1. After the trial and error, do they stitch the foam permanently, since there is a chance that it could float around, if not fixed properly.

2. If seat covers are not designed for the extra padding, will it look out of place or create more pressure for the seat covers?

For the above reasons, I was thinking of going for oem fit like in the case of stanley and karlsson. But, if these issues are not there, then I might be able to get it resolved more easily. :-)

Since, you have already done your research on the lumbar for the rear seats, it would be great for etios/liva owners of the community, if you could post a few pics on it.

[sups]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If you want a hatchback with ABS and Airbags, this is the cheapest. Period. Nothing in diesel comes cheaper in cost than a liva GDSP. with ABS and both driver and passenger airbags

Floating between Etois/Liva/Figo, I am looking forward to your ownership review.

However, Liva GD+SP is not cheapest. Figo titanium comes at 6.7L onroad in Pune compared to Liva GD+SP at about 6.76L. Figo loses rear power windows, but has lot more features.

Have you travelled with your family/friends seating at back in Liva? If yes, do they complain against the ride quality?

I found the Etios seats to be better padded than that of Liva.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by amalji

My concerns are

1. After the trial and error, do they stitch the foam permanently, since there is a chance that it could float around, if not fixed properly.

2. If seat covers are not designed for the extra padding, will it look out of place or create more pressure for the seat covers?

For the above reasons, I was thinking of going for oem fit like in the case of stanley and karlsson. But, if these issues are not there, then I might be able to get it resolved more easily. :-)

Since, you have already done your research on the lumbar for the rear seats, it would be great for etios/liva owners of the community, if you could post a few pics on it.

The foam is under the seat, so not visible. Seat covers are tight fitting, no changes of foam floating around. The lumbar foam is already incorporated in most seat covers. Underthigh foam is held in place due to the tightness of the lower part of seat cover
I will post review in a few days. Lemme complete atleast 1000kms

Originally Posted by sups

Floating between Etois/Liva/Figo, I am looking forward to your ownership review.

However, Liva GD+SP is not cheapest. Figo titanium comes at 6.7L onroad in Pune compared to Liva GD+SP at about 6.76L. Figo loses rear power windows, but has lot more features.

Have you travelled with your family/friends seating at back in Liva? If yes, do they complain against the ride quality?

I found the Etios seats to be better padded than that of Liva.

When we booked the Liva GDSP, it was 15000 cheaper. Recent new interior Liva gets more expensive than the Figo.

As for comfort, rear Liva seats are comfortable, and after the seat covers(with their in built padding), is even better.

We did not go for the Figo because
1. All TD cars we tested, ranging from 5000,10000,20000kms did not age well. Weak engine, rough engine noise, and overall "funny" feel. It did not feel like a car which will last 5-8 years.
2. The power was not adequate, even in new car. Esp at 80 in 5th gear. Requiring downshift, and overall slow pickup. Liva and Micra felt the best for driveability.

[sups]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

We did not go for the Figo because
1. All TD cars we tested, ranging from 5000,10000,20000kms did not age well. Weak engine, rough engine noise, and overall "funny" feel. It did not feel like a car which will last 5-8 years.
2. The power was not adequate, even in new car. Esp at 80 in 5th gear. Requiring downshift, and overall slow pickup. Liva and Micra felt the best for driveability.

Thats exactly my concern that with thin build, how Etios/Liva would age. Its difficult to find a 20000 km Liva and check how well it aged. The Liva test drive vehicle has some sound from the dash. But Etois test drive vehicle did not have such issue. However, I must say Figo test drive vehicle was in a terrible shape. It just did not give the feel of a new Figo.

Good to know that Liva rear seats are now better with padding. Coming from a Getz, I found the stock rear seats to be thiner.

[kedar3223]

Does the liva gd sp come with music system. Asking cos on some sites it is mentioned so. With a budget of 6.5l on road, is this car recommended
with usage priority being frugal diesel engine, good highway behavior, cruising speeds of about 100kmph, abs, interior space, chiller ac, maintenance
cost and reliability over next 7 years atleast. How are the figo, ritz, beat and vista wrt these attributes. Want a no nonsense practical hatch.

[blackfire_9]

The Liva suits your requirements perfectly, though there are areas where compromises have been made. I personally felt that the biggest compromise was the "Scooter" (borrowing tsp's description here) like interiors & feel when you are inside the car & it surely wasn't acceptable for a car that costs 6.5 lacs OTR in my city.

Having said that, from the list/options you have mentioned, the Ritz also suits you great & it is a an equally competent, reliable & cheap vehicle with better o should I say, "car" like interiors

Hope that helps.

Drive safe.

[kedar3223]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

The Liva suits your requirements perfectly, though there are areas where compromises have been made. I personally felt that the biggest compromise was the "Scooter" (borrowing tsp's description here) like interiors & feel when you are inside the car & it surely wasn't acceptable for a car that costs 6.5 lacs OTR in my city.

Having said that, from the list/options you have mentioned, the Ritz also suits you great & it is a an equally competent, reliable & cheap vehicle with better o should I say, "car" like interiors

Hope that helps.

Drive safe.

thanks for the reply sir. agreed that the interiors are a big turn offs. And another think that adds to the confusion is the reduction of petrol prices in my state. Does a usage of around 800km/m justify diesel (what if they remove the subsidies on diesel..arrg)? liva and figo seem to have a generation old engine so i guess I'll be better off with ritz or vista. Am i right in thinking so?

[Ricci]

^^ for 800km per month, calculate the running cost of petrol and diesel, add your own estimate of increases in petrol and diesel prices if you will keep the car for long, say 4 years or more ; and compare this difference in running cost over 3 year or 5 year with the price difference in Goa. If 800km is fixed and not bound to increase, petrol makes sense. The difference in price of the diesel Liva vs petrol Liva will likely be met in 3 years (when the savings on running with diesel with cancel the extra cost of buying diesel over petrol Liva ).

The Multijet engine is world-renowned, it is the most recommended over the other diesels, but I wouldn't read too much into it, it's not like the other engines in the Figo or Liva are terrible. You might have better support with Maruti A.S.S though.