Dear BHPians, I am glad that I could finally be a part of this enthusiasts’ community along with my first car – 2017 Toyota Etios Liva Dual tone
When I decided to buy a car, it was TeamBHP that gave me a good insight about different aspects of passenger cars available in India that fits within my budget. So firstly I thank the fellow BHPians for your sincere and accurate reviews in this group.
I had a couple of choices when I started the actual TDs. Fiats (Punto Evo, urban Cross and Aventura), Jazz and Etios Liva- all Diesel. Aventura & Jazz are my favorites still and if I ever have a chance to have 3 vehicles same time (not even in dreams!!!
![LOL](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/LOL.png)
) I would buy these two for sure. Aventura has a rigid suspension among these three (most probably because of its high ground clearance and off road kind built style) and my wife was not comfortable (we cannot avoid expert’s opinion- married people will understand
![Wink](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.png)
. Jazz was perfect in all aspects except the maintenance cost- comes around 11k per year which is not something that I couldn’t foresee to fit my pocket ever!! Also the i-DTec is not at all refined and the noise was a little irritating for me.
Lastly we tried Etios Liva- fit correctly in all these scenarios; perfect suspension(TOYOTA has improved it a lot from the initial batch; no thuds and hits really smooth), well enough space for a family hatch, very much competitive maintenance cost (just 4k per year max) and famous reliability & durability of D4D engine. Though the initial cost is on a higher side it would still be compensated in the maintenance cost and the resale value I believe (difference of opinion is there, I know). Design and cluster are the main concerns I’ve seen people expressed against Etios range and I have low priority for those elements, so I could easily decide for Liva. And honestly I would like to retain the car for at least decade- not to look for a sell and upgrade. If at all I plan to get another car I would be holding this for regular commute because it’s so cost effective to maintain. In my opinion “the monthly running average V/s Petrol or Diesel” decision making methodology doesn’t apply for the D4D engine!! Even if you have an average monthly 400k usage you can still rely on this engine unconditionally.
I booked the dual tone VD variant with vermillion red & black combination and got delivery on 7th of June 2017 from Lanson Toyota (Pallikaranai showroom) Chennai. Since then I have driven 600kms in two weeks- it’s my daily commuter for office. So far I am very happy with the performance of Liva except the two things
1. In City traffic it’s really hard to drive in 2nd gear as it touches 20kmph easily without any acceleration so I have to keep it in 1st gear in order to maintain the safe distance.
2. Rear wheel well is so thin that mud, stone or any small objects that hits underneath, the sound easily comes through the cabin and it’s annoying sometimes- any remedy for this?
Though I am trying to follow the drive in procedure, I found that varying RPM is nearly impossible because the moment when it shifted to 4th gear the RPM lowers to 1600-1700 and stays there for the speed range 40-70kmph and I couldn’t rev it higher than that due to road conditions. Otherwise I have to drive in 3rd gear wherein I can vary the RPM to some extent using acceleration.
![Please](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Please.gif)
I would also like to get an advice on my stock audio (It’s a Pioneer made)- it doesn’t come with Rear speakers, which one would be better, to use without an external amp and not too costly? (I am not very keen in listening to music while driving so a decent one without much distortion would work).TOYOTA A.S.S. guys suggested a SONY made for 5400/- along with luggage tray- not tried the sound quality.