[danny25]

Originally Posted by Virtualaman

Can someone please confirm that their booking number also starts with ORD*** ?

Yes, on the duplicate copy it is handwritten as well as written in the CTDMS box on the same form.

I assume its the same thing.

[Gurudatta Nayak]

Toyota seams to have started the deliveries of Etios Sedan. I Saw a Brand New Etios in silver, the car looks better as compared to Dzire.

[amalji]

Got a chance to test drive the Etios. Here are my observations.

Positives

1. ery responsive and smooth engine ( I took it till 4500 rpm on 1st,2nd,3rd gears ). Etios was ready to pull from any gear at almost all speeds. As GTO mentioned, 2nd and 3rd gear can be used like an automatic on city drives.
2. Short Clutch ==> Comfortable ride
3. Very good gear shift
4. 15" tyres and well tuned suspensions gave a comfortable drive both on the highways and on small depressions ( @ slow speed ). The car glided through the humps with ease.
5. Ground clearance seems to be adequate
6. Good Back Support ( @ the driver seat. Did not try the back seat drive )
7. Surprisingly, the single wiper covered more area than the 2 wipers on my Esteem. Trust me, it's an efficient wiping mechanism eventhough it has only one wiper.

Negatives ( / Concerns )

1. The AC felt average We tried at 2:30 pm on a hot and humid day @ Kochi. This could also be due to the fact that the car was parked in the sun for long before the test drive. Will try it out once again and comment on it.
2. Zero feedback from the steering. You feel like playing a video game.

Other Observations.

• The V variant looks much better on the inside than the VX variant. ( Grey & Black looks better than Red & Black )
• The one thing you will miss on the V variant is the flat bottomed steering. Other than that, the V variant has a better looking interior than the VX
• The speedometer needle is hard to see on a sunny day with sun glasses on.
• The CD player sounded just about average with 2 front speakers and 2 tweeters. Add a pair of oval speakers at the rear and you should get good sound.

With regards to me, I'm planning to wait for the Diesel variant, which has an expected release date of December 2011 ( thanks to our Oil companies who make up for the losses incurred by Diesel by rising the Petrol prices ).

[amalji]

Originally Posted by amalji

Got a chance to test drive the Etios. Here are my observations.

Positives

1. Surprisingly, the single wiper covered more area than the 2 wipers on my Esteem. Trust me, it's an efficient wiping mechanism eventhough it has only one wiper.

I researched more on it to find out the reason why the mono wiper blades seems to cover better area than the dual wiper blades on normal cars. The reason seems to be the additional arm of the wiper that adjusts the angle of rotation of the wiper at different points. The single wiper also has the advantage that it doesn't leave a mark at the center of the wind shield after every half wipe.

So, why doesn't the single arm wiper come by default on premium cars. This is what I think could be the reason.

1) The technology is complicated and durability is always a concern with such designs.
2) A higher torque motor is needed to get that fast and huge swipe, which adds to the expense.

So, why did Toyota take the pain to have this kind of a wiper design on the Etios?

I can think of only one reason, and that's to ease the design for LHD and RHD of Etios.

The mono wiper blade with dual arms is also used by the Mercedez. But, it gives a much better swipe ( the cleanest swipe you can ever get on a wind shield ) than the one found in Etios. Regardless, the Etios dual arm mono wiper blade does a very good job and for me, it gives a cleaner wind shield than most dual wipers.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by amalji

1) The technology is complicated and durability is always a concern with such designs.
2) A higher torque motor is needed to get that fast and huge swipe, which adds to the expense.

Got 2 more reasons why the mono wiper with dual arms is not used commonly. Listing them below. Hopefully, mods can merge the posts.

3) Water splatter caused to people/vehicle near the wind shield. The huge sweep can throw a lot of water out through the side of the windscreen.
4) On idle speed, the high torque motor of the dual arm wiper can shake the vehicle.

With regards to Etios, i couldn't detect a body shake when I used the wiper on idle. It could also be due to the fact that I was not thinking about such a possibility. Next time, I try it, I'll be more conscious of such a possibility and will give a review on that.

[condor]

Had a look at the Etios yesterday - no TD, though. The car is built to a price. Interior & Boot space is good. But the economization shows in the look & feel of the plastic.

What did surprise me though, is the feel of the gear box. Did a usual series of shifts (with engine off) and it was harsh. The GB on my Tata/Ford have a better feel.

The car is spacious, but some how feels like a skinnier Corola. Not a well-put-together feel.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by condor

What did surprise me though, is the feel of the gear box. Did a usual series of shifts (with engine off) and it was harsh. The GB on my Tata/Ford have a better feel.

While the engine is ON, the shifts are very smooth and is surely better than Maruti/TATA.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by parsh

the future Liva customers will be at loss as they would be waiting for bookinng opening and would be marred by the switching over.

like genuine passengers who don't get Tatkal tickets after 8:01am on the opening day

In many ways, the move does not look good. Instead Toyota should focus upon rightfully giving customers what they want and in a reasonable timeframe by managing/upping their production.

with an unprecedented number of bookings, I guess Toyota can't live up to the delivery timeframe

people have started speculating, cancelling booking (maybe a few have acted too) and switching over to other options due to the lacklustre availability of Etios and in future Liva.

I believe the manza is a far far better alternative to the Etios in every way(except perhaps image and resale)

To add,my 2 months experience of owning a Corolla leads me to believe that a Toyota is no great shakes in comparison to a Maruti.

Except for not owning "T"(oyota) and showing off,customers don't stand to lose anything by going in for the DZire or the Manza.

There is no point in waiting endlessly for a car which has been built to a price.

Toyota's pricing in India is way too high for the kind of product on offer.The Altis does not even have the feel and the space of the older Corolla to justify such a high price tag;and add to that the 1ZZFE buzzy engine - bad !!

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by amalji

While the engine is ON, the shifts are very smooth and is surely better than Maruti/TATA.

Better to talk about specific vehicles than generalizing all vehicles belonging to a company. This mindset of generalizing all cars belonging "desi" companies as inferior is really unfortunate. At the same time, cars of some some "phoren" comanies (Toyota/Honda/VW etc) are considered to offer geat quality even though they have serious drawbacks.
We had pages of FIAT/TATA bashing for poor interior quality. But all that seems acceptable in the Etios!
Have you driven the Swift? It has got one of the best gear shifts with short throws and butter smooth operation.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Better to talk about specific vehicles than generalizing all vehicles belonging to a company. This mindset of generalizing all cars belonging "desi" companies as inferior is really unfortunate. At the same time, cars of some some "phoren" comanies (Toyota/Honda/VW etc) are considered to offer geat quality even though they have serious drawbacks.
We had pages of FIAT/TATA bashing for poor interior quality. But all that seems acceptable in the Etios!
Have you driven the Swift? It has got one of the best gear shifts with short throws and butter smooth operation.

1) I'm a great fan of Maruti Gear Box, and have driven all Maruti cars except the SX4. So, I really meant what I said when I compared it with "Maruti cars".

2) With regards to TATA, it simply doesn't deserve a comparison with the Etios. Even the ARIA's gear shift, I do not find it great when we think about the price it is sold at.

3) I'm not an "India Basher". I rate the Maruti Suzuki brand above the likes of Ford for its hassle free cars.

4) Check my posts. I have never told that Etios interiors are cool. I've always told that Etios' advantages are Space, Comfort and Performance and that they have compromised on the looks and interiors.

5) Different people have different priorities. For me, the durability, service, performance and comfort has higher priority than how plastic feels or plastic looks inside a car. For people who need looks on the interior, the Etios is definitely not the car to go for. They should opt for a FIAT, Ford, Honda or VW.

[Vid6639]

I agree that the Etios gearbox is one of the better Toyota ones. It's lighter and throw is very precise, even better than the Altis I have.

What I did find was that it does not slot in easy in high rpm's. You can't rev till redline and slam in higher gear. It needs to be eased in else does not slot in.

Had a short drive of the car and was very impressed. For 7.66L you get the V variant that loses the red upholstery, side skirts, audio controls on steering wheel compared to the VX at 8.2L.

The i20 Asta is 6.8L in comparison. Instead of a fully loaded hatch the Etios is a way better option.

Engine was extremely tractable and even in second gear pulls effortlessly. Infact over a speed breaker where the Altis has to be in 1st the Etios comfortably pulls from second.

Suspension is stiffer and has lesser travel than the Altis. As a result the car oscillates lesser over undulations. Insulation in wheel well is non existent and even when you drive over sand you hear the sound of sand/mud in the wheels.

Steering is way better than the Altis. Has more feel and is great to hold.

Space is fantastic. 3 of us sat in the rear of the Etios and then later on in the Altis. The Etios has more space for 3 abreast as well as way more legroom than the Altis.

I know I'm comparing with Altis and is in a different segment and all that but you just cant help comparing if you have an Altis especially when you find that the Etios is actually a bit better than Altis in some aspects.

Yes you end up compromising on quality which is very poor. Sheet metal feels very flimsy, door handles look like they will fall off, no plastic cladding around front seats, poor upholstery, very poor instrument cluster, horrible sunshades(Figo even has better) and very tacky red colour scheme in VX.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Had a short drive of the car and was very impressed. For 7.66L you get the V variant that loses the red upholstery, side skirts, audio controls on steering wheel compared to the VX at 8.2L.

In Trivandrum, the cost was 7.12 Lakhs for V variant ( including tax and insurance ). Such high difference in pricing at Bangalore ?

Originally Posted by vid6639

Engine was extremely tractable and even in second gear pulls effortlessly. Infact over a speed breaker where the Altis has to be in 1st the Etios comfortably pulls from second.

Very true. I slowed down the car to dead slow on 2nd, and it was ready to pull when I pushed down the pedal from there.

Originally Posted by vid6639

Insulation in wheel well is non existent and even when you drive over sand you hear the sound of sand/mud in the wheels.

Is there something we can do about it after we buy this car ? Is insulating the wheel well such a costly affair? Waiting for inputs from experts.

Originally Posted by vid6639

Space is fantastic. 3 of us sat in the rear of the Etios and then later on in the Altis. The Etios has more space for 3 abreast as well as way more legroom than the Altis.

That's great.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by theguy

I saw an Etios a few days back on road its a test drive car I guess, it isnt as ugly as it looks in the pictures but it still is an ugly car, and that chrome strip on the boot ughhh.. I would still say Manza is the best car in this segment

I was so against the looks of Etios but its looks good in real life. Rear is far better than Manza's!

Originally Posted by vid6639

I agree that the Etios gearbox is one of the better Toyota ones. It's lighter and throw is very precise, even better than the Altis I have.

I know I'm comparing with Altis and is in a different segment and all that but you just cant help comparing if you have an Altis especially when you find that the Etios is actually a bit better than Altis in some aspects.

Yes you end up compromising on quality which is very poor. Sheet metal feels very flimsy, door handles look like they will fall off, no plastic cladding around front seats, poor upholstery, very poor instrument cluster, horrible sunshades(Figo even has better) and very tacky red colour scheme in VX.

Nice short review and comparison ! I hope the engines does give you good kmpl too as they promise!

Heard they got 700 booking at Cochin ( or is it for whole Kerala?)

[condor]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Sheet metal feels very flimsy, door handles look like they will fall off, no plastic cladding around front seats, poor upholstery, very poor instrument cluster, horrible sunshades..

The color scheme can be covered up with seat covers .. but what can you do about the instrument console ? It's a lot about what fonts they used there. Dont think it should be difficult to use a diff font style there.

Door handles even have that tacky chrome piece - stuck on top of the handle. The boot has a long chrome lip that is definitely chipping away at the looks.

But yes, fair amount under-thigh support. Space is there. Bench back rest inlcine is good.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by condor

The color scheme can be covered up with seat covers .. but what can you do about the instrument console ? Man, it's a lot about what fonts they used there. Dont think it should be difficult to use a diff font style there.

Door handles even have that tacky chrome piece - stuck on top of the handle. The boot has a long chrome lip that is definitely chipping away at the looks.

But yes, fair amount under-thigh support. Space is there. Bench back rest inlcine is good.

The instrument console looks hollow inside. The needle is sitting somewhere in some empty space, looks real tacky.

Door handle chrome and the boot lid chrome are really an eyesore because I hate chrome anywhere on a car.