[mdsaab]

Just saw 3 etios Liva's in Pune within the span of 2 days. It looked decent on the road. Especially liked the one in blue. IMHO it looks better than the Etios Sedan.

Also a little Q.
Do you think it is cheaper to have the instrument cluster and speedo in the centre of the dash?
is that why Toyota have opted for this? Maybe to keep costs down.

[gaurav911]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Also a little Q.
Do you think it is cheaper to have the instrument cluster and speedo in the centre of the dash?
is that why Toyota have opted for this? Maybe to keep costs down.

Yes, generally car companies use this as a cost cutting feature. It generally makes sense for export-oriented products. The instrument cluster + speedo in the center is suitable for both right + left hand drive cars so the same dash works when manufacturing a left hand drive car.

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by gaurav911

Yes, generally car companies use this as a cost cutting feature. It generally makes sense for export-oriented products. The instrument cluster + speedo in the center is suitable for both right + left hand drive cars so the same dash works when manufacturing a left hand drive car.

Thanks, and that's an extremely valid point. I did not think of it that way.
It would save them Mucho Moolah. So Toyota is very smart indeed

[gaurav911]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Thanks, and that's an extremely valid point. I did not think of it that way.
It would save them Mucho Moolah. So Toyota is very smart indeed

Talking about Toyota being smart. Regarding the AC vents which are both placed on the left side of the center dash, one below the other, a bit away from the driver - Toyota claims that this improves air flow! But does it ? Or they had no option but to keep the vents out there - extremely suitable for left hand drive cars and then smartly advertised as being specifically designed that way. Design brilliance or marketing intelligence?

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by gaurav911

Talking about Toyota being smart. Regarding the AC vents which are both placed on the left side of the center dash, one below the other, a bit away from the driver - Toyota claims that this improves air flow! But does it ? Or they had no option but to keep the vents out there - extremely suitable for left hand drive cars and then smartly advertised as being specifically designed that way. Design brilliance or marketing intelligence?

Now that's a tough one.
It certainly is a design blooper. and looks rather odd in the pictures too.
Would have been better off if they placed one vent on either side.
I do not think that it's at an advantage for left hand drive vehicles though.
As the front passenger would end up feeling rather left out when it comes to the cool air.
Also personally, if i were driving, i would not prefer to have too much air gushing towards me. I hate that, and often close my driver's side vent even in the Honda's.
So definately not design brilliance here.
But more like marketing cover up intelligence

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Just saw 3 etios Liva's in Pune within the span of 2 days. It looked decent on the road. Especially liked the one in blue. IMHO it looks better than the Etios Sedan.

Not a doubt about it. Both the side and rear profiles of Liva look better than her sedan sibling. Makes one wonder about Toyota's dig on DZire that Etios is not a hatch with a boot. As far as visual aspect is concerned, the more Livas I get to see, the more I feel sure that Liva was designed first and a boot was added to make an Etios. To be fair, Toyota is honest, however, about proporationality and functional aspects like engine performance and handling, where DZire has really got a raw deal vis-a-vis its sibling Swift or challenger Etios.

Originally Posted by gaurav911

Yes, generally car companies use this as a cost cutting feature. It generally makes sense for export-oriented products. The instrument cluster + speedo in the center is suitable for both right + left hand drive cars so the same dash works when manufacturing a left hand drive car.

I'm not too sure about this. For one, the instrument cluster is tilted towards the driver. For LHD, it would require tilt in the reverse direction. Secondly, the driver side dash plastic is of different texture and quality and better prevents sunlight reflection. So I really wonder if the same dash can be used in LHD car. Also, did Indica Vista too have the export LHD market as its major target, when she sported a centre console?

Originally Posted by gaurav911

Talking about Toyota being smart. Regarding the AC vents which are both placed on the left side of the center dash, one below the other, a bit away from the driver - Toyota claims that this improves air flow! But does it ? Or they had no option but to keep the vents out there - extremely suitable for left hand drive cars and then smartly advertised as being specifically designed that way. Design brilliance or marketing intelligence?

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Also personally, if i were driving, i would not prefer to have too much air gushing towards me. I hate that, and often close my driver's side vent...

Ditto with me. Just a thought, could this be a functionality that Toyota also thought of when they placed the vents one above the other and away from the driver? I'm not sure though, that it really does something to improve the air flow.

Also, while we are on this LHD/RHD car issue, why really would Toyota design a car more for LHD market and launch it first in a promising RHD market?!

[fast&furious]

Those two vents in the middle helps to blow the cold air into the backseat. Remember, Etios has no rear aircon vents. One placed below the other helps to push the cold air between the front seats.One aside the other wont be as effective because the force will be less and the volume of air that reaches the backseat will be less as well.
Just saw this nice video on youtube :

Toyota Etios Promotional Video - YouTube

You can see the airflow factor that Toyota claims in this video.

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by fast&furious

Those two vents in the middle helps to blow the cold air into the backseat. Remember, Etios has no rear aircon vents. One placed below the other helps to push the cold air between the front seats.

But having them placed aside will mean one can position the vents diagonally which will hit the rear left and right passenger directly. One stacked upon the other will mean position will.be better only for the rear middle passenger.
This is my view on it.
What' say?

[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

But having them placed aside will mean one can position the vents diagonally which will hit the rear left and right passenger directly. One stacked upon the other will mean position will.be better only for the rear middle passenger.
This is my view on it.
What' say?

In my opinion, this is a very good design as Etios is not very wide car and having vents on either side of center console (traditional set up) is not a good choice as the right side of vent will throw air directly to driver's hand reducing airflow to rear passenger. I own Corolla and has the same issue. Toyota rectified this by placing the vents above the center console in Altis, which is much better design. Now, Toyota can't do same in Etios as it has centrally mounted speedo. That's way this unique design.

I know, many people don't like this design but Toyota's designs are always FUNCTION over FORM.

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

In my opinion, this is a very good design as Etios is not very wide car and having vents on either side of center console (traditional set up) is not a good choice as the right side of vent will throw air directly to driver's hand reducing airflow to rear passenger. I own Corolla and has the same issue. Toyota rectified this by placing the vents above the center console in Altis, which is much better design. Now, Toyota can't do same in Etios as it has centrally mounted speedo. That's way this unique design.

I know, many people don't like this design but Toyota's designs are always FUNCTION over FORM.

You are probably right about it. The claimed airflow improvement at the back appears likely more because of the driver's hand not impeding it than anything else. The vents have perhaps been placed thoughtfully away from the driver, but still within reach.

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

In my opinion, this is a very good design as Etios is not very wide car and having vents on either side of center console (traditional set up) is not a good choice as the right side of vent will throw air directly to driver's hand reducing airflow to rear passenger. I own Corolla and has the same issue. Toyota rectified this by placing the vents above the center console in Altis, which is much better design. Now, Toyota can't do same in Etios as it has centrally mounted speedo. That's way this unique design.

I know, many people don't like this design but Toyota's designs are always FUNCTION over FORM.

That makes perfect sense. I guess this will help generate more volume of air within the rear of the cabin.
But you gotta like my aside diagonal position of the vents idea, it does not send direct flow to the driver's hand and still cools the folks at the rear decently. What's say?

[gaurav911]

Originally Posted by RadiantKarma

I'm not too sure about this. For one, the instrument cluster is tilted towards the driver. For LHD, it would require tilt in the reverse direction. Secondly, the driver side dash plastic is of different texture and quality and better prevents sunlight reflection. So I really wonder if the same dash can be used in LHD car. Also, did Indica Vista too have the export LHD market as its major target, when she sported a centre console?

Also, while we are on this LHD/RHD car issue, why really would Toyota design a car more for LHD market and launch it first in a promising RHD market?!

In general, car manufacturers started using the center mounted instrument console as a cost cutting measure - to keep the same dash for RHD and LHD cars. This practice is not new. If you remember old Jeeps being used 40-50 years back, the speedometer and various gauges used to be in the center. The same dash was then used for LHD and RHD variants.

Toyota themselves are not new to this design. Most of us agree that the Etios is inspired from Toytota's Echo. Attached are 2 pics from the interior of the Echo(around 2002-2003) - one showing the LHD version and the other the RHD one. If you look closely the speedometer is a separate unit, tilted towards the driver in both the cases.

Maybe, Toyota has extended plans with the Etios. Since its the cheapest Toyota around, they may be considering it for export later on. Making a common design (dash/ body shell/ chassis etc) is a common practice with manufacturers. It is a win-win situation. If tomorrow the etios isn't exported - no harm; Toyota will claim & market that the design was exclusive for the Etios - for easy visibility blah blah. If the vehicle is a huge success & exports are planned - then great. You are able to reduce design/manufacturing costs.

[RadiantKarma]

^^Hey gaurav, I fully agree with you, about why manufacturers normally go for central console, about the fact that Toyota almost certainly has plans for export of car(s) on Etios platform. It is quite likely that this is the reason for Toyota to go in for central console.

However, I am still curious to know that, with apparent RHD dash design biases in Etios, if Toyota can still use the same dash assembly for LHD market. If yes, then it's mighty likely a case of cost management as you have mentioned. If not, then it throws up an interesting question - whether the given arrangment actually offers certain functional advantages vis-a-vis conventional arrangement?

[arvi86]

However practical and reliable the Etios may be, the fact is that nobody can refuse that the car looks and feels like a cut-price car. Now, as if to prove the point, there is an advertisement in a recent Tamil newspaper (not sure whether it is yesterday's or today's) in which the owner, apparently frustated by the horrible build-quality of the Etios and the irresponsive Toyota dealer in Madurai, has opted to sell the car by listing all its problems.

I just received the scanned copy of the ad in my mailbox, but can't upload since its size is above 1.7 MB.

[arvi86]

Here it is, attached in PDF format. I think this is a one-off issue and the owner is frustated due to the lack of response/solution from the Toyota dealer in Madurai.