Review: New Toyota Etios
When a typical Indian car buyer is out in the market, some of the key factors in zeroing in on a particular model are ‘easy to buy’ and ‘excellent fuel efficiency’. Carmakers operating in India develop their models around this philosophy and so did Toyota with its Etios and Liva models. But what it didn’t consider at that point of time was the evolving nature of the Indian market where ‘affordability’ and ‘efficiency’ weren’t going to be enough to sustain.
That’s exactly what happened with the Etios and Liva when they made their debut in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The made-for-India Etios siblings were affordable(considering they were Toyotas), spacious, comfortable, quite efficient and practical. But what let the buyers down were their ordinary, Logan-inspired styling, cheap looking interiors and signs of low-cost bits and pieces at several places.
Toyota took a lot of flak for this, but it was able to take the criticism in its stride and quickly made necessary alterations to come out with 2013 versions of the Etios and Etios Liva. To begin with, Toyota has reshuffled the trim levels and has added new base variants for the saloon and the hatchback, apart from introducing a new sporty variant of the Liva. The Etios featured here is the top-end VD variant that comes loaded with all the goodies and safety features.
So let’s start with what’s new for the 2013 model - If the new Etios zoomed past you, it would be difficult to spot the slightly altered front grille. But what could give away to the keen observers are the new ORVMs with turn indicators and new elements in the tail-lamp cluster. That’s it. It’s the cabin that has received most of the new stuff and it shows. First up, the dull and boring grey interior makes way for a better looking dual-tone black and beige scheme. Although the materials used remain the same, the new colour scheme is pleasing to the eye. The faux wood inserts and new door pads give it a bit of flair. There are new graphics for the centrally-located instrument cluster and a neat looking 2-DIN music system with USB, Aux-in and Bluetooth connectivity. The air-con knobs are new and feel much better than the cheaper ones they replace.