Toyota Etios at attractive price enters Swift Dzire Market

Toyota has a typical late entry strategy around the world. India is no different, so they were one of the last manufacturers to enter the country. Having launched the extremely successful Qualis, the Japanese major got into all segments — the mid-size with Corolla, the luxury end with Camry, the SUV market with Fortuner and the super-luxury SUV category with Prado and Land Cruiser. None could match the success of Qualis, and its successor, Innova.

Enter, Etios. Toyota’s first foray into the economy segment, Etios is a “conceivedfor- India” car. The challenge was to have a car that let consumers get the famous Toyota quality without paying a high price for it. Think of it as single malt whisky at rum prices. The challenge was tough, but the rewards were just as lucrative: the estimated 2,50,000-unit demand for such cars in the lower category of hatchbacks, notchbacks and small sedans. At present, in the segment that Etios is entering, the Lord and the Master is Maruti with its Swift Dzire, which has managed to draw long booking queues even two years after its launch!

So what exactly makes the Etios unique? For starters, it’s the brilliant packaging of the product. It may not appear to be large from the outside, but peek inside and you’ll find cavernous space, which means three large adults can comfortably lounge at the back. The front seats are also comfortable — in fact, the lumbar support they offer makes them better than what you get in many super-premium cars.

The instrument console is centrally mounted for the first time in a vehicle in this segment and the dials look sexy at night with their white back-lighting in a semi-circular design. The chief engineer of the Etios project, Yoshinori Noritake, said: “We learnt that Indian customers are price conscious but at the same time want space and comfort for their family, and style to enhance their status.” Intelligent touches abound in Etios.

It has a large air-con vent in the central console that cools the rear-seat passengers very well. The flat-bottomed steering wheel is so welldesigned that even dimensionally challenged people can slip in easily.

Like any other great product, Etios too has minor drawbacks. First, you have to adjust the outer rear-view mirrors by hand. My second complaint is that some of the higher-end models have flashes of red inside, which sometimes do not appeal to even the most passionately inclined amongst us. The headlights look a tad small and the single wiper sticks out like a sore thumb.

So far we have not talked about the power plant. The Etios comes with a standard 1,500cc engine, which gives around 90 horses and 132Nm of torque. In plain English it means a sufficiently endowed engine that may not win 0-100kmph contests but delivers a claimed 17.6kmpl of fuel average! Bookings open now, deliveries start in January.