Can be a Swift killer...

Exterior

Not world class but same time not bad either. Its reasonably good looking car. Looks great in almost all the available colors. I can place this next to i20, Polo. (Ofcourse, it is my personal choice). Surprisingly,  14" wheels are provided for G variant in place of 15" wheels in its high end models, and there are no front or back side grills provided for  G variant which has discredited the exterior looks to a great extent. But at an additional cost, you can get them fixed with originals by the dealer.

Doesn't look very strong or solid like POLO or Fabia which are considered to be best in the segment in that category.

The ground clearance is best for Indian roads.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

This is where the vehicle scores very low. But again the quality of the interiors is not very very bad either. They are just okay but definitely not best in class. I can place it just above Figo and below all other.

The first thing I should talk about here is, "space". Its best in class. 3 people of heavy build can comfortably sit on the rear seat. Very good leg room. This is where most of other cars in this segment are scoring very low. I can place this on top of Fabia, Figo and i20 in this segment. 

Boot is just sufficient. Cannot be compared with Fabia, Figo. 

AC is powerful and quick enough to cool the car in no time. Music system that is available in V & VX is really good and you would get the same 2DIN  for below 10K for the G variant also. There are no door speakers provided on the backside. All the 4 speakers are placed in the front part. I have seen the same in A-Star, but not sure how it would be useful. 

The glove box is vey spacious and intelligently designed for inside cooling.  

Coming to the worst, the odometer is too ordinary and no tacho associated .. and more over it is  centrally mounted. In the first look, you may not like it. The explaination I got was, it will enable a clear visibility of the road particulary at the corners and to some extent it may be true. But the quality of the odo is aweful.  

G & above variants offer all four power windows which is good when compared to POLO. Keyless entry is available even in G variant which agains scores a few points against its competetors.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

The 4-cylinder engine is very responsive and, as always, exhibits the true class of TOYOTA.

The mileage it offers is really best in class so far,  and its going to be the USP for this vehicle. Low kerb weight resulted in a good mileage and lessens burden on the engine. Though not sure, I heard Swift is also planning to shred a few kilos for its next release.

The gear box is again very crispy and responsive. 

Ride Quality & Handling

Its made for city driving and it will definitely do that job very well. Very light steering offers best in class driving experience and offers excellent maneuverability in city driving conditions. Moreover 4.9 mtr turning radius gives ability to drive comfortably in city road conditions.  4-cylinder engine is very responsive and idle for "mostly city and occassional high way drives". I can say the ride quality is very superior though a little under performant in the class, but that is understandable. Suspensions are cleverly used in the car. 

For high way driving conditions, I wouldn't rate this on par with any big performers but enough for a quality ride that clocks not more than 120kmph. Though I haven't tested, this is very stable till 140Kmph but not above that. 

I can place this on par with i20, Micra and Swift. (again according to my personal preferences)

Final Words

As a auto magazine quoted, this is a very good car which will tick most of the buyer's requirements. If you are looking for a family car with Brand Image, good and effortless city driving, regular city - and - occassional highway rides, spacious with reasonably good looks then this car is for you. But if the performance is your first requirement, forget this car. 

Finally coming to my title, yes this car has all potential to kill Swift but too early to say "it will"... And more over, Swift's bestseller is its diesel variant but incase of Liva, the diesel is not available yet in the market so we have to wait and see. And one more thing I have to mention here is, my review is an outcome of my comparison with other cars like POLO, Swift, Fabia, i20, Punto, Figo and Micra. I haven't considered i10, Ritz, WagonR, Beat because I personally feel that they belong to Tall boy segment and there are certain compromises with the tall boys.

Areas of improvement  

- Interiors, Interiors, Interiors...

 

- Responsive Engine, Mileage, Interior Space- Not so good interiors, some important cosmetics are missing in the low variants