Good car but dont compare with the Brand Toyota

 

I spent more than 3 hours inspecting the vehicle very closely, compared quality of ETIOS with other toyota vehicles (Innova and Corolla) before i decided, it is worth buying despite some of the cons i mentioned. One of the main reasons being the Brand value Toyota has in comparision to other cars in the segment (Manza & Dzire).

 

Exterior Amazing looks from the front, and sides but without the crome finishing at the rear it looks like logan. Overall it has amazing looks. I felt the body to be delicate. The thickness of the metal is reduced to reduce overall weight of the vehicle so as to provide more mileage. I could bend the metal with bare hands without much effort. Still a plus here as it has the looks, passed the crash tests and safety norms despite delicate body. Comapred the body quality with Innova which also has similar quality before giving a plus here.

Also compared the body metal thickness with dzire and manza which are no doubt stronger than ETIOS but the mileage they give for a lower cc engine is a plus and also as mentioned above, ETIOS passed the crash tests and safety norms.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) I'm not fully satisfied with the interior though the main plus is the space, comfort, and AC, rest all are a big minus in my opinion keeping Toyota brand in mind.

Front: Not happy with the Dashboard with indicators at the center. A tall driver (5' 11") may not sit comfortbly as the steering touches the legs while sitting and coming out of the vehicle. Little inconvenience there for tall drivers. Plastic quality is not impressive and not expected from the brand. Poor quality carpet which again is not expected from the brand. Sales person couldn't answer me if this is for the test drive vehicle or it would be the same for customer vehicles as well. Seat quality is not that impressive though they are comfortable to sit but the thickness is reduced to give more space/cut costs?

Rear seat is amazing. 3 people can sit very comfortbly with small kids can still sit/walk on the floor. Very comfortable even after bringing back the front seats to max extent. rear leg room is amazing and no other vehicles can match this. Another plus is the center person on the rear seat can sit very comfortably unlike other cars which doesn't have the flat floor (almost).

Boot: Huge boot space. Again the quality of sheet that covers the spare wheel in the boot is pathetic. It is a platic sheet covered with the carpet. A must go for a dicky mat. May be Toyota did a cost savings here as a dicky mat would do on this and is a paid accessory to the customer.

Amazing leg room at the front.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox I somehow didn't get the feeling of driving a 1.5L engine. Test driven twice on 2 different road conditions but i'm not convinced with the pickup for some reason. My impression is the engine is tuned to give more mileage over greater pickup. The sales person was mentioning that the pick up is better than corolla's and was ready to take me as a co-driver and he would drive and prove i was wrong. Unfortunately, didn't get a chance as there were lot of people waiting for a test drive. But i would take the test drive once again. Could hear the noise (engine sound?) when giving more acceleration which generally is not seen in case of petrol vehicles with AC on. Gearshift is smooth.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Overall ride is good. Could hear the noise while closing the doors which again is not smooth and probably due to the rubber beading is of low quality. So not much insulation for the doors.

 

Final Words For the features, pricing, mileage, engine cc, and the brand a must go in comparision with other cars in the segment around this price range. Dzire is a 1250cc, less space while manza is huge but end of the day is a TATA vehicle with poor customer care. So, a definete go for ETIOS which comes from Toyota family. If ABS, Airbags, Alloy wheels, are not required but fine to spend 1.5 lakhs more than the top end of ETIOS, then VW Vento is a good choice. I booked the vehicle on 1st Dec (the day booking opened) and eagerly waiting for my delivery. Some of the cons can be covered through accessories at a price so not a big deal for a vehcile at this price from the brand.

 

Areas of improvement Plastics, carpet quality, seat thickness, rubber cushioning for doors, pick up.

 

Amazing space (esp rear seat), Boot space, looks, Mileage, brand,features for the pricePick up, Quality of interiors, plastics/carpet, strength of body metal, rubber insulation, wipers