Etios price starts at Rs 4.96 lakh

Toyota has launched the Etios saloon in India, with deliveries starting from January next year. Available in four variants, the prices start from Rs 4.96lakh for the base J variant, rising up to Rs 6.86lakh for the top-end VX variant, prices ex-showroom Delhi.

The Etios saloon will compete with likes of the Swift DZire, Indigo Manza and the Mahindra Logan. While the entry level DZire starts from Rs 4.88lakh, Manza Aqua retails at Rs 5.12lakh. The base Logan GLE carries a price tag of Rs 4.66lakh (all-prices Ex-showroom Delhi).

Toyota will compete head on with India’s most successful car maker, Maruti and let’s not discount Tata, which won’t make the fight any easier. Toyota has played safe with the Etios’ looks. The design and styling is well proportioned and balanced. If the exterior doesn’t bowl you over, the Etios’ interior certainly will. There is not a shadow of a doubt that the Etios is the most comfortable car in its class. It’s not just the seats that are generous; the Etios has more space for luggage as well. There is a massive 595-litre boot, seven full-sized cupholders and a 13-litre chilled glovebox.

The Etios’s 1.5-litre motor comes with twin cams and four valves per cylinder producing just under 90bhp. This figure may seem modest but when you factor in the favourable power-to-weight ratio, the Etios feels like it’s up there with some 100bhp saloons. The Etios also boasts of class-best fuel economy of 17.64kpl in the ARAI driving cycle.

As revealed by autocarindia.com a couple of days back, Toyota has confirmed Liva as sub brand for Etios hatchback, which will go on sale in April 2011. For the year 2011, Toyota plans to collectively sell 70,000 units of the Etios saloon and the Liva.