Toyota has provided the Etios with its biggest update yet. Details follow:

1. More emphasis on passenger safety

Toyota has given safety precedence in the Etios – airbags have been offered as standard across all variants since 2014. Also the company had incorporated structural changes in 2015 that resulted in a four-star global NCAP rating. And with this latest update in the upcoming car, Toyota has taken that game even further by offering ABS as standard for all variants. Other additions are ISOFIX mounting points for child safety seats, tubular structure for rear seats and side-impact reinforcements.

2. Higher comfort quotient

The seat fabrics and contouring have been improved, and a rear armrest has been added. Car enthusiasts can look forward to a redesigned instrument cluster for improved readability. Higher grades will also feature electronically-foldable exterior mirrors. Toyota has also switched from traditional rubber engine mounts to hydraulic mounts, providing the car with substantial improvements in noise and vibration levels, and consequently, a quieter cabin.

3. Updates by in-house R&D team

Toyota’s Japan headquarter has delegated the task of updating the Etios to its India R&D branch. This has resulted in reduced costs as well as lead time, and a car that has been better adapted for the target market. Quality levels should remain the same though, since Toyota sets a QDR (Quality, Durability and Reliability) baseline for all its foreign R&D operations.

4. Enhanced drivability

With an eye on the personal car market, Toyota has boosted the new Etios’ drivability by fitting it with a softer clutch (for the diesel variant) and making improvements to its gearshift mechanism and suspension setup. The rest of the mechanicals, however, will be carried over unchanged.

5. Looks differentiated, not different

The 2016 Etios is still just an update, though an extensive one, and not an out-and-out model replacement. Owing to the prohibitive cost of making changes to the sheet metal, the overall boxy design of the Etios remains unchanged. The minor tweaks however, differentiate it from older Etios, such as the new grille with its thick chrome surround, lightly reprofiled tail-lamps, new tailgate chrome strip and new allow wheels.