The Toyota Etios has been a profit making arm for Toyota in India. Be it a car which people buy for personal use, or driven around by taxi operators to shunt passengers, the Etios has made a name for itself. Facing stiff competition from the likes of the Honda Amaze, Tata Zest, Hyundai Xcent etc, Toyota India has decided to give the 2015 Etios has a facelift. The facelift will be seen on both the sedan and hatchback Liva.
If you expect massive design changes and mechanical tweaks, then you will have to wait further. This is merely a cosmetic embellishment with some added goodies here and there. On the exterior, the first thing to grab your sight, will be the oodles of chrome that has been plastered onto that grinning face. There’s enough chrome on this car for you to construct a scale-model of the Etios, if you fancy. The second thing that’s ”new” on the outside is the integration of turn indicators on the ORVMs. The rest of the car is pretty much untouched, which is a pity.
Step inside and you will notice some changes from the previous car. The Etios gets nicer door trims and better seat fabrics. The car also receives a dual-tone beige theme and there some faux-wood and yes, chrome inserts find their way here, too. As mentioned earlier, the Etios won’t be having any changes under the bonnet and comes with the same 1.5-litre petrol engine that makes 90PS of maximum power and 132 Nm of peak torque and a 1.4-litre diesel motor which makes a tarmac-scorching 68 PS of maximum power and 170 Nm of torque. The Etios Liva hatchback too hasn’t witnessed any changes on the engine-front and comes with a 1.2-litre petrol unit that makes 90 PS of power and 104 Nm of torque. The diesel engine in the Liva hatchback is identical to it’s sedan sibling. Both the cars come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
The one really good addition made to the Etios by Toyota, is the inclusion of a driver’s-side airbag even on the base trim. Electrically-operated ORVMs and reverse parking-sensors will find their way in the top-end version and is to launch on October 15th. Keep following Motoroids to update yourself with the latest happenings in the Indian automobile industry.
Image courtesy and source – GaadiWaadi.com