Toyota Etios Liva VX

Toyota Etios Liva VX

The Liva is the Etios without a boot. Unlike many models, Toyota carved out the hatchback from the sedan version and not the other way out. The front remains largely unchanged to the Etios. So, it looks rather bland except if you get on all the add ons like like the side skirt and rear spoiler as shown in these pics. In profile the car looks like its ended abruptly with a vertical hatch. Insides are generously spacious. Even tall people won't have a problem inside this small car. It's a genuine five seater. The overall look and feel is rather conservative with a mish-mash of plastics of all kind. The dashboard is centre aligned which Etios engineers say helps the driver keep focused on the road better although I have my doubts. The Liva gets a 1.2 litre petrol engine with 79bhp and 104nm. It's a refined unit but not free revving as you come to expect of small city runabouts. Power comes in sedately but seems all this is intentional to help return a good fuel efficiency figure which in this case is certified to be 18.31kpl. On the move the Liva does reasonably well although you do feel that it could have been better. The ride is pretty good and it soaks in most road imperfections well. The suspension is on the softer side but doesn’t affect handling. Must say the Liva is a much better handling car than the sedan version. The steering is dead at the centre but gives good feedback around turns and hairpins. The engine isn’t as punchy though and it’s hard work to keep the engine on the boil. The Liva will be available in 4 variants – J, G, V and VX. The base two variants get smaller 14-inch wheels instead of 15-inch alloys. However, the spare wheel is not alloy. Airbags and ABS are standard on V and VX spec. Prices will be announced by the end of this month but we expect it to start at just below Rs 4 lakh (no power steering in the base variant) which means Toyota could soon be a household name with the Etios Liva.