Introduced last December in India in its sedan version as well as in Japan for the press, the Etios is the first Toyota car that has been size made for the Indian market and produced locally.
Sure an Indian Toyota Car may not the sexiest thing that you ever dreamed of and I admit that when I think of Indian Car I immediately think about this piece of XXX or about this or this. But, This Toyota Etios, available in sedan version or Hatchback version with the Etios Liva is really something new that worth your attention.

As I said, the Etios is the opposite of what many manufacturers did in the past who tried to come with a “Global” concept and sell it all over the world. Nope the Etios is a REAL Indian Car, made in India, for Indians and for once it does not suck at all!

Granted the Etios and Etios Liva are not Pebble beach material but you have to admit that it could have been worse, and to be honest with you, these two cars could actually match European/North American design standard easily when you think about entry level vehicles.

Built from the ground up in India, the Etios comes with some pretty interesting elements unique to this market with first and foremost the most powerful AC I ever seen in my life! At Maximum power it will literally freeze you over even in the hottest Texas like summer you could imagine!
Indian is not Good old Japan when it comes to smooth and silky roads, and streets even in biggest cities could quickly becomes hell on earth over there! To this attention, Toyota decided to tough-up a little its Etios by offering on each of them a “military” style armor underbody to avoid any damages that you could imagine. Think it’s weird? What about being capable to store up to 13l of water in one car? Thanks to seven different bottle holders and a huge refrigerate glove compartment, the Etios Series is capable to keep up to 13l worth of regular bottle water just in case you are thirsty!

Really different and made for another world, the Etios is nonetheless surprisingly comfortable and gave us a smooth ride despite being quite brutal with it during our test drive at Fuji SpeedWay test center.
Powered by a 1.5l engine offering 90HP and 132Nm of Torque for the Etios Sedans and 80HP on a 1.2l engine of the Etios Liva, the Etios family are not the fastest car I ever drove, but still, I have to admit that it was up to European and Japanese Standard when it comes to cornering and handling!

Being the first of its Kind, the Etios will actually give birth to other vehicles in other regions. Strong from its experience in India Toyota hope to bring future cars like the Etios in other countries like Brazil for example and little by little to other markets around the world.