The tsunami in Japan played havoc with the launch dates that Toyota had lined up for the Etios, but better late than never, eh? Not a moment too soon, either — diesel cars are overwhelmingly the flavour of the day, given the prices of petrol, and even people whose useage patterns don’t really justify the purchase of a diesel car are opting for the sticky fuel. So, where does the Etios fit into this scenario?
The Etios, like most cars in this category (and, indeed, most categories) doesn’t look any different in diesel form. To be quite honest, the Etios has a bit of an image problem. It is pitted against cars like the Suzuki Swift Dzire, the Ford Fiesta Classic, the Tata Indigo Manza and the Mahindra Verito but, being a Toyota, there is an expectation of something ‘more’. However, the Etios still looks like a dated design, and I feel Toyota could have stolen a march on the competition by making it look more contemporary.