The Toyota Vios will soon be coming to India to bridge the gap between the Etios and the Corolla Altis. We are the first magazine from India to drive this new Toyota
Story: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Jason Critchell & Ravi Chandnani
Let us be very clear about this new car from Toyota: it is not a replacement for the Etios sedan; in fact, it is a car that will bridge the gap between that sedan and Toyota’s premium sedan, the Corolla Altis. The market was abuzz with rumours to the effect that this car will replace the Etios. However, such is not the case. So what exactly is this new car from Toyota? Well, it is called the Vios and it is available only in South-East Asian markets and soon it will be launched in India as well. Toyota have been testing the car in India and since we were eager to drive it, we headed to Malaysia. This is an exclusive first drive of the car that Toyota hope will further entrench themselves in a highly competitive segment in India.
Toyota’s initial attempts to woo the audience in the lucrative entry-level segment did not really yield the kind of results the company was hoping for. The Etios is a decent car to drive, but, being the victim of cost-cutting and being a car built to a price, it was not quite the car people were expecting from Toyota. It’s been almost half a decade since the Etios and it seems that Toyota have finally learnt that it is best to stick to what they do best.
Therefore, Toyota have left the past behind and have made a clever decision. Enter the new Vios, a car that often crowds the roads of countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Its popularity in South-East Asia is nothing short of a television star’s and soon it is set to make its entry into the Indian market. In the aforementioned countries the Vios is available with a 1.5-litre petrol motor. In India, however, Toyota will launch the Vios with the same petrol engine and also a 1.4-litre diesel motor that currently powers the Etios. However, in the diesel guise it will be tuned up to deliver greater power and torque. We drove the 1.5E AT, which comes with 1.5-litre petrol with a four-speed automatic transmission and here is how the experience was.
