India-made Toyota Etios Liva hatchback scores 4 stars in Global NCAP crash test

Toyota Kirloskar exports the India-made Etios sedan and Liva hatchback to South Africa. One such Etios Liva hatchback sold in South Africa was randomly picked by Global NCAP and was crash tested. The car got a 4 star rating, which is pretty good for a budget car. More importantly, the Liva’s body structure remained stable during the test, which means that the body is strong enough to protect the passengers in case of a crash. The Liva that was tested features two airbags as standard.

Toyota also offers twin airbags and ABS as standard on both the Liva and Etios sold in India. These are critical safety features that every car buyer must opt for as they save lives. In India, the Etios and Liva are now mainly bought by cab operators who prefer the cars’ spacious interiors, reliability and low maintenance.

They don’t bother much about the boring exterior looks. Private car buyers, who are conscious about looks, don’t buy the Etios or Liva anymore. They instead opt for snazzier options. Maybe it’s time they take a re-look at the Etios as many of the snazzier looking cars aren’t necessarily safe. For example, the body structures of top selling cars – the Maruti Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 – were rated as unstable in the Global NCAP test. The Etios and Liva are offered with petrol and diesel engine options.

The Liva gets a smaller 1.2 liter petrol engine while the Etios gets a larger 1.5 liter petrol engine. The turbocharged diesel engine that these cars use is the common 1.4 liter D4D unit. 5 speed manual gearboxes are standard on all the engines. Both the cars are very light, and due to the light weight body, many have questioned the cars’ safety levels. This Global NCAP test should settle it as it proves that light doesn’t necessarily mean weak.