Toyota Etios Liva: A photo feature

The Toyota’s Etios Liva small car was launched in New Delhi yesterday. According to Toyota’s deputy managing director, Sandeep Singh, the Liva is targeted at young professionals in the age group of 25-35, with a monthly income of Rs.75,000 or more.

The Etios Liva was launched at an attractive price of Rs 3.99 lakh for the base model and Rs 5.99 lakh for the top end variant. Will the Liva’s design and interiors appeal to the young professionals?

The Toyota Etios Liva has a neat, sober look overall. Toyota’s design works well for this small car and the smiling grille upfront gives it a purposeful stance. The cars look young and sporty thanks to the smooth character lines.

The side fragile of the Liva also reveals a sharp line at the bottom swooping upwards as it reaches the rear door panel. The car sits 170mm above the ground and looks attractive from most angles. The Liva draws heavily from the Etios sedan as far as design is concerned but looks comfortable in its skin.

At the rear, the Liva sports a sleek, flat chrome slat on the boot lid which stresses on its premium hatch positioning. The tail lamps are young and do not conform to any particular shape but can be described as triangular and neat. The Etios Liva badge too is in chrome and sits smugly next to the right side tail lamp.

The high end variants of the Toyota Etios Liva sport chunky 12-spoke alloy wheels which emphasize its sporty nature. The wheel arches are not overtly flared but have a slightly chiseled appearance. A white coloured, oval shaped turn indicator has been placed above the wheel arches.

The rear bumper has an aggressive skirting all around it, which gives the Liva a youthful and sporty touch. The rear bumper also houses the cars number plate and has a muscular appearance.

Under the Liva’s hood beats a 1,197cc, 4-cylinder, 16-Valve, DOHC petrol engine that churns out 80PS of power and 104Nm of torque. The Engine is frugal too and the Liva has an ARAI tested mileage figure of 18.31 Kmpl. Real world mileage will be a couple notches below that but will still make the Liva a fuel efficient hatch.

On the inside, the Liva offers three different colour combinations, depending on the variant. The top end ‘J’ variant gets the red-black combination you see here while the less expensive ‘V’ variant gets a grey-black treatment. The base model will have plain grey upholstery. The Liva has ergonomically positioned air-conditioning vents that help cool air reach the rear passenger seats. The Liva also has a 2-DIN Audio system with remote control which will take care of in-car audio entertainment needs.

The Liva is spacious for a small car but the seats lack cushioning. The rear and front seats have integrated headrests, which mean they cannot be adjusted for height. The Liva has a 13 liter cooled glove box that can hold up to nine 500ml bottles. There is ample head and leg room at the rear and three can sit comfortably in the back.

What do you think? Share your first impressions about the Liva.