The muscular new Etios Cross injects a much needed dose of excitement to the Etios platform. Is this finally an Etios that will appeal to the heart?
While we’d closely inspected the Toyota Etios Cross at Auto Expo 2014, we couldn’t get behind the wheel. Now that we have, these are our first thoughts about the 1.5-litre petrol and the 1.4-litre diesel Toyota Etios Cross.
On the inside, you get piano black interiors and sporty seat fabric and Etios Cross badging. It also features a 2-DIN audio system with aux, Bluetooth and USB compatibility. The top variants will also get audio controls on the steering wheel, and a rear defogger and wiper. However, the lack of electrically adjustable wing mirrors (even on the top-spec car) is a surprising omission for a car in this segment. On the safety front, it will come equipped with ABS and EBD and dual front airbags. As for space and comfort, the front seats are on the right side of comfy and the leg room at the back is quite impressive too. However, the flat seat squab could have been a bit more comfortable had it been inclined by a couple of degrees.
As there are no mechanical changes to the Etios Cross, it drives almost identical to the regular Liva hatchback and the added weight (up by about 20kg, spec for spec) doesn’t really make a perceivable difference in its road manners. The 1.5-litre petrol motor (available only on the top-spec car) produces 89bhp and concentrates more on city drivability rather than outright power. Throttle response at lower revs is good and the car feels reasonably peppy on the highway too. The 67bhp 1.4-litre diesel, on the other hand, feels more sedate and while turbo-lag isn’t much of an issue, you will miss the mid-range punch on the highways. Also, both the motors are a bit too noisy and cabin insulation doesn’t do the best job at keeping out road noise either.