Buyers Guide for Toyota

Established in the year 1997 in India, Toyota Motors over the past 13 years have confirmed itself as one of the trusted and respected passenger car manufacturing brand in India. Toyota Motors is a partnership deal between Toyota company of Japan and Kirloskar group of India. They have always believed in manufacturing the most comfortable and trusted automobiles for the consumers in India and I will say that they have truly delivered their promise. So, today let’s look at the various best offerings of  Toyota Kirloskar Motors India in the Indian market.

Toyota Etios

This is the youngest sedan from the shed of Toyota Motors. Launched in December 2010, this car really proves to be a strongest contender in its segment. Though this car looks a bit like the Mahindra Logan, but it is nothing like it. It seems that Toyota has taken their job of manufacturing a really cool and great sedan seriously. This car posses really cool and sheek looks. Inside this car will provide you with an extremely spacious cabin. The weaker side of this car is the low plastic used inside the cabin and also the lack of features. This car is currently available in single engine i.e. with a 1.5 litre petrol engine which performs really well. Toyota has announced the launch of a new hatchback version of the same, due on March this year. So, right now it’s just Toyota Etios but soon there will also be a Toyota Etios Liva.

Engine Options:
1496cc

Powertrain:
5 speed manual

Power:
88.8 Bhp @5600 rpm

Torque:
13.5 Kgm @3000 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Cabin space, comfort and value for money

Thumbs Down:
Plastic quality and lack of features

Head on Competitors:
Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Tata Manza

The Catch:
Rs 5.1 lakhs to Rs 6.8 lakhs.

Toyota Innova

Just FYI, Toyota Innova is supposed to be the most versatile vehicle in the country. Reason or reasons are that it posess a handling of a hatchback car, looks of a minivan, ride quality of a sedan and comfort of a luxury sedan. Undoubtedly with such attributes this car was marketed by the very choosy Amir Khan. With the theme song ‘life is a highway’ and the tagline ‘always keep moving ahead’, this MPV seems to be taking it really seriously. Recently, Toyota added some more features to this vehicle to give it fresh look in the market. This MPV is available in two variants namely, 2.0 litre CNG and 2.5 litre turbo diesel. While the diesel variant is known to be frugal, the CNG variant nonetheless is economical to run.

Engine Options:
1998cc (VVTi)\ 2494cc (TD)

Powertrain:
5 speed manual

Power:
136 Bhp @6500 rpm\ 102 Bhp @3600 rpm

Torque:
18.5 Kgm @4000 rpm\ 20.5 Kgm @1400 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Versatility and cabin space

Thumbs Down:
Overall size and looks

Head on Competitors:
Tata Aria and Mahindra Xylo

The Catch:
Rs 8.1 lakhs to Rs 12.8 lakhs.

Toyota Fortuner

Just like Toyota Innova, even Toyota Fortuner became a massive hit as soon as it was launched in the market or rather I should say even before its launch. There has to be something about this vehicle that people still drool for it even after so many years. This vehicle is available in only a single engine option which is a 3.0 litre diesel engine. This engine has enough grunts to keep every other competitor at bay. This vehicle has great off road ability but this vehicle is also known as a good highway cruiser. I personally feel that if the manufacturer can incorporate an automatic gearbox option in this vehicle then it’ll be really great, but it is just an ‘if’, I like this vehicle anyways.

Engine Options:
2982cc

Powertrain:
5 speed manual

Power:
168 Bhp @3600 rpm

Torque:
35 Kgm @3400 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Comfort and it’s off roadability.

Thumbs Down:
Interiors

Head on Competitors:
Ford Endeavour and Mitsubishi Pajero

The Catch:
Rs 17.1 lakhs to Rs 19.8 lakhs.

Toyota Corolla Altis

Toyota has always been known for manufacturing cars which are reliable and comfortable. One such offering is the Toyota Corolla Altis. Though, this car doesn’t look that appealing but then the looks is not everything. This car is currently available in two engine types namely 1.8 VVTi and 1.4 diesel engines. Both the engines are really good and are known as one of the frugal engines. On the positive side this car has a spacious cabin, good ride quality, comfortable seating arrangement and the already spoken about fuel efficient engines, but on the other hand the plastic that has been used inside this car seems to be of some what inferior quality and I guess I already told you that the looks of this car simply doesn’t excite me at all.

Engine Options:
1794cc (VVTi)\ 1364cc (Diesel)

Powertrain:
5 speed manual\ 4 speed automatic\ 6 speed manual (diesel)

Power:
130 Bhp @6000 rpm\ 86.1 Bhp @3800 rpm

Torque:
17.3 Kgm @4300 rpm\ 20.9 Kgm @2800 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Cabin space, comfort, ride quality and fuel efficiency

Thumbs Down:
Quality of the plastic used and the unexciting looks

Head on Competitors:
Skoda Laura, Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cruze

The Catch:
Rs 10.1 lakhs to Rs 14.8 lakhs.

Toyota Camry

This car could be seen lined up in the front of every star hotel. This makes me wonder that how come this car can do so well without even having any standout feature and then my mind drifts back to the very thought, that Toyota is supposed to manufacture reliable and comfortable cars. This car is available in a single engine option which is a 2.4 litre petrol engine. This engine is mated with either the manual gear box or the automatic gear box. As soon as you step inside this car, it will greet you with lots of space and a tint of luxury. Let’s not talk about the looks of this car because then this car doesn’t seems worth the price charged against it.

Engine Options:
2362cc

Powertrain:
5 speed manual\ automatic

Power:
165 Bhp @6000 rpm

Torque:
22.4 Kgm @4000 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Cabin space and comfort

Thumbs Down:
Soft handling, pickup and price.

Head on Competitors:
Nissan Teana, Honda Accord and Skoda Superb

The Catch:
Rs 21 lakhs to Rs 24.8 lakhs.

Toyota Prado

Toyota Prado is one of the affordable vehicles of Land Cruiser family. This vehicle comes at almost half the rate of Land Cruiser 200. I personally like the looks of this vehicle. This all so monstrous looking vehicle hides the 3 litre diesel engine under its hood. This engine performs fairly well. This vehicle is known for its off road capability, though is sucks at its on road abilities. From inside this vehicle looks really spacious and upbeat. But the bottom line is that this vehicle still lags behind its competitors for being not so sure footed.

Engine Options:
2982cc

Powertrain:
5 speed manual

Power:
170 Bhp @3400 rpm

Torque:
41.79 Kgm @1600 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Powerful engine, off road ability and looks

Thumbs Down:
Overall handling

Head on Competitors:
Mitsubishi Montero, Volvo XC60

The Catch:
Rs 42.1 lakhs

Toyota Land Cruiser 200

Ok, so, I accept that Land Rover comes at about double the price of Audi Q5. But that is because it keeps up to each and every promise that it makes. This vehicle somehow manages to ring each and every bell and whistle that is expected out of it. This car apart from its awesome looks has a monstrous, power hungry V8 engine. Again, even this vehicle is known for its off road abilities but unlike its sibling, this vehicle performs really good on road, as well. So, I would say that this vehicle is one of the few vehicles which have an inbuilt ‘take me anywhere’ attitude.

Engine Options:
4461cc (TD)

Powertrain:
6 speed automatic

Power:
282 Bhp @3600 rpm

Torque:
66.1 Kgm @1600 rpm

Thumbs Up:
Powerful engine and it’s off road ability

Thumbs Down:
On road capability

Head on Competitors:
Audi Q7, Range Rover

The Catch:
Rs 88.8 lakhs