Just when you thought the affordable Toyota was gone for good, they surprise us with this!

The Toyota Etios is taking South Africa by storm. Built in India the new Tazz  replacement offers excellent value for money at a starting price of R115 800. Yes, that is not a typo and Toyota thus undercuts almost all its competition in the Sub-B segment. The VW Vivo is currently the best selling car in South Africa, but I suspect VW have their work cut out for them. The Sub-B Segment is hotly contested by the likes of Renault’s Sandero, VW Vivo, and Ford Figo and all but the Sandero are smaller.

With the Etios you get a large car compared to the competition and you also get lots of car for your money in terms of features. All models have aircon, ABS brakes, two  airbags and electric power steering as standard but the top spec Etios Xs sedan sells for R126 600 and here you also get chrome  finishes, body colour handles and mirrors and even foglights.

All models also receive a two year/ 30 000km service plan and a three year/ 100 000km warranty. Now I want to tell you how it drives and please excuse my enthusiasm but I was really expecting cheap and nasty but Toyota gave me cheap and cheerful. The engine is a 1.5L 16 valve DOHC four cylinder unit called the 2NR-FE and Toyota developed it from scratch. Its no firecracker, but it offers nice torque from low revs and it feels strong and tractable. What I like most about it is that it feels like a real car, not like a Yaris or Aygo. Those are really silly little things and it always feels like you are sitting on top of them and not in them. The Etios feels less modern in its layout, but also comes with a sense of familiarity. It’s not a city runabout like the Yaris or Aygo, but rather a real car in terms of size and engine capacity so you can take on a national highway with a bit more dignity than a Yaris allows. You also get a real size boot in both the hatch and sedan versions and the sedan’s boot is actually class leading at 595m3. Five people and their luggage are thus going to fit comfortably and not squashed as has become the norm these days.

Its not a performance car, but acceleration as mentioned is strong and you’ll get from 0 to 100km/h in about 11 seconds which really isn’t bad. She drinks about seven litres of petrol per 100km and the ride is very comfortable. Handling is class leading and up there with the Vivo and Figo and I honestly could not fault this car. The interior is even nice, typically Toyota hard plastics, but not ugly or cheap looking.

I suspect Toyota has a worthy winner on its hands with this one and it really deserves to do well. Thank you Toyota for not over pricing this car and restoring the South African public’s faith. There was a time before Etios when I felt Toyota was just over charging for the logo, but South Africans are once again being given Toyota value and value for money.

Bobby D

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