South Africa now gets the updated Toyota Etios exported from India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) exports the Toyota Etios sedan and the Etios (it's not called the Liva there) hatchback to places such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mauritius. While the sedan and the hatchback siblings were refreshed during the month of March for the Indian market, Toyota of South Africa has just announced the refreshed Etios' for the local market.

Since these Etios' are exported from India anyway, the refreshed cars are identical to what's sold in India.

The refreshed Etios sports a tweaked front grill and headlight design. The taillight cluster is also altered and lights are now re-profiled. The design of the outside rear view mirror is sharper than before. This completes the exterior changes.

Inside, the new Etios features driver seat height adjustment as the previous model did not have this, even as an option. The front seats no longer come with the integrated headrests, instead they are now the conventional units.

The power windows get an Auto-Up function on the top-end Etios range. Redesigned seats feature better cushioning and the design of the fabrics has been altered.

Where the old Etios had a white backlight for the instrument cluster, the refreshed Etios features a blue backlight. On the top-end versions, a new audio system capable of AUX-in and USB support has also been included.

The 1.5-liter 90PS engine has remain unaltered. However in India, Toyota introduced this engine in the Liva hatchback along with the TRD Sportivo bodykit calling the variant the same only in March this year. In South Africa though, the Liva has always been sold with the more powerful engine.

Prices for the new Etios start at 115,800 Rand (INR 6.72 lakhs) for the base hatchback variant and extend up to 126,700 Rand (INR 7.36 lakhs) for the fully loaded sedan variant. Toyota has sold 25,000 units of the Etios in the first year and the upgrades will help improve numbers in the second year.

[Source - Carmag.co.za]