Toyota Etios spotted testing in Chennai

If there is ever a brand in India for which people would pay money upfront with closed eyes, then Toyota would surely be in the top of that list. With it's no-nonsense design, superb quality and bullet-proof reliability, Toyota has earned quite a reputation for itself which, even other established brands find tough to compete with. Ask none other than Honda, the brand which enjoys an equally good image in India, about it's Civic and CR-V. Both these models, though extremely competent in their respective segments, have been massacred by Toyota's Corolla and Fortuner respectively. Here is proof that Toyota is inching closer towards it's next target in India.

With barely a couple of months left for it's commercial launch, the Toyota Etios sedan has been spotted undergoing tests in Chennai city. After it's global premiere at the 2010 Auto Expo, the test mules of Etios twins, the hatchback and sedan, were quite frenquently spotted in Bangalore and it's suburbs. But this may be the first time it's seen here, thanks to a friend who spotted, snapped and promptly mailed me the picture with a tag-line 'Am not sure what car this is, but I guess it may be the Etios'. Now I know how it helps to have friends who are also auto-freaks.

Though Toyota entered India more than a decade back with the Qualis, the Japanese auto-maker has, quite unusually, taken a very long time to get into the crux of the Indian automotive market - the Small Cars. But, as they say, it's better late than never. Just like all other Toyota models launched in India, the Etios doesn't break any new grounds in design department. Both the hatchback and the sedan variants have been so conventionally designed that it hardly manages to stun the onlookers. But again, just like all it's other models, Toyota will be hoping that the best-in-class interior quality and rock-solid reliability will pull in customers in hordes. Remember the Qualis, which was heavily criticized initially for it's dull design, but later went on to become the benchmark in it's segment for both sales and quality.

With the Corolla, Innova and Fortuner leading their respective segment in sales, will the Etios twins repeat the magic for Toyota? Will it make the Swift, Dzire, City, Polo and Vento run for cover? Will Toyota, at last become a volume player in India? Wait for a couple of months to know the answers.