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| The Etios Cross |
TOYOTA dealerships are
now selling the Etios Cross, which was launched in May at the Delhi Motor
Show.
Toyota said in a
statement the top-selling success of Etios, which currently has almost 30%
market share of SA’s sub-B passenger car segment, has enabled it fill the gap
left by the Tazz in 2007.
At 66 kW, the fully
imported Etios Cross 1,5 competes head on with the Renault Sandero Stepway,
which is built at Nissan’s Rosslyn plant north of Pretoria.
The Etios Cross sells
for R159 800 — R100 less than Stepway’s
R159 900, which is over R80 000 cheaper
than Volkswagen’s 81 kW Cross Polo at R241 000.
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| The Sandero Stepway |
Both the Etios Cross
and Sandero Stepway come with a two-year or 30 000 km service plan and both
hatches have five-speed manual transmissions.
The 1,4-four cylinder
in the Etios Cross makes 66 kW at 5 600 rpm and 132 Nm at 3 000 rpm, while the
Stepway’s frugal 898 cc three-cylinder engine makes 66 W at 5 250 rpm and 135 Nm
at 2 500 rpm.
Built for rural
conditions in Brazil and India, the Etios Cross rides a little higher than the
normal Etios Sedan’s 155 mm, compared to the Stepway’s 193 mm.
Both have ABS, EBD,
dual front air bags and an immobiliser, but the Renault adds hill-start assist.
Inside the Etios Cross, seven cup holders can hold one-litre bottles and a 13-litre compartment has a cooling function. There is also space for Toyota’s double stack touch screen, but in South Africa the Etios comes with a single stack radio- CD-MP3 player.
Inside the Etios Cross, seven cup holders can hold one-litre bottles and a 13-litre compartment has a cooling function. There is also space for Toyota’s double stack touch screen, but in South Africa the Etios comes with a single stack radio- CD-MP3 player.
The Stepway also has a
CD-MP3 player, but adds Bluetooth hands-free telephony and USB and jack
sockets.
Two new colours are
exclusive to the Etios Cross — Inferno Metallic (a vivid orange) and Jet Grey
Metallic.
First published in Weekend Witness on 18 July 2014.
