Toyota Altis Launched in India

The much awaited Civic fighter from Toyota, the Corolla Altis was launched in India today. The new Corolla Altis was formally launched at the Noida Expo ground and will be soon available at your nearest Toyota dealership.

The new Corolla Altis retains the previous versions 1.8 litre engine but produces more power at 132 bhp at 6000rpm (against the old versions 125 bhp). The Altis will come with a manual 5-speed and a 4-speed automatic transmission. A diesel Altis variant is also coming in 2009.

The new Corolla Altis looks bigger and is roomier on the inside too. Infact the Altis looks like a smaller sibling of the Camry. Two new tech gadgets have been introduced, an electrochromatic inner rear view mirror which reduces glare and an automatic headlamp washer.

The Altis comes in three variants - 1.8G manual (base model), 1.8GL manual and the 1.8VL automatic. The new Corolla Altis is priced between Rs 10.83 lakh - Rs 12.86 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and Toyota plans to sell about 2000 of these each month.

I think it will be a tough ask as the new Altis is not even half as exciting as the Honda Civic. But buyers may appreciate Toyota's improved rear seat which is better than the Honda's and the ride is more pliant too. Other than that i don't see the Altis overtaking the Civic. What do you think?