Toyota to launch the all-new Corolla Altis in May

At the Auto Expo, Toyota Kirloskar Motors wanted to tell their fans that they will be out with new products soon and showcasing two new products, namely the new-generation Corolla Altis and the Etios Cross, just proved their point.

The 11th generation of the Corolla Altis will be launched in May and is expected to get tons of features, redefined luxury not to forget, a good price. The new Toyota Corolla Altis looks more stylish than its predecessor and gets a chrome grille on the front. The face of the car has been changed and it clearly shows that Toyota has moved on to better things in the field of design. Gone are the days of boxy looks and no creases.

The Corolla Altis will get day-time runnining lamps with LED's for the head and tail lamps. he interiors have also received some tweaks and the overall cabin now looks more appealing. The cabin gets reclining rear seats, reversing camera with sensor and a 7.1-inch touchscreen audio system with navigation. Then there is the eight-way adjustable driver's seat, rain sensing wipers and a reading reading lamp.

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Toyota has not made any mechanical changes to the car but we expect them to tune the suspension for better comfort. The engine will be the same 138bhp churning 1.8-litre petrol and the 87bhp churning 1.4-litre diesel.

The petrol engine will be available with a six-speed manual and a seven-speed automatic transmission options with paddle shifts while the diesel engine will come with only a six-speed manual transmission.

Toyota has started taking bookings of the car at a down payment of Rs. 50000. We expect the price to be higher than the current model by atleast Rs. 30000. The car will be showcased in some Toyota showrooms so that customers get a first hand experience of what the car is all about.

Having wooed more than 40 million customers worldwide there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the new-gen car but Toyota is extremely optimistic about the way the Altis will do in the Indian market.

World's top-selling car, Toyota Corolla, doesn't enjoy the same status in India today, though it used to earlier. But there's no denying that the Corolla is still a low maintenance car and preferred by many Indians. The Indian D-class segment (executive sedan) today is ruled by the likes Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia, which in comparison are more modern-looking cars, while the Corolla Altis has a plain design. Over the last six months (Oct 2013 to March 2014), Toyota managed to sell only 920 units of the Corolla, which in the past used to be the top-selling saloon in the segment. On the other hand, a total 1871 units of Elantra were sold in the same period.

Though it's early to comment on whether the new Corolla will be able to outsell its core rivals, with above-mentioned changes, it certainly looks sportier than before and has more features to offers to its buyers.