Which car should I buy Etios Liva or New Swift?

Today, I received an email from Mr. Sunil Agrawal, Chartered Accountant via hubpages.com’s author contact system. In the email, he asked me a few queries relating to his interest in buying Etios Liva or New Maruti Swift. Instead of answering his queries via an email reply, I thought why not publish a new hub sharing my viewpoints about these cars so that people who are searching on Internet to buy Etios Liva or New Swift or other cars in this segment can read and share their own views about these cars. After I will publish this hub, I will send a link to Mr. Agrawal so that he can also read viewpoints of proud Toyota Etios or Swift buyers via this hub and also participate in the online discussion.

Here is the original email sent by Mr. Agrawal:

Sunil Agrawal (via HubPages) <email@hubpages.com>

Sunil Agrawal has sent you this message.

(email address not verified)

“I am a bit confused which car to buy New Swift or Toyota Etios Liva? Should I buy petrol or a diesel car? Please advise me. And if I select New Swift or Etios Liva, which variant is good? And what about resale value?”

Here is my answer to Mr. Agrawal's queries:

Hello Sunil,

Without going towards the technical aspects comparing width, height, tire profile, engine capacity, or anything else, I would like to straight away answer your queries in layman terms. So that my advice should be helpful for first time car buyers as well as third or fourth time buyers. Without wasting our precious time, I would say:
1. You should go for Etios Liva instead of New Swift if you want more space or have a bigger family. Etios is also recommended for people who want more comfort with space while driving, especially tall people or people on heavier side.
2. Toyota sales have doubled as compared to Maruti when you will compare the month of July 2010 with July 2011 as read in a car magazine. Maruti sales are always up than other car brands in Indian car market but this comparison shows people are moving towards other car brands instead of being loyal to Old Maruti.
3. Etios Liva has also got latest accessories and you can feel proud of buying a Toyota in approximately 5 lakhs (for lowest model).
4. Go for Etios Liva if you follow latest trend and unique style and would like to stand out from the crowd.
5. Buy Etios Liva if you want enhanced interiors with Toyota technology.
6. If you want to buy a good diesel car, go for Swift Diesel.
7. If you just want good resale value, go for New Swift.
8. Once you have decided to buy Etios, you can go for any variant, start from G. One of my friend bought his new Etios Liva at a price tag of 5 lakhs 30 thousands on road. Although the G model does not have chrome plating around gear and gearbox but he got it fixed from Toyota by just paying 2500 INR.
9. If you want to buy New Swift, you can start from Lxi. Although Maruti has done a lot of changes in the New Swift 2011 by changing its exterior including rear to a mix of Etios and i20 and front to Swift Dzire, Maruti is not able to provide more space for passengers sitting on back seats whereas Etios has excellent space. Press the front seat to the back and then also you can feel lots of room in the back. Even one of my friends who is 6 feet 3 inches was able to sit on the back seat of Liva without his knees touching the posterior part of front seats as what happens in New Swift.
10. For overall review on Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i20 in this segment, you can check my other hubs.

Least but not last, both Etios Liva and New Swift are great cars and everything I have written above is my personal recommendation after driving both cars for an extended period of time. But still it depends on your liking which car you actually want to buy. If you or anyone else have more queries, you can start an online discussion via the comment section below. Also on a general note, it is my humble advise to everyone buying cars to read all the reviews on the Internet, take a test drive, and consult your online or offline friends before buying your dream car.