OUCH! an ETIOS

After my Corolla was ****** outside the dental practice of Dr Windisch in Morningside, Durban, I decided that as a retiree, I would settle for the ETIOS Xi SD. The salesman took me for a test drive in an Etios Sprint and said the only difference between that and the Etios Xi SD, is that it is a hatch back and not a sedan. When I said I needed to sit higher, he raised the driver's seat. He then took me on a very short drive in a 80 kph speed limit zone.

The day I took delivery of my Etios, I asked him to raise the seat, only to hear it can't be done. Next I noticed the most poor quality upholstery fabric: 100 % synthetic and loosely woven. The first time I washed the car, I noticed it's Dinky Toy wheels.

Then came the embarrassing incident when the car guards at a shopping mall pounced on my husband. The spare key has no immobilizer and the alarm trumpeted when he tried to open the passenger door. But wait, my tale of woe gets better.

On my first long distance trip I could not hear the radio. I stopped at the nearest filling station to check if a door not properly closed, was causing the noise. All I could find wrong on this brand new car, was that the seal at the top of the driver's door was loose. It then slowly dawned on me that as soon as you exceed 90 kph the engine of this "Thunderbird" starts making a headache inducing noise.

The moment I realised I will never feel safe in this ironically named car, was when I drove over the long bridge over the Mkomazi River in wind. At 100 kph it shook like a leaf. (The name Etios is derived from the Greek word ETHOS.) It is no wonder someone described it as follows: "IT'S LOOSE ON THE ROAD, NOT STABLE AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S MADE FROM A RICOFFY TIN."

It beggars belief that TOYOTA could give their name to such an inferior vechile. AFTER SIX WEEKS , I AT GREAT FINANCIAL LOSS, TRADED MY COFFEE TIN IN FOR A HAVAL THAT GIVES ME A LOT MORE BANG FOR MY BUCKS!