According to Motor Octane, Toyota Kirloskar Motor will launch the mid-size Toyota Vios sedan next year with a petrol engine only.
It may seem strange at first, but note that a good percentage of mid-size cars sold in India are powered by petrol engines, despite the availability of a diesel variant. This can be attributed to the difference in prices between the respective petrol and diesel variant of equivalent grade. For instance, the demand of the City - one of the best selling sedans in India and a key Vios rival - diesel variant has shrunk to 20 percent.
Another factor we reckon is the lack of a powerful small displacement diesel motor in Toyota India's arsenal. The only engine they have is a 1.4L D-4D 4-cylinder turbodiesel unit that produces 68 PS and 170 Nm. In the three cars it powers today, the 1.4 unit's performance is only satisfactory in the Toyota Etios and Etios Liva, but vastly underpowered in the Toyota Corolla Altis. Also, rivals of the Vios such as Honda City, Hyundai Verna, VW Vento and Maruti Ciaz offer diesel motors with over 90 PS and 200 Nm of torque. Should Toyota put the 68 PS 1.4 unit in the Vios, we reckon it could be heavily criticised.
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The petrol engine is likely to be a 2NR-FBE 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i engine with 108 hp at 6,000 rpm and 140 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm. It could be paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a CVT unit. The India-spec Vios will break cover at the Auto Expo 2018 on February 9, 2018, and go on sale shortly after.
[Source: Motor Octane]
