Engine and Gearbox.
Initially, when Toyota unveiled plans of launching Altis Diesel, many were excited but afterwards the 1.4 Liter suddenly engine came as a turn off and made people disappoint, considering that this car would be extremely underpowered, But now it's time to think again, Do you still feel so? We do not.
The moment after cranking the engine, Diesel motor made a comparatively high audible cry, However, to our surprise; the engine sound was hardly noticeable later. In fact, after a few seconds of idling it was as silent as its petrol sibling. A passenger on the back seat can hardly guess whether he’s sitting in the Petrol car or a Diesel one. I engaged the first gear, and pressed the throttle expecting a delayed response but this did not happen. The initial pickup was as peppy as of a usual midsize sedan. Toyota has quite successfully tuned the 1.4 Liter D-4D engine under hood to provide smooth drive along with fuel efficiency. The size of the engine planted in this premium sedan has been since its launch raising question about its drivability and performance in minds of most of the diesel heads. While most of the cars in this segment has bigger engines (1.8 or 1.9L except Civic, which still doesn’t, lacks the diesel heart), Toyota has given it a heart which seems to be much smaller when compared to the car’s size. However, this has nothing to do with the performance of it. Though drive isn’t as exciting as the Cruze, but still it managed to impress with its super refined motor which is probably best in class if we take size (1.4L) into consideration as well.
The 1.4L heart pumps out 87BHP, which is lesser than its competitors. Toyota has used Flexible variable geometry turbocharger in order to improve the power. However, on papers the figures are a bit disappointing. The maximum torque generated is just 20.9kgm which is far lesser than most of the cars in segment which easily stand out in the range of 30kgm. Coming to the drive, we find the initial response a bit leggy but then considering the small 1.4L it was acceptable. There is fair amount of Turbo lag until 1800-2000rpm. Nevertheless, beyond this mark, Turbo splurges to give ample amount of power needed and expected from a Premium sedan. The lag has been compensated by the butter smooth gears, which get excellent gear ratios. The gearbox is now six speed, Tall overdrive gears give an added pleasure to the drive. Wise use of these gears makes reaching high speeds in decent amount of time. Altis is fun to drive in city traffic only when driven in proper gears or else one would be left waiting for the power to come in, where as, on highways Altis performs absolutely well. Thanks to the addition of Sixth gear, this does not let the engine run out of breath any soon.