Toyota Etios Cross vs Volkswagen Cross Polo [2013-2015]

It’s a crossover… It’s a hatchback… No, we don’t know! And since we don’t have a name for this segment of cars, we are going to begin by christening them Hatchovers! The Etios Cross is the latest entrant to this India-specific segment, where the cars look rugged and bulky like crossovers, but offer pretty much the same utility as that of a hatchback. It may be a unique distinction for the Indian automotive market, but not something that we should be proud of. What exactly is the purpose of the hatchover then? What made manufacturers like Volkswagen, Skoda and Toyota enter this segment? Is it just a passing fad or will we see more vehicles of this kind in future? We spend some time with the Etios Cross to get to the bottom of this riddle.

The small SUV segment is a booming one in developing markets like India, and with good reason; we don’t want cars that can make us happy when we’re screaming around a bend, because that never happens. We’ve had way too many experiences with cows that want to be dividers and truckers who insist on the American way of driving on the right side of the road. However, a car that can keep us a little high off the road so that we don’t feel like we’re trapped in a traffic jam, and with enough ground clearance to go over the mightiest speed breaker without touching bottom or wade with confidence through the biggest pond that opens up in the middle of the road during the monsoon will be an ideal car.