Toyota Corolla Altis diesel launched!

Oil burner variant of Toyota's sedan launched at Rs 10.95 lakh to Rs 13.75 lakh - to go up against the Chevrolet Cruze and Skoda Laura.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors India has launched the diesel variant of its Corolla Altis sedan. The move had been on the cards for quite a while now, as ZigWheels had mentioned in its Cars of 2010 story in the beginning of this year. The new variant has been sensibly priced at Rs 10.95 lakh for the base variant to Rs 13.75 lakh for the top end version of the car. Armed with the diesel powerplant, the car will go head to head against the likes of the Chevrolet Cruze and the Skoda Laura in the Rs 12-15 lakh segment.

While most diesel cars in this segment sport 2.0-litre engines, the Altis may pop a surprise by donning a 1.4-litre D-4D engine under its hood. The engine is already seen on the international Corolla, as also the Toyota Yaris, and it won't be surprising to see the mill in the Indian Altis. Given the impending launch of the Toyota Etios sedan and hatchback in diesel versions later this year, the Corolla Altis may work as the harbinger of the small D-4D in India.

The variable geometry turbocharger equipped engine makes about 85bhp of power, but its real strength lies in its fuel efficiency - a factor that has often been neglected in this segment that people are now warming up to. The car returned a phenomenal 14 kmpl in the city and 24 kmpl on the highway during our tests. Check out the review right here on ZigWheels.com!