Cars that excel at their intended function are always a runaway success. Toyota, especially, has a reputation for building just that sort of vehicle - and the new Echo is no exception. Its functionality, space utilization, and interior and exterior styling are exceptional. And in addition to that, it's the cheapest car you can step into that's got variable valve timing - it leads the way in small car engine technology.
The base model 1.3-litre 3-door Echo (as tested) is competitively priced at A$15,600 - although, we note some Toyota dealers holding their own special deals. Alongside the entry 3-door, the Echo range is rounded out by a 1.3-litre 5-door and 1.5-litre 5-door sedan (which both share the same wheebase as the 3-door). The list of options includes power steering, metallic paint, plus comprehensive sports and safety packs (air conditioning is standard). Each member of the family is also backed by a Toyota 3 year/100,00km parts and labour warranty (which can be extended).
Driving the 3-door Echo around town and through the metro area is an enjoyable task. The ride - which derives from a MacPherson strut/trailing arm suspension - feels very much like that of a medium sized car. It's remarkably stable. Firm damping is also evident on B-grade roads and speed humps, which the Echo can attack with tremendous ease. Rolling on its 14-inch steel rims and Bridgestone 175/65s, the car shows mild understeer when pushed over about seven-tenths- although that's easily eliminated with a reactive throttle lift-off. It's all very safe, and it isn't the sort of car you'd have a big "lose" in.
Unfortunately, our car - being the base model without power steering - did suffer from considerable steering load-up. For the extra $751.47, we'd definitely get the optional power assistance and say goodbye to the strenuous steering effort that's required at parking speeds. That aside, the steering does give good response and feel. The standard Echo's braking system also performs quite well and gives excellent pedal progression and feedback - despite having only a drum rear end and just the option of ABS.
The 3-door Echo's never-before-seen-in-Australia 2NZ-FE engine is a gem. Strong throttle response and good low-down torque makes the car ever so easy to zip-zap through traffic. And, with its good spread of torque, you need never go over about 3500 rpm in normal driving conditions. Sadly, the engine does become very loud at mid-to-high revs (perhaps due to the lack of engine bay sound deadening) and there's also too much vibration present at idle.
The new in-line four displaces 1299cc, with a bore of 75mm and a stroke of 73.5mm, and its pistons squeeze a compression ratio of 10.5:1. The top-end sees a DOHC, 16-valve head that's complete with Toyota's own variable valve timing system (dubbed VVT-i). So endowed, the little 1.3 litre mill is listed at 63kW (at 6000 rpm) and with 122Nm of torque (at 4400 rpm). This gives the 850-kilogram car enough acceleration to hit 100 km/h in around 11.7 seconds and crack the quarter mile in about 18 seconds flat. And its fuel economy is nothing short of tremendous - Toyota list 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres around town and 4.6 litres on the highway. Our average was approximately 5.8 litres of unleaded per 100 kays. As tested, the base Echo comes with a 5-speed manual gearbox, which feels a little notchy but combines with a light clutch pedal. A 4-speed automatic is available as an option.
The first thing to grab your attention when you slide behind the wheel is the car's unique dashboard layout. Instead of having gauges located directly in front of you, a gimmicky digital LED screen is perched in the centre of the dash. This numerically reads off road speed, engine rpm (via a small bar graph), fuel level and trip/odometer kilometres. A temperature warning light partly offsets the lack of a coolant temperature gauge. Unfortunately, the digital display is more of a pain than it's worth - you have to change your line of sight to view the display, sunlight flares the screen and the clarity generally isn't up to par. A set of white-faced dials sited in front of the driver would have been much more practical - and delivered nearly as much showroom appeal.
Inside the Echo is a combination of light grey vinyls and fabrics that give a pleasant feel. And - for a base model - it certainly is not spartan. The driving position is comfortable, the seats are soft (although lacking in lateral support) and the controls feel well weighted. Spaciousness also abounds for a relatively small car. A 1.8 metre driver has around 75mm of headroom to spare, plus there's ample legroom and shoulder width. Without a doubt, it's got more room than any equal sized car we've ever been in. The cabin is also populated with a host of handy compartments and bins of various shapes and sizes - including the two cup holders, we counted 19 receptacles in total!
The only nasties inside are the manual remote mirrors (which are awkward to adjust), an ill-fitting handbrake lever cover and the absence of a remote hatch release. We also missed not having a single-action fold/slide function for the driver's front seat. Once you've stumbled through though, the rear passenger space is very generous. Again, there is an abundance of head, leg and foot room - although you'd be struggling to fit a third person abreast.
As a trade-off to rear passenger room, the 3-door Echo is quite light-on for rear storage space; if you aren't prepared to use the fold-down rear seat function, the boot is small. The boot is quite wide and has good height, however at around 45 centimetres, its depth is very shallow. To help combat this, Toyota has included a 60/40 fold rear backrest and the seat's front edge is hinged to allow it to tumble forward. A heavy-duty hard plastic sheet forms the floor above a space-saver spare.
In today's very competitive small-car market, the Echo has enough styling to make it a standout from the crowd without being overly 'odd' - it has a cute, stumpy look. Its huge interior headroom also means it's very high-sided. Body appointments include flush glass, gutterless roof, colour-coded bumpers and door handles, a bee-sting aerial, an egg-crate grille, multi-reflector lights and a sharp edge on the trailing edge of the roofline to aid aerodynamics. Panel margins are mostly consistent and the overall finish - body, interior, paint - are all to a very high standard. The light-swinging doors close with a solid 'thunk' and all fixtures and equipment feel strong (except for the flimsy Velcro-retained diver's side vanity mirror).
Toyota has the small car safety issue covered with a standard driver's airbag, seat belt pre-tensioners, a thoroughly crash-tested body design, high-mount third brake light and various warning buzzers. We'd also predict that the new Echo to be a financially safe new car purchase. Total reliability and an excellent retained value are qualities that seem to follow Toyota around - and the Echo should be no different. Without a doubt, the Echo's many 3-door competitors - Barina, Lanos, Accent, Mirage, Satria, Festiva and Ka - will be getting a real shake-up.
You can count on that!
www.toyota.com.au
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