The 2003 Toyota Echo was not the heart’s desire at the carlot, this we can confirm. Other kings of economy, such as the KiaSephia and Geo Metro, caught my eye. However, the Echo was first onmy list for its four doors, fuel economy and standard four-speakerAM/FM stereo system. Not to worry though; if necessary, you canupgrade to a six-disc in dash CD player.
As you can probably see from where I am going with this, theEcho from Toyota is aimed at a certain market — peoplewilling to spend no more than $10,760 on a new car. Believe it ornot SMU boys and girls, there are people like this in theworld.
With factory ratings for the automatic transmission at 33 and 39miles per gallon in the city and highway, respectively, the fuelgauge doesn’t drop too quickly. This is quite impressive, notto mention easy on the pocketbook.
The Echo doesn’t mess around. My four-door saloon actuallycame with A/C, although Toyota engineers deemed power door locksunnecessary. If you are on a tight budget, then consider theoptional power steering offered for the Echo. Sitting in thisJapanese econo-cart, you’ll notice that no gauges are locatedin front of you. Rather, they are posted in the center of the dash.I found this a bit distracting while driving.
The seven days I spent with my Echo are times I will neverforget. Driving around in what is seemingly a mouse on four wheelsmakes for good times. For everyday use there isn’t much thatcan rival the Echo. What I liked about the Echo, is that youdidn’t really have to respect it, unlike a luxury BMW orMercedes. Who cares if you get a scratch or dent? You can park itin just about any parking lot and have no fear of people breakinginto it or slamming their doors into it.
Similarly, I had no qualms with break-torqueing the engine toroughly 6,000 RPM and releasing the brake pedal, thus allowing thefront wheels of the lightweight to break traction. This launched methrough a cloud of white tire smoke. (Did I mention there is not arev-meter as a standard option?)
I decided to see how well the Echo handled on the skid pad(well, just a wet parking lot), only I ended up applying thehandbrake at around 40 MPH, thus inducing sequential 360 degreespins, all the while wishing I had the factory advanced brakingsystem option. The Echo can take the abuse.
Sporting 108 horsepower from just 1.5 liters of displacement,the Echo is no slouch. But pack in four people, a dog and luggagefor a trip to the beach, and the small four-cylinder begins to showsigns of sluggishness.
I was kind of surprised how well the car handled for stock. Itfeels very light and a little sporty.
For safety, the Echo may not be the best bet, but it can holdits own. Four standard front-impact air bags will automaticallyinflate if a collision occurs. However, if buyers feel itnecessary, they can add four additional side-impact airbags for anextra fee from the factory. Judging from the rather paltrystructural integrity of the Echo in stock form, I found the extraair bags a good idea.
The Echo may not offer all the creature comforts, but itprovides all the qualities auto consumers demand. It is easy todrive, has a fair amount of power, doesn’t cost much, anddoesn’t ask for much respect. Even if you’re not a fanof the looks (the plastic fender flares were just a bit cheesy),the price alone should be enough to draw the eye of the budgetedcollege student who needs a set of wheels.
