Toyota Echo 1000km Road Test

An exceptionally innovative, efficient small car, Toyota's Echo is good buying - but only when the price is right.

Value for money

Pricing

Recommended retail price for the three-door manual is $15,940. Sounds great, but there's no CD player, you don't get power steering (another $755, though 2001 build models have it as standard), airconditioning (another $1,453), a passenger airbag or ABS brakes (packaged together for an extra $1,220.) A four-speed automatic is an extra $1,720.

Toyota regularly offers three-door Echo deals, with air and/or power steering included in the price.

Warranty

Three years/100,000 km, which is average.

Standard equipment

Not much. You get a driver's airbag...umm...a two-speaker radio cassette and...umm...five cupholders.

Retained value

54 per cent after three years, which is slightly above average

Design and function

Ergonomics

An area where the Echo is outstanding. All occupants sit relatively high in the Echo. Its tall roof and large glass area creates a bright, spacious ambience and permits very easy entry and exit, while the seating position is excellent for tall and short drivers alike, with great vision around the car.

The wheel is height adjustable. The fluoro-look digital instruments, housed in a central pod angled toward the driver, seem at first like a gimmick but soon make sense. The large speedo numerals can be read at a glance, and at night the absence of instrument lighting directly in front of you makes it easier to see into the dark.

Innovation

The Echo's body style, engine technology and instrument design are all examples of innovation in the class, as is its class-leading crash test performance.

Safety

The Echo scored four stars out of five in independent crash tests.

Security

An engine immobiliser is standard.

Comfort

The driver's seat is generously padded and very comfortable on long drives.

Space and practicality

Another area where the Echo scores well. Its short, tall, bob-tailed body is modelled on the Benz A Class small outside/big inside formula. The clever touch is a back seat which has 150 mm of travel, so that, in contrast to most small hatchbacks, four tall adults can travel comfortably, with plenty of head and leg room.

This configuration though sacrifices most of the boot floor; if you don't need the back seat, or you're carrying small children, capacity can be extended by moving the seat forward, using the 60/40 split fold seat back, or double folding the seat as a single unit.

The Star Trek style dash has storage bins everywhere, plus two glove boxes. Windows and mirrors are manually operated. Access to the back seat is via a single action tilt/slide lever on the passenger's side. Three head restraints are fitted, but the side windows are fixed. Three child restraint anchors are located under the tailgate.

Build and finish quality

The Echo, like Toyotas in general, is reliable and durable. However lightweight doors, lots of hard, shiny interior plastics, and a few chirps and rattles in the test cars driven, gives the Echo a rather tinny feel - though at this end of the market, it is not alone.

On the road

Fuel efficiency

The Echo is one of the most frugal cars on the road. On the highway, you can achieve less than 6.0 litres/100 km, while around town it will do 7.6 litres/100 km.

Performance

Under the Echo's bonnet is a high tech 1.3 litre four, with variable-valve timing to maximise performance. Like any 1.3, it lacks some mid range tractability compared with the 1.5 and 1.6 litre engines fitted to most rivals, but has a zippy, responsive character and is well able to hold its own in traffic or on the highway. The manual takes 13.8 seconds to get to 100 km/h - slightly slower than average.

The five-speed manual transmission and clutch are light in action, with a slightly crunchy feel if you hurry the changes. The four-speed automatic shifts smoothly and quickly.

Ride

Ride comfort is fine on good surfaces, but like handling, takes a turn for the worse on crook country roads (or those in Sydney, for that matter.) Big holes will cause the suspension to crash against its bump stops.

Handling and steering

The Echo is a secure, well-balanced handler in most situations, and around town it is very manoeuvrable and a snap to park in tight spaces, but at only 850 kg it can become unsettled on rough roads at highway speeds. The steering is sharp and accurate.

Braking

The disc/drum brakes are light and progressive at the pedal, with better than average power when you need to stop quickly. The brake pedal/accelerator heights though are mismatched.

Smoothness and quietness

Noise levels in the cabin are relatively high, both from the engine and the tyres on coarse bitumen surfaces.