Japanese car Toyota Echo is rarely found on the roads of Russia and the CIS countries. The reason is that in our country it is better known in the back of a hatchback called Toyota Yaris or as a right-hand drive sedan from Japan called Toyota Platz. In the Land of the Rising Sun, it was also produced in "hatchback clothes" and was called Toyota Vitz. But let's stop being tormented by the intricacies of Toyotov’s marketing policy. Let's get back better to the hero of our story - a compact Japanese compact car from America - Toyota Echo.
The name of this machine resonates not only with the effect of echoes of words in the mountains, but also with the term “ecology”. The fact is that the Toyota Echo engine meets strict requirements for low emission vehicles (LEV) in terms of emissions. With a volume of 1.5 liters, an engine equipped with a VVT-i system develops 110 horsepower. and accelerates the car to 100 km / h in 13 seconds. The recommended maximum speed of the car, which is guaranteed to hold the engine, transmission and suspension of the Toyota Echo, is 160 km / h. Fuel consumption at such indicators of speed and dynamics is 6.9 liters in the city and 5.8 liters on the highway. With a “dry” weight of less than 900 kg, Toyota Echo was one of the ten most economical cars in the world until 2005.
Initially, Toyota Echo was conceived as a car for students and low-income youth. Therefore, the basic equipment contained a five-speed manual gearbox, power steering, air conditioning, electric driver's seat and two airbags. At the request of customers, the following items could be added to the package: ABS in the brakes, sunroof, central locking and power windows in the door, as well as a four -speed automatic transmission. At present, the set is not rich, but do not forget that all this was based on a reliable Japanese motor-body platform of Toyota.
Due to their American origin, such cars rarely fall into the vastness of Russia and the CIS countries. But if you still get it, then with regard to Toyota Echo the reviews of the owners are full of genuine optimism and even admiration. First, praise reliability. In the absence of a barbaric attitude towards the car, even high-mileage cars require only periodic replacement of oil and filters. Allocate very good dynamics and controllability with scanty fuel consumption. The interior, which is unusually spacious for such a car, pleases owners with good visibility and a roomy trunk, not to mention the huge number of all sorts of niches and shelves. Toyota Echo perfectly tolerates Russian frosts and starts even at -30 degrees without any problems. With regard to the shortcomings, they complain about the excessive stiffness of the suspension and the configuration that is too modest at the present time. Sometimes they complain about "blowing off" on the road, but this is not a disadvantage of Toyota Echo, but of any car of this class.
Judging by the reviews, the Russian and "CIS" owners of Toyota Echo, being after the purchase in the role of American students, are in no hurry to retake the last exam. They are pleased to be tempted for years not to repair the suspension and for weeks not to notice the gas stations, which are often booked by the owners of other cars.