C O V E R     S T O R Y

Let’s face it—we’re going to be late again.  Rushing through a mid-afternoon’s Metro traffic, our humble Toyota Echo zipped between bigger motor vehicles.  The 1.3-liter engine was clearly given a thrashing as the responsive four-speed auto ‘box gave us much needed accelerating power.  We subjected ourselves to a slightly sore backside for the sake of motoring journalism.

There’s no better way to test the new baby Toyota, we thought, than to do a back-to-back drive of the European-designed Echo and the cousin it soon gave life to, the Vios.  Upon arriving at the venue, we already had our doubts.  With the Echo and the Vios sharing the same set-up of Independent MacPherson Struts up front and an ETA beam with stabilizer bar at the near, we immediately concluded than the Vios and the Echo would share the same common faults: a harsh ride, an engine that buzzes throughout the cabin and overall mediocre driving comfort.

Boy, were we proven wrong.

NEXT PAGE >>>