From a distance, the little Toyota offers nothing new : it echoes (pardon the pun) the overall shape of any other hatchback particularly the Mercedes A-class. In fact, even when viewed from a few meters away, it’s strikingly similar to the baby Merc except for the more upright C-pillar and the bubble-shaped rear glass. However, when things get close and personal, then this Toyota really shines. In fact, the car could be likened to Anna Kournikova, who looks like any other tennis player from the far court, but pan the camera closer, then you’d see that’s she has assets that Venus Williams could only dream about (no, it’s not the tennis racket endorsement). It's the same story on the Echo: it’s the small bits that count. 

One paper, the car is a packaging wonder. With a length 320 mm shorter than the Kia Pride, the Echo has a wheelbase only 45 mm shorter than the Mitsubishi Lancer GSR (in plain English, it means it’s cake to park, but roomier on the inside). Unlike the Merc, the Echo doesn’t employ any spectacular engine packaging to reduce its overall length. Instead, the ever-vigilant Japanese relied upon traditional techniques to reduce size: shorter overhangs, virtually no trunk space, and a steeper hoodline.  Above all, the main source of space is the height:  Look at the photo on the right, and you'd think that the Echo has tiny wheels.  Those are actually 14-inchers--that gives you an idea of how tall this car is.

Overall, the car has a Kournikova-ish (that means pretty for our non-tennis fans) exterior with cute details such as a happy puppy look given by the bug-eyed headlamps and upper sloping grille and the central roof-mounted antenna, but it does have its weak moments. It’s particularly obvious when looked directly from the rear or three-fourths from the front. When looked from behind, the car looks too Spartan, with just ‘chicane’ look rear lamps for effect. As for the three-fourths view, the Echo looks too disproportioned because the tall roofline overshadows the shape of the car, causing the car to look too unstable. The signal lights located at the side isn’t a great finishing touch too. It looks too aftermarket with the lack in the design integration. Nonetheless, it’s still oddly pretty. 

The Echo’s inner pieces looks more suited for Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls than for your average Filipino. It's cute, cheerful, funky, but most importantly, useful. With no doubt, the first thing that’ll grab your attention inside is the center instrumentation pod. This new Toyota design is already being implemented in other Toyota vehicles, such as the 2001 Previa. Toyota reckons that drivers tend to look at the center rather than above the steering wheel (maybe it has something to do with the stereo controls being located there too). With this new design, Toyota has hit two birds with one stone: it gives the Echo a much-needed radical look and second, it gives the driver an unobstructed look at the road ahead.

The Echo is all about simplicity and avant garde design all rolled into one. The rear is dominated by the rear lamps, which give a bit of a chicane look, plus a few badges.

This car is a packaging wonder. Though it employs no special technique, the Echo is quite small in terms of exterior dimensions. This is quite good, since Manila roads have already become too crowded for more Expeditions.

Don't like the dash? Unfortunately, Toyota has already been receiving a lot of praise (including our own) to the point that they're considering to implement the same for all their future car models. The first one to use this aside from the Echo is the 2001 Previa.

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