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According to Toyota, they’ve designed the Echo based on what the younger generation of car buyers’ wants. There are no sharp edges inside the interior of this baby Toyota. In fact, everything from the aircon vents to the hazard switches to the air re-circulate / fresh slide switch, it’s all smoothened out, giving the car a toy-ish look that’s even unmatched by the Volkswagen Beetle. The word of the day in the Echo’s interior is cubby holders: there are a ton of them. Count this: two open holders near the center dash; three (!) glove compartments and three cup holders. It's easy to lose stuff inside this car (in fact, editor Jason Ang forgot to get his cellular phone from the test unit because he misplaced it somewhere). The only negative thing about the dash is the rather hard plastic that Toyota used for the Echo. Sometimes it could be just annoying having to touch these types of controls, that you’d wish for Corolla quality materials. Toyota should also have lined the cubbyholes with felt or soft rubber to prevent objects within from rattling. With the help of the curvy dash push all the way upfront, plus a tall roofline; the Echo has front passenger space that puts even the Camry to shame. It’s very easy to stretch legs without banging knees with the person on the passenger side…it’s that roomy! The door design has also been changed by putting the window switches at a lower position, giving the driver a much natural reach for the controls, plus it widens the leg and shoulder space of the car. The story is almost carried out to the people at the rear, with albeit a different ending. The space is huge for four people, even outgunning the Corolla for space, but when pushed to five people, it’s the shoulder space that hurts. What's more, the flat-bench that Toyota placed doesn’t help in overall comfort, but it does have separate headrests plus the fact that’s it completely foldable to increase the miniscule trunk space. Given the go signal to test the car, we started her up, and with no surprise, the engine sound is still generic Toyota, although with a new hint of cheerfulness. The Echo is no Ferrari (or Civic SiR for that matter), but it’s powered by Toyota’s revolutionary VVTi engine. Much like rival Honda’s VTEC engine, it boosts available horsepower, but unlike Honda’s powerplant, the VVTi doesn’t carry a dual cam profile. What it does it that it has an additional gear that constantly changes the timing of the valves to boost up horsepower and torque. This means that there’s no kick-in feel, unlike the VTEC systems; it’s smoother and generally less noticeable than its Honda counterpart. Aside from improving power, the VVTi increases fuel economy as well, and in the course of interviews, the Echo has a claimed average of 14 kilometers / liter (4-speed automatic) compared with the Honda City Type Z’s 10 kilometers / liter (5-speed manual). |
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