Acceleration and handling are excellent. I like the view from a higher position, but it drives like it''s close to the ground. Great value and fuel economy!,

Tachometer not available. Can''t get certain options unless you buy an entire package. Color selection very sparse -- especially interior colors (warm grey and cool grey are the only options).•

Note to anyone with physical disabilities: The Echo is very comfortable! I''ve had several hip operations and it''s very easy to get in and out of the Echo. Also, there''s lots of little nooks and crannies for storage. The 4-door version makes it easy to access the back seat. Trunk storage is enormous. I love this car!!

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Drove 1982 Toyota Starlet 19 years; before that drove 1971 Toyota Corolla 11 years. I''m a true Toyota believer.

-Mileage. I''ve been getting 31 mpg city, 45 highway, if I keep the speed under 80 mph. -Interior space. Plenty of storage areas for tapes/CDs, change, glasses, etc.... And room for 4 people to sit comfortably - the backs seats are pretty spacious. -Ride quality. It''s fairly smooth and quiet, more like medium-sized car. Potholes don''t make it feel like the wheels are being ripped off. -Instrument placement. I didn''t like the center-mounted instrument panel when I first got the car, but after a week my mind was changed. It really does increase visibility. -Road visibility. The seats are up a bit higher than in most small cars, so you can see better. -Acceleration. Moves along pretty well. Plenty of torque in most situations. Passes well on 2-lane highways and can accelerate uphill with no trouble. Better pickup than many 4-cylinder Camrys or Accords I''ve driven. -Predicted reliability. Everything I''ve read says that the Echo should be around 30% more reliable than the average car. -Stereo. Has good full sound for a factory stereo. 6 speakers, CD, tape.

-High wind instability. Strong crosswinds at highway speed are slightly disconcerting. -Lack of cruise control. Why is this not even an option?? -Small gas tank. The manual says it''s just under 12 gallons. I''ve completely filled the tank from below empty twice, and both times it came to only 10.5 gallons. This doesn''t matter so much given the mileage, but sometimes that last gallon comes in useful... -Looks. It''s kind of goofy looking, but not so ugly I didn''t buy it. -Engine braking. I drove down 10 miles of 15% slope recently in "L" gear on my automatic, and every couple of miles, a slight burning-oil smell resulted until I pulled over for a few minutes. Nothing seems broken whatsoever, but it was a little worrisome. -Price. Given the lack of standard features, the Echo seems slightly overpriced.

Overall, this is a fun little car. It gets great mileage (about 31 mpg in traffic, 45+ on the highway), accelerates pretty well, and handles decently. The interior has a lot of useful space.

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''92 Toyota Corolla, 2000 Honda Civic, ''94 Nissan Sentra. The Echo gives you 95% of everything they do and costs less, while getting better mileage.

Fule Ecom, Power, Seating Size, Digital Dash!

No Boot Light!

Very Very Good Drive and Car in general

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Ford Lazer

fuel milage????

UGLY AS HE!! Rinky-Dink engine I fart faster than this moves

Who would uy this ugly thing? I mean it looks like a miniturized AMC from the 80''s. Please... I would get run over if I drove this in TX.

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Would rather buy a Civic

Fuel economy.

No cruise control but I can live without it.

I commute ~100 miles a day and needed fuel economy. This was the right purchase! I am averaging around 41 mpg and get 43.5 if I don''t push it. 2800 miles and nothing wrong so far. I got the four-door with AC and the CD sound system. They work great. Why pay thousands more for a new car when you can get just about all you need in an economical package?

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Corolla & Camry. I still own the ''84 Camry with 275,000 miles - I love Toyotas!

Peppy performance, decent sporty ride & handling, gas mileage, unusual but smart overall design.

flimsy tires, governed top speed of 109mph, shift lever a little too tall.(there''s not too much to complain about really)

This car is great for what it was designed for, high gas mileage. There is a small problem I noticed with the car. At 65 mph or above, any high cross winds will unsettle the car more than the average car. This is probably due to the light weight of the car and the flimsy side walls of the Goodyear tires. The cure to this problem is to remove all the hub caps (they seem to act like sails) or get the alloy wheels. Although the Goodyears have decent traction and grip, I plan to try higher performance Bridgestones or Dunlops to see if it helps (Bridgestone really is not the same company as Firestone; they just made the mistake of buying that company). Overall I really love this car.

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92 honda prelude, 93 corolla

Very good economy and gas mileage. Plenty of room.

Car tends to catch wind easily on the interstate. As long as both hands are on the wheel no big problem there. Tends to happen at 80+ mph.

I would have no problem recommending this car to anyone with a young spirit. I noticed a gentlemen a few posts back complained that the car looked "stupid" or something to that effect, well, he should have figured that out BEFORE he bought the car. Most people don''t purchase items they aren''t fond of. I had a minor fender bender with a 94 Honda Accord and both vehicles received equal damage (a new front bumper). I am very impressed with the car.

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Chevy Cavalier, Dodge Neon (Peon), Nissan Altima.

Roomy for its size, fast as its needs to be, fun to drive, cheap as borscht to run

Haven''t found any yet

The Echo is a suberb value and an excellent choice for a city run-about; great mileage, comfortable, lots of room (I''m 6''4", comfort, unique look and grat dealer support.

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Volvo 760

Toyota quality.
Good supportive seats.
Outstanding fuel economy.
Surprisingly peppy engine.
Decent handling.
High riding suspension contributes to good road view.

Handling in high winds (which is rather an unfair crituque, as the low weight helps contribute to the outstanding fuel economy.)
Suspension takes a beating over big bumps or deep potholes.

This car has been excellent for it's intended purpose. Many other owners have noted the problem with the not-so-wonderfully applied paint, the difficult steerage in high winds, and the jarring ride over big bumps. But hey, one's not paying BMW prices. And the advantage far outweigh the negatives.
There was one problem with the car's computer chip. It took two trips to the dealership (and over a two week wait each time!) to finally get the issue corrected. It has yet to reappear.

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1997 Plymouth Neon. (Run screaming should you see that model year vehicle.) The Echo runs circles around the Plymouth in every conceivable way.

Excellent gas mileage, can come fairly close to the planned hybrids and is already on the market - not still in planning. Does well in crash testing even for a small car. Good value for the money.

Instrumentation could stand some improvements. More gauges than idiot lights.

A very sensible little car with a big heart. It does what almost any car can do. Comfortable, good seating, fun to drive, snappy engine and Totota quality.

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Grand Am's, slightly larger but vastly inferior to ECHO.