45.5 MPG!!! It's rated at 32/38, but if you drive it halfway reasonably, that should be worst-case. Egronomics are wonderful, everything is well-placed, and reachable. More head-room than our mini-van, and the trunk is a cavern!

It's an automatic, and it's easy to hit the shifter and knock it into 'N'. There's a slight whistling noise at certain speeds. I think I read it's a design flaw with the mirrors... nothing big. Almost everything is optional. Mine has most all of the available options, and it cost around 14k.. Base model would suck as far as standard equipment.

Mileage, Mileage, Mileage! I drive 60 miles to work, and this week I got 45.5 mpg! I drove 364 miles on exactly 8 gallons of gas! For a small car, it's a pretty quiet, smooth ride, and has tons of room compared to other cars in the class. Couldn't be more pleased so far.

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Compared to Ford Focus prior to buying.. very many reliability complaints with the Focus, and complaints about mileage.

Quality,features,stereo,engine,gas mileage,etc. I could go on...
cool,unique car,fun to drive.

Hi wind driving and the position of the auto shifter hits my knee although the average person is not 6'3". Thats all I can come up with!!!

Cool car. Very quick and very good handling for class. Gas mileage. Unique look that stands out and looks great compared to those normal looking cavaliers that havent had a style change since 95'. Fun to drive. Quality car, good gauges,stereo etc. Standard 4 speaker system is great.

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I enjoy passing by cavaliers and sunfires and also enjoy laughing at their 6 year old styling!!

Quality. You can feel it. Reliability. This thing is built to last. Economy. It uses SFA of anything. I can go three months without refuelling.

No electric windows. No remote central locking. I miss them both. Toyota put the safety pack at an out of reach $USD1600 on top of the car price, or I would have had them.

Servicing: boy do you pay! Toyota are about twice as expensive as VW for repairs. But they do a good job, the car was perfect when it came back, and they cleaned and washed the car.

A little pricey for what you get, but it's worth it in the end. This is my first Toyota, and it wont be my last. There's little to no emotion in the purchase or owning of a Toyota (check out VW New Beetle owners for that... one day I'll own one of those), but their quality is second to none, even on the cheapest model.

Excellent quality: there has not been a single thing wrong with this car. Not a single fabric thread out of place, panel fit was exact and tight, paint was lustrous and deep, rubber seals really did seal (possibly too well). Nothing wrong. Made a huge change from my previous car (Golf III) which was needed minor warranty work from the day I picked it up at the deal to when I sold it.

Excellent fuel economy: I get 4.9 l/100km on long trips (about 49 US mpg), and about 6.3-7.0 l/100km (34-38 mpg) on lead footed city driving at the moment (Australian three door, 1.3l, Sport pack). With a 45 litre tank, it's possible to go great distances, even in the city.

Excellent reliability: Done 20,000 km. My car has not used a single drop of oil, the tyre pressure is still spot on, nothing has failed (not even a bulb), no squeaks after 18 months, and the doors, latches and locks, seats and everything still just work as they did when it was first delivered to me.

Good pep: It's not the fastest thing on the road, but boy does it move when I'm the only one in the car, and I'm quick off the mark. I can often beat most people at the traffic light derby.

Flexibility: The interior is roomy, five cupholders capable of large drinks, plenty of interior options to carry a huge load (even more than my old Golf III). The digital speedo is excellent, once you get used to it.

Go for a test drive at the very least.

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VW Golf III - there is no comparison. The Golf was shoddily built, it drank oil, it was constantly getting replacement bits, and the dealer must have had a fetish for repairing my right rear window. I forgive it most of the reliability woes, but Toyota builds so much better.

towing abilty, 4cyl gives V10 like performance.

fuel economy I get followed by girls home. Tires are way too big!!!!!!!!

Great car excellent tow vehicle. I tow a 5000 lb boat no problems. There is too much torque in this mamoth beast. I even took this car to MOAB!!!
It can tow a lot more than its capacity. I also own a f-150 and I use the echo for towing instead of the ford. The ford although gives better fuel economy. Any smart consumer should and would buy this sexy ride.

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F super duty and chevy silverado hd altough echo can tow more.

Inexpensive, if you have any luck/skill haggling with the salesman. Fuel efficient. Excellent interior space. Good driver visibility. Handles better than many people claim, and accelerates surprisingly well when occupied by 1-2 people, even with the automatic transmission (its 0-60mph time is better than most "performance" cars from BMW, Saab, VW, etc.., as well as most SUVs and pickups). Good sound system for a factory installed model. Very reliable so far, and by reputation. Can be jammed into very small Boston parking spaces with ease. It's as safe as a large sedan... supposedly.

I got about 45mpg on a recent 4000-miles-in-3-days road trip.

Lack of cruise control option! Cheap/bad paint - it chips off a bit with ANY contact with metal objects. Driver's seat doesn't go back far enough for tall people with smashed up knees. Large potholes are very jarring, though smaller bumps are smoothed out quite well. Ground clearance isn't great, and driving on all but the best unpaved roads isn't pleasant as a result.

Overall, it's a practical small car for city dwellers that performs better than other "econoboxes" and feels like a midsized car inside. It looks kind of odd, but no more so than most new subcompacts. As a Toyota, it should be good for 150k miles or more. It also should be a better long term value than slightly larger but less-efficient, less-reliable, similarly-priced models like the Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra. Far better (if a bit more expensive) than subcompacts from Kia and GM.

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Better than my old 93 Nissan Sentra in every way. Performs closer to Ford Focus than most reviews claim - it can't turn with the Ford at high speed, but it accelerates and stops better, in my experience (I drove a friend's Focus for about 300 miles before getting the Echo).

Gas milage is great! And I like that mine is usually the only Echo in a parking lot.

The air conditioner doesn't seem to cool the back seat area well. And the paint has chipped off in a few areas that have been bumped. Gotta have two hands on the wheel in the wind.

I love this car!It is the right size for what I need, and has lots of little storage areas. I drive a lot, and like being up at eye level with the SUV drivers while getting 38 mpg. The trunk space is small, but with the 60/40 split back seat I have been able to haul a picnic table across town.

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Toyota Corrola- my Echo looks much better!

A lot of room for everything. Great mileage

No power windows

I loved this car Great for someone who needs to travel or go to school.

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considered a ford no way or nissan hell no

It has good gas mileage, accelerates adequately for a small car, and is moderately priced.

It makes a Saturn look like a Lexus in comparison. Magazine reviews left out a great deal of information like the annoying howl at freeway speeds, tiny wheels that disappear in potholes with jarring results, Bridgestone/Firestone tires that I wouldn't trust any company's concern for my safety if they are using them, and the seats are as uncomfortable as the school bus I used to ride.

People's overall impression of the car is that they laugh at it. They think it looks "stupid" and "ugly". The best case is that they refuse to give an opinion. I bought it based on several magazine reviews. They all liked the Echo. Nobody ever mentioned you would be the joke du jour. I feel like I have, "Toyota, the fool's car" written all over it. I have bought a Toyota before. A 1971 Toyota pickup that burned valves constantly (Toyota would not admit the valve seat were bad. A Toyota employee and friend told me about it after I had traded it for a VW bug). And now, I bought an Echo new. It reminds me of a modern day Edsel. I had just heard so many good things about the new Toyotas. Am I the only one to say, "The king has no clothes?"

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'96 Ford Aspire. '89 Ford Festiva. Neither car had any trouble and would blow away an Echo if you are not using magazine reviews as I, unfortunately, did. This is the third time I have been ripped on a Toyota. I am embarrassed to own one, but I will not have another.

Power, space, unique looks, value, gas mileage, trunk size and cabin storage.

It came with hubcaps, but that came be changed easily enough. Odd windshield wiper sizes. Not much else.

This car is great! There is plenty of space inside and it has a lot of power. It is nice driving at eye level with most SUVs. I like that the car is different looking inside and out, I get tired of seeing all the Corollas and Camrys on the road. I wanted a car that had a lot of space, I was looking into SUVs, but decided the gas mileage was too low and the payments were too high even with a good down payment. The trunk is huge and there is a lot of storage inside.

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1994 Toyota Tercel - Great car, drove it for 7 years with little trouble, but the Echo has more space, power and features.

Incredible power out of an engine that doesn't seem much larger than that of a riding lawnmower. Lots of storage. Easy in and out access. Large Trunk.

Tires seem tiny, but seems not to effect ride. No cruise control.

The Echo in my opinion is a great car! I traded in a Jeep Cherokee on it and haven't looked back. Great gas mileage, incredible power, lots of space and the neato instrument cluster are just a few of the great amenities of this vehicle. I would recommend this car to anyone - I have two young children and they fit nicely in the back, being able to get in and out and buckle their own seatbelts (try that in a Cherokee!). All this and great looks too!

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Have owned/driven many similar vehicles - Dodge Neon, Chevy Cavalier, Volkswagen Beetle to name a few. I like this car about the best. The others have their strong points, but the Echo seems to me to be about the best overall in terms of power, usability and mileage.