gas mileage, room inside, cute new style, greta Toyota value

small tires - will upgrade to 15s

I didn't like the previous Echos but thought the '03 redesign was so cute! Surprisingly roomy inside. Like the center instrument panel. Cruise control extra, but not much. I've done extensive research on this car and overall they seem great. I'm getting mine this weekend! Kids have more room in back than in my Kia Sportage EX. Looks cute and little outside, very comfy inside. Even my husband, who is disabled, has no problems getting in and out. Love Toyota quality and excited to get one at such a great price! Have to take the undercoating "extras" though - probably good anyway living on clay road - otherwise "special order" and would take 2 months!?

Similar Products Used:

Geo Prizm, Kia Sportage EX

Engine is VERY quiet, especially in overdrive, it only makes much noise during hard acceleration. I love how tight the turning radius is on this thing. I've made parking manuevers and hairpin turns other cars couldn't touch. Perfect for LA driving. Acceleration is very good despite the horsepower, due to the lightweight of the car. Looks pretty good in dark green. Although I haven't been able to get 45mpg on the highway yet, it always seems to get 40 mpg on mixed city and highway driving, and this is an automatic. These things are really hard to find used(apparently no one wants to sell theirs), but their resale value is fantastic.

This car is very at home at high speeds, and it may get you in trouble if you aren't careful. This car will cruise at 80mph while hardly using 6% throttle to maintain that speed, and any amount more will push the car far past 85mph. I'm not a speedster, but this thing does take practice to keep under the speed limit. I do wish this thing had a few more gauges, a temperature or tachometer would be nice, but oh well. There are a few problems that have been reported that I would like to address: 1. The drawer under the passenger seat locks into place if you push it back a little farther. 2. I have an automatic, and was worried about its uphill performance. When going uphill, take it OUT of overdrive, and then it will have no trouble going as fast as your heart's desire uphill(with just as good acceleration). It will have trouble going uphill in overdrive(remember this ladies). 3. Wind noise: I have driven this thing past 90, through the grapevine(long, uphill, and windy stretch north of LA), and so forth. I have not encountered any windnoise at all so far, I can hear the noise of the tires on rough road at greater volume. Maybe I haven't encountered heavy enough winds yet.

I found this ECHO at a great price for only having 42000 miles on it. I did heavy research before buying, and in all, it was the toyota reliability that made the choice for me. It looks strange, so I pick on it before anyone gets the chance to, they actually say it looks good after I am so hard on it. Yup, looks like a rat, so thats what I call it "I drove down in my toyota R.A.T.". Its also as easy to maintain, as resilient, and reliable as one too. You want something that looks good? Try and ford focus or chevy malibu, if you want a car you can push down the highway in style, after it stalls. Hey, thats the price you pay for style, eh?

Similar Products Used:

My family has went with nothing but toyotas after the aggravating technical problems with american cars. I bought my echo to replace my 87 toyota pickup with 215,000 miles on it, I had virtually no p

Room and zippy with the 5 speed trans. Good gas mileage.

Haven't really found any yet, although as for looks I wasn't crazy about it.

I just bought this one and only have less than 200 miles on it. But I drove home from the dealership (130+ miles) so I got a taste of what it can do. I did get a little pushed around in the wind, but in fairmess the winds were 40mph plus and I was not use to the car. I thought it was quiet and comfortable (I'm 6'1" and 380 lbs. so I do need comfort). Getting in and out is no trouble for me with the 2dr. model. I haven't filled the tank from driving home yet, but with nearly 200 miles, only two of the gas "bars" are gone. I got the cladding package which included 15" wheels and tires, and the tach. with intermit. wipers a must in Oregon. I also a week ago bought a new Tundra truck so we are now a 100% Toyota family. I can't add to anything that has been said, just that I have owned many many Toyotas in the past and look forward to driving the new ones I have.

Similar Products Used:

2003 Toyota Tundra

Very peppy, good acceleration (0-60 in about 8.0 seconds) Responsive brakes Roomy interior VERY economical (51 mpg highway)

Ugly exterior styling High centre of gravity, and small tires makes it feel unstable.

Basically, I had this as a courtesy car while my own car was being repaired for 2 weeks. I must say it was a real enjoyment to drive, maybe because my own car at that time was a 1987 and it was nice to have a new car. The Echo had tons of power from the 108 hp 1.5 litre engine, because of its lightweight body. Also, the brakes were extremely responsive. In a way this was a bad thing, the tires would lock up easily when you were trying to brake a little harder than normal. The only real negative thing I could say about the car is that it was ugly, the rear of the car needs to be redesigned. Also, the tires are too small, and the car is too high up. Upon hard braking, the car feels like it wants to spin out of control, so you don't feel very safe.

Similar Products Used:

I am only 17, so at the time I had been driving my parent's cars, as well as my own old one which were: - 1987 Nissan Pulsar NX SE (Echo was much nicer!) - 1996 Chrysler Sebring JXi convertible (Muc

Great handling also great gas milage even after performance upgrades.

Non what so-ever. Although lacking upgrade performance packages through dealer.

I like this car. Great for young 18-25 yr. old. I'm 19 and like to commute everywhere. I have already put 3698 miles since I bought. I have been saving since 15 years old. I've always wanted a Celica but my budget couldn't handle, so I went with a Echo with aftermarket upgrades. I special ordered the car with 5-spd. manual transmission. My upgrades are TRD Suspension Package, TRD Sports Racing Clutch & 2-Way LSD, TRD Wire Leads(5mm), TRD Iridium Plugs, TRD Drop-in Air Filter, TRD Oil Filter, Random Technology Performance Catalytic, Custom Mandrel-Bent 2 1/4" exhaust piping w/ TRD exhaust muffler, TRD 15x6.5 Alloys, Mobil 1 10-30 Synthetic Oil, Redline Gear Oil, and of course more to come. I love this car. The ASE Toyota Mechanics are surprised that TRD Japan has alot of parts for this car. I may have started the new craziness for Echo's...lol

Similar Products Used:

1990 Toyota Corolla GT-S 1994 Toyota Tercel

Good gas mileage. Economical. I liked the looks of it!

As stated above, if you have children I would not get the car and if you think that there is some slight possibility it could wreck, which there always is, I would not invest any money in it. No pick up speed and the air conditioning takes forever to kick on.

A great car for the price was my first thought, then I got into an accident with it. The back seat belts didn't hold the car seat in. It was flipped on its side. Thank the lord my child was not in it. Also, I was hit in the front end by a vehicle traveling at 50mph, and the air bag didn't go off. The gas mileage was good, but not enough to go out and buy another one after the first was totalled. I only got back 10000 for the hunk-a-junk.

Similar Products Used:

Ford Focus

Very high gas mileage, roominess, comfort.

It can be a little slow on the big hills (I have an automatic though) and the intermittent wipers are not standard but I can live with that.

All I have to say is gas mileage. You can go forever on a tank of gas in this car. I love the instrument panel location and the roominess inside. I would definately recommend this as a first car if anyone is looking.

Similar Products Used:

Toyota Corolla (a 1987 and a 1993)

Great gas mileage, fun to drive, great little car for the price

Don't like the loud idle noise it you are at a stop and have the a/c on. That really does bother me. Nothing else

I love my new echo, it is easy to handle and fun to drive, and very roomy interior, also alot of places to put thingies (lol). It has great gas mileage and i really love it.

Similar Products Used:

Kia Rio, Accent, Ford Focus, None compare to my echo

roomier than it looks and fun to drive

shaky handling and no clock

basically i love the car, the engine handles mods very well to be so small. right now it has a t3 turbo and its on the bottle with only a a/m exhaust and an i/c thats a lot more than most 1.5s will handle

1) 51 miles per gallon -->outstanding economy 2) very peppy, performs fast enough for any regular conditions, but obviously wouldnt be useable as a race car (LOL) 3)excellent sound system, i can really feel the bass in the car 4)roomy for such a small car 5) braking is also very powerful compared to my own car. 6) interior is very nice 7) has a nice modern look and feel to it, although i might just be happy to be in a car that isnt 15 years old!

1) ugly exterior design 2) car is pushed around slightly by wind 3) car feels a little unstable when accelerating fast, and when braking hard tends to lose control and slide out. 4) tires seem to lock up too easily under only medium braking pressure

have it as a courtesy car while my 87 nissan pulsar is getting fixed, overall i think the car is fantastic, and i would definitely buy it except for the fact that the exterior design is ugly. overall, i think the price of the car is completely worth the few cons that it has and which are expected from a small car like this.

Similar Products Used:

1987 nissan pulsar NX SE (1.6 litre twin cam 16v model)