Toyota ECHO - Exclusive Review by Glenn Gould

Exclusive Carweb.com Road Review
by Glenn Gould

2000 Toyota Echo Picture

A fine-tuned ECHO.

We had the tunes cranked up while cruising the country lanes in our 2000 Toyota ECHO 4-door. The car was running fine. However, something was, literately, out of place. A glance down from the windshield to where the speedometer was supposed to be found only a bare vinyl dashboard. No, the instruments were not actually missing, well not all of them, but placed in a center cluster in the dash. All the easier for you to see them says Toyota, baloney says I. Oh, missing in action were the tachometer, temp gauge etc. The only gauges provided were the speedometer and gas; the rest of the information was via idiot lights. No big thing, but I am a traditionalist at heart. That also means I am not the target audience for the ECHO either.

2000 Toyota Echo Dash

The Four-Door ECHO's edgy angular exterior styling was designed to attract the young first time new car buyers. The ECHO has short front and rear overhang and a tall roofline. Not a bad look, but it seems to work best on the 2-door coupe. Overall it has the feel of a slimmed down Ford Focus. The center instrument cluster is just part of the out-of-box style that Toyota hopes will entice the youthful buyer.

Underneath the avant-garde styling were traditional Toyota components, and that's a good thing. Toyotas are rock-solid dependable, and pleasant to drive. Our bright red 2000 ECHO had the 5-speed manual transmission. It is the best choice if you want to squeeze every drop of performance out of the 108-horse power twin-cam four-cylinder motor. We hit the gas and ECHO scooted along pleasantly. Hot rod not, but there was enough zip to be entertaining. This combo also produces one of Toyota's highest-mileage cars. It has an city/highway estimate of 38/52 mpg. This will be a highly prized attribute as the gas prices head higher. AAA estimates an average price of regular gas will be $1.75 by mid summer-ouch. A 4-speed automatic transmission is also available. The steering was typically Toyota precise, as were the brakes. It cornered well, but had a fair amount of lean.

2000 Toyota Echo in Red

The car's ride was surprisingly smooth and quiet. All the better to listen to the ECHO's amazingly fine sound system. We found it to be better than many found in more expensive vehicles. This was part of Toyota's plan to offer quality and economy in the ECHO. The cars radio and heater controls were in the center of the dash. They are large and easy to grasp, however the radio controls are too low in the dash. There are two small storage bins on each side of the control pod. The car's seats are on the flat side, but there is excellent leg and headroom. The rear doors look small, but they open wide for ease of entrance and exit. You can stuff over 13 cu. ft of gear into the ECHO's generous trunk. There is a lot of vinyl and hard plastic in the interior. However, it looks substantial, unlike the cheap dime-store stuff some economy-boxes come with.

With a base price of $12,500 the no-frills ECHO comes in under the Toyota Corolla in price. Both cars have about the same interior room. Will the ECHO's "different" look and quality feel make the difference? I think yes, but only time will tell.

-Glenn Gould

CHEERS
1. Styling
2. Quality
3. Quiet ride

JEERS
1. No tachometer
2. Center instruments cluster
3. Needs more power

2000 Toyota Echo Exterior

2000 Toyota Echo Exterior

2000 Toyota Echo Engine

2000 Toyota Echo Trunk

2000 Toyota Echo Four Door