We’ve been having fun with Toyota’s impertinent Echo for the past year, logging in more than 10,000 km. We’ve driven everywhere from flood-logged streets to scorching-hot stretches of highway, and the Echo has proven quite competent, beyond what its diminutive 3615-mm length and 1.3-liter engine would suggest. Competent it is then; but is it excellent? We decided to measure the Echo against its parent company’s highest standard: the Lexus brand—and see how it well it would hold up.
The first Lexus, the LS400, gained a reputation for being the quietest, smoothest sedan on the road. That isolation from NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) has apparently trickled down the Toyota lineup even to once-humble products like the Corolla. Which is apparently where the trickle has stopped. Those who are looking for isolation should not consider the Echo. Bombardment with sensory inputs from the engine and road surface seems to be your blessing—or curse—with this car. The Echo makes you feel every bump and pothole that it goes through. The very short springs and torsion-bar rear axle seem to be the culprit here. The front seats aren’t too bad—we’ve managed a nineteen-hour period behind the wheel (with several one-hour rest stops) with no ill effects. The back seat passengers are more susceptible to aches as they’re directly over the rear wheels. The rear seatbacks are almost fully upright and lack contours to support the body—not ideal for taking even a short nap.
The 1.3 liter is of course a tiny fraction of the displacement you’d find inside a Lexus engine bay. However, it does share the VVTi of its big brothers to help optimize camshaft settings across the rev range. (In fact, it was, with the RAV4, the first car to be released here with that feature.) The VVTi, 16 valves, twin camshafts and EFI squeeze all the torque and power they can from each cc inside that block. The engine never felt strained, even when carrying five people uphill. We also admired how little the Echo needs to run. Under the hood, there’ s only one radiator fan to most cars’ two, and the radiator is only a fraction of the width. Best of all, the car averaged 11.38 km per liter of gas, going as high as 14.64 km/liter on highway runs.
The “Super-ECS” four-speed automatic transmission also continues to impress. It downshifts quickly in response to a firm prod of the throttle, or when it senses the smallest uphill grade in the road. It puts each of the engine’s 122 Nm of torque to good use. We would always hear the transmission shifting and the engine note changing, but shift-shock is virtually nonexistent.
Lexus automobiles are loaded with every option known to man, from a folding metal roof to a Mark-Levinson audio system to seats that give you a backrub—even several that are not available on a Mercedes. With the Echo, Toyota has gone in the opposite direction, delivering a car that is downright mean on equipment. Okay, the car has power steering, windows, mirrors and door locks. However, some truly useful and necessary items are missing. Such as a rear wiper, which we sorely needed after a rain-soaked drive along the South Expressway. Or a third brake light, which we had to buy from Hong Kong and pay to have installed. Or map lights. Sliding and split-folding rear seats. Rear center headrest. Parcel shelf. Rear defogger. ABS. Airbags. Mudflaps. Including these rather basic safety and convenience equipment as standard (as they are in other countries) would have made the Echo a lot more attractive and convincing as an alternative to sedans.
Initial quality, measured as lack of defects in a car when it’s delivered, has also been a Lexus strong suit. Apart from a rattle in the dashboard area, the car didn’t exhibit any apparent defects. Correcting any defects is the job of the service department. From our previous service, our Echo came back without its “T” badge on the hatch and with a scratched dashboard (the result of an accident). The most recent checkup included these two items, and installation of a third brake light. The preventive maintenance, change oil and the like were accomplished quickly. However, the third brake seemed to puzzle the technicians. They called us to say that we had bought the wrong part. We told them, no, we’re sure we bought the correct one; please check it again. They asked us to go all the way to the shop and see it for ourselves. We did go there one afternoon, only to be told that, yes, it was the correct part after all, and they could install it. Other service items, like installing an alarm sensor for the hatch, were not accomplished even after five days. What’s more is that the car came back with an interior smudged with greasy fingerprints. Once again, our dealer, Toyota Otis in Manila, has failed miserably short of Toyota (not even Lexus) standards.
When one buys a Lexus, because of the car’s level of refinement, equipment and service, the owner feels like he’s riding First Class. Sure, he paid a lot of money, but he’s getting the best for his bucks. Mechanically the Echo shares some positive traits of its big brother: particularly in the engine and transmission department. Granted also that the Echo was never meant to be a luxury sedan—it’s a budget hatchback. With the car’s equipment level and the service we’ve experienced, though, Toyota is showing just how far Economy is from First Class.
By Jason Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
Originally Published in the August 2002 Issue
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