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40 mpg x 55 gallons/drum x 1 drum/barrel = 2200 mpb
I had just gotten past expecting to see Ronald McDonald in the drivers seat.I actually believed that maybe Toyota had a plan with the Echo,but this Barbie Doll edition makes me think Toyota wants to see just how ridiculous a vehicle they can sell because it is a Toyota.
Personally, I disagree with the idea. If they are going to do special badging, they need to make it appeal to a wider audience as Ford has done with the Focus special editions and Mazda has done with the Protege special editions.
Ultimately, they should make options like ABS and side impact airbags truly available before using production capacity for special editions.
Because of the Echo's great fuel economy, it is possible for me to take her to St. Louis, come back to Kansas City, go back to St. Louis to pick her up, and drive us home to Kansas City for about a third of the cost of the ticket (depending on the price of fuel).
I've been wanting some serious seat time in my Echo so I that is exactly what I am going to do.
Don Nashville, TN
(I think the exterior graphics are weak.)
Re:Roxy Uh, it's different?
I would rather see a performance package for the Echo: wider/larger wheels/tires,suspension upgrade, and upgrade seats! The Echo is very peppy on the freeway and is a blast to drive!
The wheel wells could easily handle much wider 15" wheels, and I think the interior would look very nice with a sort of sports look. However, I've been fairly impressed with the Echo's suspension as it is; very tight, low recoil out of turns or dips, and (within limits) very responsive. Also, considering how surprisingly quick it is with 108 horses, I would love to see it at perhaps the 120 or 130 mark.
Maybe if I hit the lottery one day I'll drop a turbo into my little car and get some sports wheels and tires, and confuse everyone driving those lowered Civics with purple windows and stickers all over them.
Cheers,
Peter
http://www.echo.co.nz/MOTMPages/Echo_zip140720001026/echo2.html#
Not avialible here.
Someone mentioned one of those lowered, tricked out hondas... I just beat one, up to the speed limit of course. The guy looked over as if to say "What the heck is that thing??"
I just replaced the cheap radio with a 3 in 1 from Ebay. (If you get one, be sure it has the proper application number on the face plate. A56814.) It is from a 2001 MR2. Works great! Except I'm still on the 4 speaker system. How in the heck do you put in dash speakers? Do the grills come off?
Another (little) problem... I am getting a high frequency vibration over 60mph in an otherwise rock solid ride, like hanging onto a vibrator only less intense. The dealer balanced it, no improvement and added the typical low freq vib. They balanced again and got rid of the low freq vib but the fast vib comes and goes. Tires sitting for a long time?
Definitely need a radar detector. I didn't get a speeding ticket, but that was because generally no police were out on my side of the highway. Did see one cop on my side coming back, but I was not going that much over the speed limit (just keeping up with the flow of traffic) when I saw him so he did not come after me.
One fool tried running into me. I was about five miles from home when a car came onto the highway from an entrance ramp. I was in the middle lane and the entrance lane merged onto a right hand lane that did not end or turn off for another four miles. Did the car stay in that lane? No, he made an abrupt switch (with no signal) into my lane. I switched over into the left hand lane and laid into my horn as I passed him.
Overall though, a very enjoyable fun trip. Really looking forward to getting up and getting in my Echo tomorrow.
It is a great car in my opinion
Also, what are the used selling prices? If you have bought or sold a used one, can you post the price? If I regret the purchase, I would like to know how much I can get for one.
As for checking for vibrations under the car:
I'll take my laptop under there with me so that if I get flattened I can MESSAGE you from inside the concrete!
PS: Speaker grills in the dash pull right out revealing pre-wiring. Will install speakers tomorrow and report back.
The best advice I can give you about evaluating ECHO is to read through this list. There are very few genuine negitive comments about ECHO here. Incidently, I have the two door with air, five speed, and 3 in 1 stereo (which I highly recommend) in silver. Its getting 40-43 mpg this summer (36-49 last winter) in mostly short distance driving with the air on. It is a pleasure to drive, highly manuverable with decent power.
As far as dates (or potential mates) go, the right woman will be attracted to you and not your car.
This one encounter sums it up:
While parking my car a young woman that owns a Miata came up to me to ask about my Echo. When I told her I loved it and all the features, she said, "I shouldn't have listened to my friend". She said that she was going to buy an Echo but her friend told her she was crazy! Although she loved the Echo's looks, her friend persuaded her to buy the Miata(used). That one encounter speaks volumes for why people buy Echo's. Because THEY love them!
Thanks.
I really wasn't paying attention to my speedometer and before I realized it I was going 75mph in a 65mph. I thought I was dead meat when the cop to the side and behind me turned on his lights.
Thank goodness for that loud red MR2. He was going at least as fast as me and the red color and the loud noise made him stand out.
The cop pulled him over and not me.
I have forgotten what a similarly equipped Corolla would cost as compared to my Echo, but I will crunch some numbers later on.
Our 2000 ECHO will be 1 year old tomorrow. We have 20093 miles on it today, and the MPG all summer has been over 40. The total over the last 5 tanks is 41.6 in very mixed driving (automatic).
I look forward to driving like I haven't since I got my first car 23 years ago! Driving back and forth to work is my favorite part of the day (well almost)!
The only safety tests that can be compared among the three are the side impact tests done by the government. Go to http://www.nhtsa.org to check them out.
In this price range, $3000 is indeed "a significant difference". That's 1/4 the cost of the car!
That being said, I don't think purchasing an economy car like the Echo with all of the options is a very good idea. Upgrade package 2 and 3? That pushes it well into the $14- and $15k range, at which point a new Civic begins to make more sense. Bear in mind this is a subcompact car, and (at least for me) paying compact-car prices for it seems a bit wasteful.
Other people have criticized the car for just this fact, to which I respond keeping it light on the options and at a decent price makes for an incredible value.
Cheers,
Peter
In this area (Kansas City Missouri) Echoes with package 2 which contains the power door locks are easy to get.
I do not hold that equipping an Echo with all the options makes it less of a value. Get the car equipped the way you want.
Using the cheapest Corolla as the base, I selected the necessary options and came up with an MSRP for the Corolla of $15,003.
I am not sure what the incentives on the Corolla currently are so the "cost" of a Corolla might be the same as that of the Echo.
Personally, even if the Corolla had been the exact same price as my Echo, I still would have bought the Echo. In fact, even if the Corolla was cheaper than the Echo, I still would have bought the Echo.
I bought an Echo because of the fuel economy, performance, safety, excellent sitting position, and logical design of the controls and gauges (among other things). I also drove (and liked) the Corolla but found the rear legroom more than a little cramped. I also liked the interior of the Focus but was turned off by its reliability record and lower fuel economy.
I should note that I like the performance and handling of the Echo very much and do not find it to be overly susceptible to the wind. Further, the stereo is very nice. I listen to classical music exclusively and appreciate the clarity of the higher frequencies, although the bass is a bit muddy at times. Overall, the Echo seems to have a remarkably practical and enjoyable design.
Today my Echo reached 4000 miles and has been averaging more than 41 MPG (15 miles is the farthest I drive in one trip, and some of this is not on the highway). My Echo hasn't had any serious problems, but ever since day one (when it had 5 miles on the odometer) different parts of the dashboard have been rattling. If any of you had that problem, how was it corrected? I notice this not only on rough pavement but also in some engine RPM ranges (it sort of "buzzes" at higher revs). Any help will be appreciated.
No dash rattles, but the lock buttons rattle. We have power locks on both cars, and perhaps the buttons only rattle when that option is installed - I don't know. I used to think it was the dash or the passenger side door, till I touched the lock button one time trying to narrow it down. Also, if the locks are up, the rattle doesn't happen I think...
My last 5 tank total MPG was 42.0, the highest so far! I use a 5 tank sliding window to average things out a bit.