Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Toyota Yaris
It will keep most of its current mechanical components but will be nicer and better equipped.
An XRS version is a possibility for the 3 door hatchback and the 5 door hatchback is gonna become a wagon like a small Matrix. (Hatchback Echos are only sold in Canada and are special versions of European and Japanese Yaris/Vitz). In the showrooms in summer 2005.
An XRS version is a possibility for the 3 door hatchback and the 5 door hatchback is gonna become a wagon like a small Matrix. (Hatchback Echos are only sold in Canada and are special versions of European and Japanese Yaris/Vitz). In the showrooms in summer 2005.
Tagged:
0
Comments
~alpha
Are we going to get the hatch in the US for '06? That might actually sell, though it would step on the toes of the Scion xA. Right now Toyota is only shipping about 300 Echos a month to the US. They are out there though -- I was at a Toyota dealer recently (SE PA) and they had a new '05 4-door on the lot.
-Andrew L
I would have thought that, if Toyota were going to drop the Echo from the US, they would have done it already. It doesn't make sense to have the car stagger on through the '04 and '05 model years shipping 300 units a month, if they are just going to drop it anyway. My assumption was that the reason they kept the slow-selling current model was to avoid a discontinuity when the new one comes out for '06. I could be wrong, though.
-Andrew L
think is that if the echo continues for you, (in the U.S), it's gonna be less «yougthful» so that the xA can play this role alone. It's perhaps gonna become an «old people's car».
Mileage close to a Prius for thousands less.
If so, I'm very glad. It will be good to buy a subcompact Toyota and not have it be an ugly, garrish Scion!
Maybe they will improve the styling for 2006.
I purchased mine in 2003 with the thought that I'd keep it for 6 or 7 years. I'm not looking to buy a 2006 anyway, or trade my ECHO anytime soon.
I guess it could have an impact on servicing the vehicle, to have it discontinued, but its under warranty - so it shouldn't matter.
I guess it affects resell value - but I'll probably just donate my ECHO when the time is near..
I think its mostly an emotonal thing - no one likes to hear that the car they choose is being discontinued. It's like an admission of failure on the part of the car dealer, if the car wasn't succesfull then maybe there is a good reason for that.. and maybe you didn't make a good decision buying an ECHO.
I think my ECHO is great. It has the BEST gas mileage, and gas prices around me have been over $2.00/gal for a long time now. I use it to zip back and forth to work and that's it. Great commuter car ( I think).
Of course if you listen to the so-called experts right here on Edmunds, about what is important in a commuter car they list fuel efficiency # 7 and a good in-dash CD changer # 4.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/102588/article.html
Ok whatever, but with gas prices sometimes spiking at $2.10/gal - I personally value good gas mileage more than a neat in-dash CD changer.
Even the Honda Element looks better than the xB. The tC isn't bad, though...
So it seems clear that the USA Echo is not dying. What are some possible candidates for names? Yaris and Vitz are the obvious ones, because they are used on similar cars in other markets, but I don't particularly like either of them. My vote would be to call it the Toyota Starlet (that was a subcompact from the early '80s, if anyone remembers). I always liked that name; it sounds cute and happy like a small car's name should. Of course, they could go with Tercel, too.
-Andrew L
My girlfriend and I looked at a Tercel when she needed a new car, but she ended up buying a Hyundai Excel. I think she bought it in 1991. What a mistake! The Excel was a total lemon and it barely made it to 60K. She'd probably still be driving the Tercel today if she'd purchased it instead of the Hyundai. The Excel was a total peice of crap! And the Hyundai dealership treated us like crap. I think the Tercel was 3K more expensive at the time, but I wish she'd got the Tercel. Hyundai cost us a million bucks in grief - at least !
Toyota may be able to spin a marketing gimmick off of the Tercel name - saying "IT's BACK" and all that.
Of course I don't think they should drop the ECHO. If, over the years it built a reputation for quality and reliability, and for holding its value, I think they'd see it build up a following.
But they need to price it a little cheaper, and one of the major drawbacks to it is the way they've priced the options - the ECHO is not a bargain. It's more expensive than the other low-end sedans to start out with, but the way they've got the options priced, a few options quickly cause the ECHO to be not such a good deal.
But anyway, they're going to do whatever they're going to do, and there are probably a thousand different opinions on what they should do with the ECHO - including the critics who think that styling is so so important.
I just wanted a commuter car with good gas mileage to get me back & forth to work, and I didn't want it to spend time in the shop, and the ECHO seemed to be the car that fit my requirements. I have over 23K on it now with no major problems.
Oh and jojomonkeyboy, I'd love to see the Tercel return, but I can't imagine it in modern tall-car styling.
I have a '91 at home, and well, I won't say it runs perfectly; burns oil and the overcoat is coming off so the paintjob is ugly, but those are the only problems with it despite being driven hard. It has plenty of headroom and doesn't sit as low as other cars of its age, without looking awkward like the Echo. Maybe it'd be a good Toyota alternative to the Scions, since a Tercel could look totally conservative and attract a different market.
Yeah, I think the reason they are not dropping the Echo is that they don't want dealerships selling Scion xAs to little old ladies. So we will probably see a fairly plain version of the new Vitz/Yaris as an Echo replacement, to keep it distinct from the Scions.
-Andrew L
It's interesting to note that US sales of the Echo are almost non-existant, and yet it was the #5 best selling car in Canada in October (and probably will be for the whole year as well).
Of course, we have the Echo hatch to choose from, as well as the sedan. It's good, reliable transportation....comfortable, roomy for it's size and gets the best gas mileage of anything, save for a diesel or hybrid. The tweeks they made to the styling of the sedan in 2003 make it look a little more attractive and, based on the "2006" photos, I think it's popularity will only increase, at least here in Canada anyway.
(scroll down)
-Andrew L
Also, this was on Detroit News today -- it also confirms the Echo will be replaced by "two European styled small cars in 2006."
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/13/B02-58761.htm
Could the second model be the odd looking Yaris Verso? (the plain Verso looks very hot too)
http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/generic_editorial.jsp?B- V_SessionID=@@@@0553460308.1105621859@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadd- diilifhlcfngcfkmdfkidffi.0&navRoot=toyota_root&portal=nul- l&edname=YarisVerso+Intro&catname=%2ftoyota_root%2fTopNav- %2fNew+Cars&zone=Zone+YARISVERSO&menuid=112347
Same engines (but we'll just get the 4L 1.5 upgraded to 110hp)
http://toyota.jp/vitz/exterior/bodycolor/index.html
Ross
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101763
I also think that adding cruise control would help "legitimize" the Echo in the Toyota line-up. Does anyone know if the option is available in other countries? or in the 2006 model?
Ross
What will the car be based on, (Ex:Is there a model in Japan/Europe which the new one will look like?), and what are the different body styles will be offered? Thanks!
Ross
Went to look at Accent. Don't like the height do like the warranty. Love the warranty. Talked to Accent owner in the neighborhood. She said no mechanical problems hates the dealer though. Also said, warranty, roadside assistance great. She got what she paid for. Advised me to take a man along to do the dirty wheeling and dealing for me because she paid close to nothing. Her son refused to allow her to pay for such a rudimentary vehicle.
Thoughts
~alpha
the 2005 ones are not really available in dealerships. At least in the md/dc/va area.
thanks
http://www.donlen.com/buildstart_toyota.asp
You can get Echos everywhere, in any colour and in hatch and sedan body styles. Americans, at least, have Scion.
Donlen is apparently a fleet leasing company (they buy batches of cars and lease them to corporations who want a new fleet of company cars every year). I've been using their site to get production info for a long time, and it seems to be accurate. Of course, production schedules can change at the last minute, so I wouldn't be my life on it, but their info has been as good as any.
-Andrew L
Yeah, that's because the 2006 "Echo" will be called the Yaris. There has been a ton of confusion on this point. I can't count how many times I've seen postings on forums stating that the Echo is being "replaced by Scion", which is false.
-Andrew L