2003 Toyota ECHO - Great little car
This car gets great gas mileage and has been an excellent daily driver through the years. With minimal maintenance it has traveled on and on with only a couple of issues related to routine care. I love this car and would buy another one in a heartbeat.
This car gets great gas mileage and has been an excellent daily driver through the years. With minimal maintenance it has traveled on and on with only a couple of issues related to routine care. I love this car and would buy another one in a heartbeat.
We took our daughter home in this car. It was a safe trip and very memorable.
We took our daughter home in this car. It was a safe trip and very memorable.
The car uses virtually no gas due to its low-power engine, which was a godsend in the late-2000s oil price boom. I haven't kept up on regular maintenance at all and it still runs perfectly. Its MPG is close to an electric vehicle. It's an incredible little car.
The car uses virtually no gas due to its low-power engine, which was a godsend in the late-2000s oil price boom. I haven't kept up on regular maintenance at all and it still runs perfectly. Its MPG is close to an electric vehicle. It's an incredible little car.
Interior is extremely Spartan and the only real amenity is air conditioning, which doesn't work effectively when the weather is unusually hot. Materials on the interior feel cheap. Low-power engine makes freeway driving difficult at times at speeds over 60 MPH. Very small car without backseat room for a car seat without extreme discomfort.
Interior is extremely Spartan and the only real amenity is air conditioning, which doesn't work effectively when the weather is unusually hot. Materials on the interior feel cheap. Low-power engine makes freeway driving difficult at times at speeds over 60 MPH. Very small car without backseat room for a car seat without extreme discomfort.
2000 Toyota ECHO - Seventeen years old and still going strong.
I've had this car for seventeen year, and it's still a very reliable machine. It still gets better than average mileage (around 27 mph on streets; 35 mph on the highway). The car handles well and has a very impressive turn radius. The car does have a "unique" boxy look that some think is unattractive, but I (and other Echo owners) really like it. For a small car, it is surprisingly roomy, and has impressive trunk space. The view from the driver's seat is a bit higher than other cars, so it's nice to be able to see above some of the smaller vehicles on the road. My biggest complaints are that the engine is not as responsive as I would like (sometimes I have to literally put the pedal to the metal to accelerate quickly in order to get out of potentially dangerous situations), there are n... (more)
I've had this car for seventeen year, and it's still a very reliable machine. It still gets better than average mileage (around 27 mph on streets; 35 mph on the highway). The car handles well and has a very impressive turn radius. The car does have a "unique" boxy look that some think is unattractive, but I (and other Echo owners) really like it. For a small car, it is surprisingly roomy, and has impressive trunk space. The view from the driver's seat is a bit higher than other cars, so it's nice to be able to see above some of the smaller vehicles on the road. My biggest complaints are that the engine is not as responsive as I would like (sometimes I have to literally put the pedal to the metal to accelerate quickly in order to get out of potentially dangerous situations), there are no power windows, and the headrests are big and bulky and actually impair my ability to see behind me or to check my blind-spots. Also, the odometer console is located in the center of the dashboard (between the driver and front passenger seats), rather than directly above the steering wheel, which takes some time to get used to. Overall, I'm quite happy with this car, and if Toyota still made the Echo, I would definitely consider purchasing another one the next time I buy a car.
I was able to cram eight passengers into my car one night. It was a very cramped experience, but I got the nine of us safely to our destination without incident.
I was able to cram eight passengers into my car one night. It was a very cramped experience, but I got the nine of us safely to our destination without incident.
Honestly, the sheer longevity of this vehicle is astounding. I've had it for seventeen years, and it still looks (and kind of feels) like a new car. The exterior of the car is still shiny and reflective, and the color has not faded a bit. The interior is a generic grey fabric that looks the same today as the day I bought it. Overall mileage is impressive, and the car handles quite well. One of the things I love about this car is that it is so small that the air conditioner and the heater are very effective very quickly (I've been in cars where you become a sweaty mess before you begin to f... (more)
Honestly, the sheer longevity of this vehicle is astounding. I've had it for seventeen years, and it still looks (and kind of feels) like a new car. The exterior of the car is still shiny and reflective, and the color has not faded a bit. The interior is a generic grey fabric that looks the same today as the day I bought it. Overall mileage is impressive, and the car handles quite well. One of the things I love about this car is that it is so small that the air conditioner and the heater are very effective very quickly (I've been in cars where you become a sweaty mess before you begin to feel the air conditioning on very hot days; this is not one of those vehicles). For a small car, the interior space is designed very intelligently; I've let others drive my car and tried out being a passenger in the back seat, and it was surprisingly roomy and not cramped at all. I'm lucky to have never experience any major mechanical problems other than having to replace the battery three times in seventeen years. The car is not noisy, and even at high speeds, the ride is very smooth and comfortable. Pretty impressive for a car that has been in use for nearly two decades.
Topping the negative list is the engine's not-so-impressive power. I have to floor it sometimes in order to zoom out of precarious situations. And when the air conditioner is on, the car is even less responsive; sometimes it takes nearly a full second for the car to respond even when I slam the gas pedal completely down. I've learned to instinctively turn off the air conditioning button when I need a quick burst of speed. Note that this is not a slow car or anything; it just responds slower than I would like in emergency situations. Another gripe I have is that this particular model does n... (more)
Topping the negative list is the engine's not-so-impressive power. I have to floor it sometimes in order to zoom out of precarious situations. And when the air conditioner is on, the car is even less responsive; sometimes it takes nearly a full second for the car to respond even when I slam the gas pedal completely down. I've learned to instinctively turn off the air conditioning button when I need a quick burst of speed. Note that this is not a slow car or anything; it just responds slower than I would like in emergency situations. Another gripe I have is that this particular model does not have power windows. Very frustrating. The factory stereo was pretty lame (AM/FM only), so I replaced it as soon as I purchased the car. The other great big frustration for me is the car's massive headrests. I'm 5' 6" tall, so this issue might not be a problem for taller drivers, but there are times where I cannot literally see behind me when I turn my head because the headrest is obstructing my view. Also, there's no perfect place to install a phone mount in this car, which is understandable since it was made years before smart phones even existed, but it has become another source of frustration for me. Even phone mounts designed to fit most car's air conditioner vents don't fit my car because the air vents are frustratingly round and stubby.
2001 Toyota ECHO - The best car ever
Overall, this was an excellent car. Like Forest Gump, if just kept running. I bought it with over 200,000 miles on it and proceeded to add over another 130,000 miles before it finally gave out on me, and that's because I didn't actually spend any money taking care of it. I used and abused this car, but it just kept being reliable. It was black and therefore hot during the Georgia summers. It wasn't the fastest thing around, but for some reason, it was always fun driving a car that small and low to the ground. I drove it during the recession ,and it quite literally kept me from being constantly broke.
Overall, this was an excellent car. Like Forest Gump, if just kept running. I bought it with over 200,000 miles on it and proceeded to add over another 130,000 miles before it finally gave out on me, and that's because I didn't actually spend any money taking care of it. I used and abused this car, but it just kept being reliable. It was black and therefore hot during the Georgia summers. It wasn't the fastest thing around, but for some reason, it was always fun driving a car that small and low to the ground. I drove it during the recession ,and it quite literally kept me from being constantly broke.
Me and a friend nearly had a head on collision when I first got the car, through no fault of my own. We were passing a dump truck legally, and another car pulled into our lane. We wedged between them without hitting either due to the dump truck being smart enough to see what was about to happen. But I'm sure that was the closest I ever came to dying.
Me and a friend nearly had a head on collision when I first got the car, through no fault of my own. We were passing a dump truck legally, and another car pulled into our lane. We wedged between them without hitting either due to the dump truck being smart enough to see what was about to happen. But I'm sure that was the closest I ever came to dying.
The number one benefit of this car was the excellent gas millage of upper thirties. This was extremely helpful during the recession, when I wasn't making much money, but it seemed like prices were still going up, especially gas prices. It drove like a charm too. Could dip in and out of curves really well—better than expected from a car that style. Obviously, another huge benefit of this car was that it lasted forever. I was really sad when it finally broke down. I would have got it fixed -- if I could ever have figured out what was wrong with it.
The number one benefit of this car was the excellent gas millage of upper thirties. This was extremely helpful during the recession, when I wasn't making much money, but it seemed like prices were still going up, especially gas prices. It drove like a charm too. Could dip in and out of curves really well—better than expected from a car that style. Obviously, another huge benefit of this car was that it lasted forever. I was really sad when it finally broke down. I would have got it fixed -- if I could ever have figured out what was wrong with it.
Hot, hot, hot. Mine was black, and during the summer heat, it could be tough to get into and get going, so that the air could cool it down. Eventually, this problem became even worse when my air went out around mile 300,000. Another real problem with this car is that since it was so low to the ground, if you had a lot of people riding in the car with you, then you couldn't go over speed bumps because it would bottom out hard and make an awful scraping sound.
Hot, hot, hot. Mine was black, and during the summer heat, it could be tough to get into and get going, so that the air could cool it down. Eventually, this problem became even worse when my air went out around mile 300,000. Another real problem with this car is that since it was so low to the ground, if you had a lot of people riding in the car with you, then you couldn't go over speed bumps because it would bottom out hard and make an awful scraping sound.
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