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<< Index Echo
The Echo is a small car from Toyota which was sold in different markets in different names. The car was sold as Toyota Platz in US in 1999 till the end of 2005 to be replaed by the name Yaris. In Austalia and other Asian markets such as Thailand, Hong Kong, etc as well as Canada, the Echo was sold till 2005 as Toyota Vitz. Here also, the car was sold as the Toyota Yaris after 2005. The car is available in body style of 3 door or 5 door hatchback. The car is quite popular among the youth which is the target group for the company. The other cars in competition with the Vitz are Hyundai Getz, Honda Fit. Chevrolet Spark, etc. The small car was introduced to replace the older Toyota Starlet. The first generation Echo debuted in 1999. The car did very well, specially in European and Japanese markets. It was even voted as the European car of the year for 2000. The power of the car came from 1.0L and 1.3L VVT-I and later a new 1.5L VVt-i gasoline engine. There was also introduced a 1.4 L diesel engine with max power output of 75 bhp. The second generation Echo was launched in 2005. This time the car came with a standard 1.5L VVT-I inline 4 engine rated at 106 bhp of power. The transmission option offered were 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual. The new car was very similar to the Scion xD, another branch of Toyota. This time, the car was marketed as Yaris in North America and Canada as well. Body style was same as the previous generation, ie 3 door as well as 5 door hatch. The 3 door hatch was called as the Yaris Liftback by the company. The 5 door one was similar to the Scion xD. A new model to be launched later in 2007, is the Yaris T sport. The new feature in the T is the impressive 1.8L dual VVTi gasoline engine rated at 130 bhp. This makes the a a truly performance oriented one with a small body but a relatively powerful engine. The car also comes with a host of other features such as alloy wheels, ABS, ECT not to mention ne design features like tail spoilers, designer rear and side skirts.
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