Toyota Yaris

[Gumby]

i used a yaris for a few weeks, and damn, for a small car they are awesome... peppy, nice to drive, the electric steering rocks, and all in all, i could own one. frugal on the juice too... i'd get her one if i were you, although take her for a test drive to make sure she can handle the center mounted speedo (it's in the center of the dash, between driver and passenger). some people find it distracting, i got used to it pretty quickly.

oh and it's got some nifty storage pockets

Sounds a lot like the Echo. I'mpretty used to the center pod speedo, but every once in a while at night I glance down and think "WTF happened to my dashlights?" Then I see them over to the right. I wish my 55 had forward visibility like it.

 

[John Smith]

I believe the Yaris is built on the same platform as the Echo. Perhaps because the Echo was a US only vehicle they decided to kill it off and sell the same platform they sell around the world?

 

[TEPUI]

The Yaris and Echo are totally different, Yaris actually made in Japan, Echo was not.

It's another one of those naming differences, and yes, maybe they're made in different countries, but the 4 door Yaris (sedan, not hatchback) sold outside of the US is exactly the same car as the Echo, with minor changes on the front headlights.

Look at the pics below: the gold car is a 2000 4 door Yaris sedan (sold outside US) and the white car is a US-sold Echo.

 

[Gumby]

A little research suggests (It's wikipedia, not always factual) that the Echo gets an "average" safety rating and only shares the drivetrain with the Yaris.

The VIN suggests the Echo was made at TMC in Japan I typed a VIN from an eBay Echo in there and it came up as Japanese built.

 

[TEPUI]

...and only shares the drivetrain with the Yaris.

Gumby, it seems like the wikipedia statement is based on a comparison between the echo (sedan) and a hatchback Yaris, in which case, the body is different but the drivetrain is the same.


This is the previous model hatchback Yaris (not as sexy as the current one IMO)

 

[bad_religion_au]

ohh yeah, probably not an issue for a chick driver... but one thing i HATED about it was the lack of a temperature guage. sure it'd have warning lights, but i get nervy without a temp guage

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Could you not get a bigger bang for the buck finding a good clean used Corolla? Lotsa money left over to upgrade the sound, tint the windows, and customize it a bit according to her tastes?

Just wondering out loud, IH8NEWCARDEPRECIATION