Toyota ECHO Review. The Perfect Cheap Commuter Car.
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- Опубліковано 26 бер 2019
- I decided that since I would be making some videos covering the upgrades I've decided to make to my little ECHO, that I should go ahead and make a video OF the ECHO.
It's been out of production here in the USA since 2005, having been replaced by the Yaris, but really the Yaris is the same car.... Well up until 2019 when Toyota dropped it and made a Mazda 3 the new Yaris.
The ECHO is no beauty queen, but it is hands down once of the simplest, most reliable, and best of all fuel efficient cars on the road today. These can be had used for less than 1K and to be honest, that makes them a steal. Find the 5 speed models and get over 40 miles to the gallon in a theft proof car!
I'm going to be upgrading the head lights, adding fog lights, new hubcaps and best of all, I'll be installing power windows and power locks on this old girl just for fun so stay tuned! - Навчання та стиль
Haha. I am driving this car.
I do feel my wife feel extraordinarily embarrassed. But that what I do the best is to embarrassed her. Haha. Best car. Ever
Same. My wife drives an Oldsmobile with 50,000 miles with power everything, leather seats, a/c, etc. I think she hates driving around in my dented up echo with 225,000 miles and no a/c.
A cute little commuter car! I drive a 12 patriot 5spd that I got new in 2012 and now it's got 180.000 miles and still running strong. I had an old 1980 Toyota Corolla that had more rust than any vehicle I've ever own, but it ran like a champ. Can't beat these little commuter cars with a small suv or a bigger sedan because the bigger a vehicle gets, the mpg gets worse. Thanks for showing us a practical commuter car that automakers should still be producing
Thanks for the upload...I love my Echo. I like to see what other people are doing to theirs.
I love that it does Not have power steering! The reason for that centre dash is to save money for the right hand drive models....I like where it is...you get a better sight line out the window.
The manual windows rule during the winter because you can gauge if the window is frozen.....I have had power windows go off the track during cold weather.
I do find the door locks to be very very cheap.
I hate how the door can swing open really easily.....I almost want to put a tight spring on them.
I wish there was a manual knob for the hatch door lock....I hate have to use the key so often.
I love the head room inside.
I wish the seat would go back a bit more.....I might take out the back seat....I would have more storage.
I bought a 2001 Echo brand new. I still have it. 478,000 miles. 5 speed.
That is VERY impressive!! It shows what good maintenance and some love will do for a car.
@@FarpointFarms Thank you! I am hoping to get to 500K with that one engine and clutch.
Nice whip on the back and a tall shifter. I dig it!
Couple years ago I inherited a 2003 Echo with 40k miles from my parents (they just drove to the grocery store and doctors appointments). Replaced the tires and brakes, otherwise, no issues.
Wow, such low miles- I hope you still have it
@@FarpointFarms drive it everyday to work!
I had a black 03 2 door. Super reliable. Better mpg than my current Yaris. I've owned different cars between that one and the yaris. As I gotten older I appreciate the Echo especially as I drive a lot
I sold this one years ago and I still look to see if I can find one
My father has a 01 with a 2010 engine installed. R.i.p dad
Damn sorry for your loss.
It's great to see you appreciating older interesting / quirky cars - it looked a bit like a Wilson 1000 on the boot lid? Cheers Rob
Close, it's a Tram 3500. Same size as a Wilson 1000. I do tend to gravitate towards the "econoboxes".
Just bought an 05 for my daughter....so simple, yet being a Toyota, made in Japan feel she has got this car as long she needs it....188,000 km...awesome little 4 door automatic...very peppy, brilliant mpg, and turns and parks like a dream....I see these little cars with ridiculous miles on them.....,not km's....miles...so pleased to have a simple car that does the job of all of them..A to B, and back to A...for as long as you need it to
Right on!
If you get black hub caps, the car will look desert tactical.
I panda'd my white Echo. Looks killer.
I just bought a 2001 to replace my Acura that has a bad engine. I've grown to like it. It's not fast, but it can get up to speed with traffic with ease.
It's no race car, but it's got more power than my old Rabbit GTi from 1983
Hi People -
Very nice video; I enjoyed it, other than I would have liked it to be a little longer, for more detail. You have a good voice for voiceovers. So, when do you plan to show us the mod? I understand there are a lot of them, don't know whether OEM or from Toyota. Hope to see some of them soon! I 'm a 70 yo 'Murican, so I'll wish you a Merry Christmas, Prospero Año, y Felicidad!
I saw one of these on the highway a couples weeks ago, and was so curious about it since I’ve never really noticed it before
They are starting to age out, too bad as they get great gas mileage
Looks like a good simple reliable car that's the best kind and it's paid for it. For all its technological advances my 2008 Toyota Prius is the same way 170,000 miles and everything original I just changed the brake pads at 165 which was unbelievable and yes the EV battery is the original and runs just fine those things last easy 200 to 250 sometimes 300 before needing changing. And based on that my next car will be a used EV probably a Chevy Bolt just waiting until they start selling below 20 used then it's worth it pays for itself in gas savings and 0 maintenance. The gas engine in yours I think is the same that's the gas engine in mine which is a bulletproof engine I get about 44 MPG on the low end but I most trips I averaged about 52 MPG still I use 0-30 Mobil 1 synthetic I think it's the best oil of almost no start-up wear on your engine and I noticed the mpg by one or two increase since using it
Thanks for the tip! I will try 0W-30 at my next oil change.
the yaris rs seats fit right in there and so does the arm rest from a 1st gen Scion xb
$600 was a great deal.
The Clutch wasn't even that hard to install. I was able to do in on jack stands at home over a single weekend without air tools.
Very good shape.
Just bought a 4 door version. Only difference is it has power steering.. but I dont think it needs it. I can turn the wheels on the ground with the engine off like butter. Love this car. Did front pads and rotors... $47 off rock auto.
These cars are SO cheap to keep up with, you'll love it!
Hey Eric. Nice review. I'm a big fan of these cars, so it's cool to see someone giving them the credit they deserve. I bought my first Echo brand new at the end of 1999 for $10,889 and drove it for 3 trouble-free years before totalling it. 2 years ago I got a job delivering pizzas, so I searched high and low and ended up driving 4 hours away to pick up a fair condition 02 Echo for $1450. It's been on the road ever since with very minimal repairs needed. I actually did the power door lock and window conversion among many other things on both of mine. Feel free to reach out to me if you run into anything weird during your upgrades. Keep up the great videos!
Very cool! I am looking forward to doing the "Upgrades" to this old girl as she has given me many many miles of trouble free work. These Echo's are one of the best kept secrets on the market today. Much cheaper used than a Honda Civic, and as a mechanic I can say for sure that they are more reliable too!
my family bought a 2004 echo back in that year and 15 years and 210,700 miles later it still sticks around. It's survived road trips, and 80 mile commutes for years. I now use it to commute to college and yes its a loud, buzzy, and uncomfortable car to drive. But it makes up with the gas mileage and extremely low maintenance.
How is it uncomfortable?
I love the echo!
Loved my little ECHO
I’m 16 ( about to get my license ) and my grandparents have a dark blue one that I may get from them and I’m excited about it 😁
Eric, the type of guy to flex his gas mileage
It's funny how when we are young we dream of fast cars and max HP's. Now in my 40's I dream of fun cars and Max MPG's!
How long did that take you to come up with?
Its an great economical way to go where you want.
do you think a 6ft 4" person could sleep in this if I remove the front passenger seat and open up the rear seats so id extend in to the trunk? Thinking about buying this for a cross country touring veichle for the good milage and cheap price and camping out of it.
I am sure that you could, it would be tight as you would have a ton of gear to store as well as you for sleeping. I would have done it if I were making the same trip as you
I had a question for you I don't know if you or anybody else might be able to answer it I live in Arizona where it gets up to about a hundred and fifteen in the summertime I just ordered an antron 99 do you think the heat be bad for the antenna I'm not running any amps or nothing like that I don't know if he's being 115 degrees outside would matter
It should be fine.
That will make proud Scotty Kilmer
Shit meme Scotty thinks these are the worst cars
Shit meme ua-cam.com/video/ZDLcieYKCiE/v-deo.html
I looked at them in 2000, wound up buying a Daewoo instead. Lessons learned 😑
Oh man... I remember the Daewoo's. They were in and out of the US market in a flash. I've never worked on one, but they didn't look bad.
@@FarpointFarms It was a sweet compact car. Lots of good memories, but it fell apart before 100,000 miles.
😁😁😁😁that's a nice car but I'll never find one we're I live I got a 2018 Nissan versa s plus it takes on 20 dollars for a full tank of gas that's about as close to this car I'll ever get😁😁😁
Im currently looking to purchase an Echo but my daily route involves hills, how does it handle going uphill?
No issues at all. I down shift to 4th or sometimes even 3rd to clear a major mountain, but for the most part it keeps up with traffic.
Great video. How is the car treated you over 1 year later?
It's good. I just sold it with over 270K on it!
@@FarpointFarms Nice.
@@FarpointFarms how much you get for it? Was it still going strong?
Those headlights are in really good shape, not hazy yellowed, looks like it was garage kept!
I tend to polish the plastic every now and again to help them from getting to yellowed.
2002 echo. 120 000 miles
Mine is a 2003 whit 370 000 km and the rockers are rusted out but still going strong
These cars are true work horses.
Yea but it’s on its last leg
The rockers are rusted out so I’ll end up on the junkyard soon unfortunately but I’ve got what I paid for whit those years
22 years, 308k on mine. Bought new.
Great little cars! I wish they made them like this these days.
I have had my Echo for almost 19 years. Just wondering how much longer it will be lasting.
Take care of it and it will take care of you.
Do you steel have...
Another +6 years
LOL Where can you find one under $1000? Even today, it holds its value well
I’m buying one today off a friend he’s asking 800 I’m probably going to offer 600 it’s a 2002 4 door
What about the terrifying problems with unintended acceleration.
These cars were not effected by that. This has an old school cable operated throttle not the later electric throttle control.
Good Video I love the Echos cars good on gas Also did I win the CB radio did you give it away yet? WH6FLQ Victor
A fellow named Mitch Henderson won the CB radio. I will try and do another giveaway someday!
The newest Yaris is not a Mazda 3, it's a Mazda 2.
Still have this? I forgot. I know you have the Mirage.
I sold it a few years back- kinda miss it
@@FarpointFarms I see. I don't blame you. I had a resentment towards mine for a bit cause it was "boring" and I get it, it's not a sports car. But anyway after I parted with it years ago and now I kinda miss it. I even have dreams of it lol. So when I see one which is rare, I'm like oooooh.
Thankyou for the video Ilove toyota echo.
One of the best cars I ever owned for sure. Fun, Fast and frugal.
👍👍👍
It's the poor mans Ferrari!
Farpoint Farms
No ,,, take that back !! The poor man’s Ferrari was the Dodge Stealth twin turbo all wheel drive !!!! Lol
I rarely ever see these cars
Bet that thing will sit you back in the seat !!!
She's a real power house! 0-60? Well... It will get there, eventually!
2 door cars are called coupes 4 door cars are called sedans
I've always joked that this is the "Sport" Echo as it has no power steering. "You can really feel the road in this baby!"
@@FarpointFarms I'm a corolla driver myself I'll only buy Toyota mines a 1.8 ltr it's not good on take off but when it hits about 40 it will take off like a rocket
@@michaelroot6064 How so?
@@toyoscio huh
@@michaelroot6064 Lol slow on take off better when going faster.
*mazda 2
Why did you cover your license plate ? You think someone would haunt you and steal your car
Truth is, there are some strange people on UA-cam and with nearly 70K subscribers, I've got at least 7 "Crazy Stalker" types. So yes. I am worried that someone might use the plate to show up for an autograph at 2am.
@@FarpointFarms well I never thought that .I was thinking of buying an echo with 140 k miles a 2003 so how would you advise me since you have one , would it make it driving from Philadelphia to California?
My 3 echos have Wilson 1000 antennas mounted on Breedlove through hole mounts in the center of the roofs.
Work as good as any base. Drill a hole. lol!
You might just talk me into it!
@@FarpointFarms If I wasn't keeping these Echos, 2000, 2004, and 2005, until either they are dead, or me, I wouldn't do such a thing, and would use the Wilson 1000 magnet mount on the roof. Especially not if I were planning to sell any of them. People are averse to holes in roofs.
lol! Best of communicating to you. Hoping to DX with you sometime from Windsor Ontario.
Duradero un tanque
Stop talking about this terrible, horrible, funny looking car! It is supposed to be a secret and I want my Echo parts to stay cheap.
Ha! Yup. They are a well kept secret for sure.