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On Wheels by Brooks Peterson Archives | Arts & Entertainment | Audio/Video | Business | Classifieds | Columns | Food | Forums | Health & Fitness | News | Obits | Opinions | People | Politics | Science/Technology | Search | Sports | Subscribe | Travel | Weather Published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY Saturday, October 20, 2001 A guy can like the Echo, tooToyota that is fitted with Roxy package is more than a fashion house for women
That brings us to the sturdy, virtuous, never-let-you-down Toyota Echo. You may not be too familiar with the Echo yet - it's only been on the market here for a couple of model years - but it's exactly what you'd expect from Toyota. It's a rational transportation module that will get you from A to B safely and with a minimum of fuss. So, OK, it isn't exactly a thing of beauty. And, unlike VW with the (old) Beetle or Citroen with its surpassingly strange post-war offerings, Toyota hasn't managed the trick of making a car that's endearingly ugly. The Echo is just . . . odd. Its tiny wheels recall the proportions of the late '60s Opel Kadett, and the droop snoot is powerfully reminiscent of those early-'90s DustBuster minivans. Not quite iconoclastic, the Echo is resolutely, unflinchingly utilitarian. Except . . . except . . . What is this apparition that appears before our goggling eyes? Surfboard rack
Oh, it's an Echo, all right, but whut in the ever-lovin' world is it doing with big swoopy decal graphics on its flanks . . . and weird plasticky seat covers with some kind of funky design worked into 'em . . . and . . . is that a surfboard rack on the roof . . . ? Indeed it is, children, and there is a reason for that: This is not just any Echo; this is the hip, happening, go-for-the-gusto, cute-as-a-button Toyota Echo with Roxy Special Edition trappings. Now, I'm going to venture into some serious political incorrectness here. I do it reluctantly, knowing the wrath it may call down upon my eminently non-confrontational self, but unless I do the honorable thing, you're never going to understand this little . . . uh . . . conveyance. What it is, y'see, is . . . a chick car. Gear for women I have learned from informants here at the paper that Roxy is in fact a sort of fashion house that specializes in swimming togs and surfing gear for women. Just how Toyota hooked up with Roxy - a blind date? - is anybody's guess, but for whatever reason, and in whatever fashion, the alliance was concluded, and what you see here before is the, uh, offspring.
Now, for the driver for whom this package was intended, the Echo may work like a dream. However, for a guy . . . Call me superficial. Call me a throwback. Hit me with your best shot; I probably deserve it. Still, for me, driving this little thing was a walk on the mildly weird side. I mean, c'mon, what am I doing sitting on these slithery plastic-covered seats with their little Roxy motifs repeated over and over? And what's with that cutesy Roxy logo on the fender? Oh, and did I mention the Roxy Wet Gear Storage Compartment in the trunk? Gents, if you find yourself trundling around town in one of these babies, do your level best to ensure you do NOT break down in front of a biker bar. Excellent fuel mileage The good news, of course, is that beneath the Roxy trappings this is a Toyota, which means rock-solid reliability, high-quality materials and, certainly in the case of the Echo, excellent fuel mileage.
In motion, the Echo's behavior is, well, perky. With the 1.5-liter four churning out 108 horses, you'll have little trouble coping with urban traffic. Even with the automatic transmission in our car (which, commendably, had four speeds), acceleration was about as brisk as you could expect from such a vehicle. More impressive to me was the Echo's highway performance. I didn't attempt any major treks, but did notice that the car hummed effortlessly along on expressways and interstates . . . all the while returning the kind of mileage that could bring tears to Saddam Hussein's eyes. Handling, given those teeny tires and the Echo's tall, somewhat tippy stance, was far from sporty. On the other side of the equation, though, the ride quality delivered by the suspension was a cut above the average. Cab-forward design
Toyota proudly points out that the use of cab-forward design (thank you, Mr. Daimler and Mr. Chrysler) has made it possible to make the Echo far roomier inside than you'd expect. Head- and shoulder-room are exemplary. Legroom for the driver was a bit tight. The absence of cruise control virtually guarantees that the long-legged driver will arrive at his destination a trifle grouchy. Climate control was exemplary, far removed from the light-breathing units we experienced in the imports of yore; the CD/cassette player gave a decent account of itself.
As before, though, the most striking feature of the interior is the instrument cluster, which is smack in the center of the dash. For whatever reason, I found it less off-putting this time than the last time I drove an Echo, but you will now and then catch yourself wondering where your speedometer went. Of course, the beauty of it all is that you can ditch the whole Roxy package, save a bundle, and not have to worry about your buddies snickering at you behind your back. Shoot, with the bucks you save you might be able to swap out the four and stuff a small-block V-8 under that hood, and . . . 
© 2000 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved. |
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