TOYOTA'S all-new Yaris hatch illustrated unequivocally just how far today's best light-sized cars have come. Eons ahead of the Fiesta, Starlet and even Echo offerings available in the past, Yaris comprehensively betters them when it comes to build quality, driving dynamics, performance, equipment and safety. Now, Yaris sedan adds to this a longer wheelbase and a boot that's bigger than a Commodore's. Throw in the same high levels of refinement, style and ride/handling as the hatch, and it's easy to see why Toyota's smallest notchback trounces the two cheaper offerings in the emerging light sedan category.
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Echo sedan
Released: Oct 1999
Ended: Feb 2005
Family Tree: YarisEcho replaced Starlet as Toyota's light car contender in Australia in October 1999, available in 63kW/122Nm 1.3-litre three and five-door hatch guises, plus a 80kW/142Nm 1.5-litre sedan. The latter engine, tuned to deliver 80kW and 145Nm of torque, saw duty in the Echo Sportivo hatch available from March 2001 (as part of the facelifted Echo range), and is the only carryover item in the new Yaris.
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