Faults:

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong; I bought the car and have changed the oil 6 times - that is it.

General Comments:

I wish I could give this car 20/10 for reliability. I get 5L per 100km and I have not had to change a thing mechanically. Suspension, brakes, timing chain; everything works and shows no sign of degradation as of yet.

I am 6ft 3 and I fit comfortably in the upright seating position with headroom (can comfortably seat 4x 6ft5 adults). The backseat slides forward, backward and can be removed completely if needed - it is a small enough looking car that no one will ask you to help them move house; but you can offer to help if you so choose and can fit pretty much any white-good inside with ease. Park anywhere you like - ANYWHERE.

A set of tyres will only set you back around $200 for 4 due to the easiness and availability of the size. Insurance is cheap due to parts availability/compatibility, and registration is cheap due to weight; every single facet of this car is cheap, easy to maintain, durable and will suit anyone looking for a cheap practical car!

10/10, I cannot praise this car enough.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

The only minor complaint I have with this car is that is seems to wear out front tyres quickly. I have 100,000 Km on the clock, and I have had to change the front tyres twice now, and also the back once.

The brakes are brilliant (unlike other posts here suggesting the brakes don't last). When I was changing the tyres at 100,000, the tyre man showed me how much "meat" was on the brakes... wow they had 90% left. Perhaps other people who are going through brakes very quickly should drive a little more gently, and not wear out their brakes as quick.

I am intending to keep the car for at least another 50,000 km, to see how the clutch holds up. I normally get 180,000 out of a clutch, so it would be good to see how long the original clutch in this car lasts.

I would have liked a bigger motor in this vehicle, the 1.3 Ltr is just a bit under-powered.

My friend works for Toyota and he has advised me not to sell it. In 10 years the local Toyota dealer has not seen one Echo come back to the yard on the back of a truck. There had been heaps of Camry's come back, and the upgrade to the Echo, the Yaris, is meant to be an absolute junk of a car. The general comment from the people at Toyota is that the Yaris contains the parts that were not good enough to make it to the Corolla, and therefore the Yaris is not as good as the Echo or the Corolla.

Faults:

Replaced 2 tyres at 30,000 kms. Otherwise, nothing has gone wrong!!

General Comments:

Perfect runabout, comfortable, reliable, handles well, quiet, very economical!

Drove Auckland to Wellington (680) kms each way and used only 1 1/2 tanks of petrol! Very comfortable on the corners.

Faults:

Nothing, but the car keeps draining the battery, but got it fixed.

General Comments:

The car is very economical, and the seats are very comfortable, and it flies, only going down hill, not up them!

Faults:

None. In 8 years of driving.

General Comments:

Great little car.

Engine noise, ride reasonable for this class of car.

No mechanical issues at all.

Reasonable acceleration for a small car, can keep up with cars on the expressway. At 4000rpm, can easily handle hills, overtaking.

Easy to park.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

My daughters car, and she thrashes it. It is very reliable, great in traffic and feels like a shuttle car from the passenger side. But the Toyota reliability just keeps it going.

It is fairly responsive considering it is only a 1.3 litre engine. Keeps up with traffic easily and has a responsive automatic.

A bit noisy in the cabin (hence my shuttle car comment).