Toyota Platz

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This article is about the Echo sedan, for the Echo hatchback, see Toyota Vitz

Toyota Platz

Manufacturer	Toyota
Also called	Toyota Echo Toyota Yaris
Production	1999–2005
Assembly	Toyota City, Japan
Predecessor	Toyota Tercel Toyota Paseo
Successor	Toyota Belta
Class	Subcompact
Body style	4-door sedan 2-door coupé
Layout	FF layout
Platform	Toyota CP platform
Engine	1.5L 108hp I4
Transmission	4-speed automatic 5-speed manual
Wheelbase	93.3 in
Length	163.2 in (1999-2002) 164.8 in (2003-05)
Width	65.4 in
Height	59.4 in
Related	Toyota Vitz
Similar	Daewoo Lanos Kia Rio Suzuki Swift

The Toyota Platz and the Toyota Echo sedan are small vehicles manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation based on the Toyota Vitz, the vehicle's hatchback variant. The first generation car was known as the Platz in Japan and Echo in North America; while the second generation models were renamed Belta and Yaris, respectively.

[edit] First generation (1999–2005)

Introduced in North America in 2000 as a sedan or coupé, The Echo's running gear is shared with the Toyota bB and Ist, sold in the United States as the Scion xA and xB, and the Japan-only Toyota Will Vi. The same CP platform is the base for the Japanese-only Probox and Succeed wagons.

In the United States, the Echo has been a rare flop for Toyota. The initial year of almost 50,000 sales was promising, but after the Echo sold just half that many in 2003, the model was no longer stocked at dealerships. It was an element of Toyota Project Genesis, a failed effort to bring younger buyers to the marque in the United States. Despite poor American sales, it sold in very high volumes in Canada, where smaller cars are much more popular than in the US. In 2003 Toyota pulled deliveries of the Echo to U.S. dealerships, leaving the car available for order only until its end in 2005. This is seen as part of the reason the car's sales were in a sharp decline at the end of its life. The Echo didn't sell well in America partially because some felt it was too slow, being equipped with a 4-inline engine that produces 108 horsepower at its peak.

In Australia, the 1999-2004 Echo was assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 as providing "average" protection for its occupants in the event of a crash.[1]

In some parts of Southeast Asia (not including Hong Kong and Japan), a modified version of the Platz with different body panels is sold under the name Toyota Vios.

[edit] US sales

2000 - 48,876
2001 - 42,464
2002 - 30,859
2003 - 26,167
2004 - 3,593

Pre-facelift Toyota Echo sedan

Engine of a 2001 Toyota Echo

Pre-facelift Echo coupe

Toyota Motor Corporation

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