My first car was a Toyota Paseo. Once I saved up enough money for an aftermarket exhaust kit another fellow driver failed to give way and I was forced to bid farewell to my automotive cherry popper.
A huge shadow loomed over... Enter the naturally aspirated R33 Nissan Skyline GTS. An entry level R33 sports coupe lacking the doubled edged sword that is the High Capactiy Actively Controlled Steering (HICAS). It drove like a beast. It felt like a tank. After fitting an aftermarket Xforce exhaust, it turned heads to say the least. But after awhile, costs seemed to stack. Fuel was getting expensive, maintenance grew and after focasting my budget; a lot of the costs came from the car...
So I was in the market of something more economical.. But I didn't want to lose the joy of zipping in a sports car. The first few cars that came to mind was the Toyota Starlet GT, Suzuki Swift GTi and the Toyota Echo Sportivo. I wanted something different. I wanted a sleeper. A car that looks totally pedestrian but under the hood a samurai. The Starlet GT and Swift GTI were crossed from the list.
After doing some research on potential mods that you can do to an Echo, it made my choice clearer and clearer. One major aftermarket part that caught my eye at the time was the Blitz Supercharger. Could you imagine a supercharged Echo? How unique would it be!
via BLITZ
Unfortunately Sportivo Echos were quite rare. Many of which had already been phased out by its bigger brother the Yaris (here in Oz). I considered a Yaris but with my student budget, I could not justify the huge cost of a brand new car. Then, after months of searching.. I found one!
The current owner was great. Fully serviced with log books and it was still under warranty! ZOMG! As I looked through the log books the maintenance activities were positively extensive; clean more of this and add extra attention to that. General services costed $200-$350! That's one owner that took total pride in thier car. Ofcourse there was a downside... The owner had a dog.
via Pixar Wikia
But I don't mind dogs.
After a test drive, haggling and brushing the fur from my shirt, she was finally mine! So here are the standard specifications taken from GoAuto and the all knowing Wikipedia:
Engine:
1NZ-FE 1.495-litre VVT-i DOHC 16-valve front-mounted transverse all-alloy inline four-cylinder
Power: 80kW @ 6000rpm (appox 107.3 HP)
Torque: 145Nm @ 4200rpm
Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Bore x stroke: 75mm x 84
Transmission:
Five speed manual
Suspension:
Front: independent by MacPherson struts, coul springs, anti-roll bar
Rear: trailing arm torsion beam, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Steering:
Power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Turning circle: 9.8 metres
Turns lock to lock: 3.1
Dimensions:
Length: 3635mm
Width: 1660mm
Height: 1510mm
Wheelbase: 2370mm
Front track: 1440mm
Rear track: 1420mm
Kerb weight: 910kg
Standard Kit:
- Bodykit
- Front foglamps
- Chrome tailpipe extension
- 14-inch alloy wheels
- Sports front seats
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift
- Four-speaker CD stereo
- Power mirrors and windows
- Remote central locking
- Digital instrumentation
- 60/40 split-fold and slide-adjustable rear seat
- Driver's airbag
Some cool things I've noted:
- The sportivo version has the 1.5 litre engine (80kW) as compared with the standard 1.3 litre (63kW) economotor.
- "Sportivo" is sports banner for Toyota Australia while in other countries its equivalent are the "RS" and "T-Sport".
- The Echo is actually called a Vitz in Japan and Yaris in other countries.
So why did I chose the Echo Sportivo?
- Economy
- Blitz Supercharger
- 910kg
- Unique
- Did I mention Blitz Supercharger?
What an awesome little monster! BANZAI!
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