Echo

Toyota introduced this subcompact nameplate at the turn of the millennium as an entry-level model aimed at buyers who wanted maximum interior space and efficiency in a small footprint. In Toyota’s North American history materials, the car is shown in two first-generation phases: 2000–2002 and 2003–2005, which reflects a mid-cycle update rather than a separate revival. Toyota’s global lineage records the nameplate’s initial launch in August 1999 in some markets, but the U.S. and Canadian model-year history places its first marketed year at 2000. The Echo was best known as a simple, lightweight sedan, later joined in some markets by hatchback body styles, and it was part of Toyota’s effort to compete in the inexpensive commuter-car segment with a roomy cabin and straightforward mechanicals. In North America, the nameplate ended after the 2005 model year and was replaced by Toyota’s Yaris in the following model cycle.