Toyota Vitz/Echo 2001 - 03 ish

[wde_bdy]

Could sell you a Demio.....

[Leon]

c'mon, what did he do to you?

[wde_bdy]

I heard he wanted to join NZ Demios dot com, thought I would help him out. We have a meet on at Taupo next weekend.

Callum

[Willdat?]

Demios aren't that bad. And also damn good value, ours had 20,000 km when purchased, was manual, and cost $5500 from a yard. 20,000 kms later it has only cost oil, filters and petrol...

[Snoozin]

I did suggest a Demio to her, on inspection she's not a fan. Don't look right, or something. You know how girls are.

She ideally wants a Swift but they're beyond budget.

[Emz]

I have a 2000 Vitz. It's the 1L vvti, auto, 2 dr.
It's amazing on gas $60 = 400km, easy to drive, park it anywhere, never have to worry about it being stolen.
Trade-off: gutless as hell
But I LOVE it to bits I would recommend!

[Snoozin]

We took an 01 Echo 1300 manual out for a hoon on Sunday, it's an ok little car I suppose. The driving position feels as if you're perched up on a barstool, and being chucked through corners with gusto is not their strong point - it felt like it was going to fall over, whilst exhibiting terminal understeer.

Still slow as a wet week - this one had done 149km and had a FSH from new as it was once a fleet vehicle. Bluey colour interior wasn't something I enjoyed either.

We're looking at an 04 Hyundai Getz tonight, anyone got experience with these? Seems to be much better value than the Vitz/Echo's are, goddamn Toyota tax.

[sergei]

We're looking at an 04 Hyundai Getz tonight, anyone got experience with these? Seems to be much better value than the Vitz/Echo's are, goddamn Toyota tax.

They are far worse than Vitz/Echo.

Look at Ist 1.5L, no excessive understeer, good pickup (does not feel gutless at all), much nicer interior than Vitz.

[RS13]

Mother in law has a Getz. Simple, cheap transport. Interior looks and feels plasticky, the exterior clearcoat has faded but otherwise it has been pretty reliable. My missus reckons its' nice to drive, I thought it was pretty gutless but then what you pay for in lack of power you get back in economy. Not exactly the best handling car either but then not many econoboxes are!

[RS13]

We're looking at an 04 Hyundai Getz tonight, anyone got experience with these? Seems to be much better value than the Vitz/Echo's are, goddamn Toyota tax.

They are far worse than Vitz/Echo.

Look at Ist 1.5L, no excessive understeer, good pickup (does not feel gutless at all), much nicer interior than Vitz.

I totally agree, my grandfather has a 1.5l IST, top cars with surprisingly firm suspension and decent pickup for a small engine. However at a guess I'd say that almost all of the ones on trademe are over the OP's budget. Same with Jazz/Fits, the manual ones seem to be slightly more expensive than the autos.

What about an EK or later Civic? Mitsi Colt/Cedia?

[TOYO-GT-T]

We have the RS Vitz and besides the "raised" seats, I think its got to be up there with one of the best cars I have owned.

Performance wise it can really move (1500vvti),but to my surprise the other day it has a full TRD exhaust system - from memory I think its 2inch to 1/8inch rear section - could be the other way around.

Petrol - my partner drives it to work and its doing c.500k per tank of gas easy - could be higher, not sure as I don't drive it enough. This is motorway driving.

Handing is great, but does have uprated suspension compared to non RS versions. I can easily nail it through the tight back roads - does have Direzza tyres on it. Tein springs have arrived and going in ASAP.

Body looks fairly tidy with factory bodykit and spot lights, still looks like it sits quite high from rear.

Interior is tidy with firm sports front seats from factory, white face dials. Seats do sit high, but I have no idea how to replace them - so will leave as is.

Cant comment on brakes, but they do what they do, but I think better pads for sure.

Dependent on your budget I would stretch for a higher k's RS with a service record - you will love it.

I got my one for a good price I think, 5spd manual, 45,000 ks, straight body, TRD exhaust, Direzza Tyres,after market globes and japan service history papers if you can read japanese Put it through a VTNZ inspection and it flew through with no faults. Purchase price was $9,700.

People might argue we could have got this or that - but, its perfect for what we want as we were trying to find the balance between performance and economy.

PS For your budget, I have no doubt you can purchase an RS for $6k with higher ks. There was a 2 door 1500cc Vitz which sold on trademe last week for $7500. It had 100k's on the clock, HKS coil overs, cusco strut braces and rear sway bar, stereo system, 16inch gold advan wheels, air intake and lots of other goodies.

[Snoozin]

We're looking at an 04 Hyundai Getz tonight, anyone got experience with these? Seems to be much better value than the Vitz/Echo's are, goddamn Toyota tax.

They are far worse than Vitz/Echo.

Look at Ist 1.5L, no excessive understeer, good pickup (does not feel gutless at all), much nicer interior than Vitz.

Ist is not available manual. Understeer isn't really going to be a problem, this car will be travelling less than 20km a day on 50km/h city streets to and from work and a few other little trips.

We felt it was a better car for the money than the Echo/Vitz's we've looked at, we've committed to it, 2004 Getz 1.5 manual, 130km, very tidy order for $4400. Interior is a bit plasticky for sure, however the NCP10 Echo interior isn't much better and feels much more dated.

Spoke to a couple of guys who service fleet and rental vehicles, and the Getz's seem to be a fairly solid bet in reliability. Goes better than the outgoing Mirage, handling is a moot point since it's destined for city driving only. Well equipped and pretty spacious inside too.

[Simon K]

City driving only? Why waste time with a manual...get a normal Toyota auto and simply service it regularly.

Caribs cruised over 300k now with three transflushes and never missed a beat. If they didn't go to cvt trans for current models I would definately buy another.