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Toyota may (I'm not sure?) still have the patent-rights to the Echo name, which it used a number of years ago for the Tercel's replacement.
Then they should just call it the EcoSport (eek-o-sport). It's a pet peeve, but I hate when they spell things one way and have to tell you not to pronounce it how it's spelled.
Then they should just call it the EcoSport (eek-o-sport). It's a pet peeve, but I hate when they spell things one way and have to tell you not to pronounce it how it's spelled.
Anyway, I'm off topic.
I'm admittedly not a moderator, but I don't see you as very far off-topic. We're talking about the 2018 EcoSport (American-spec), and you brought up what is IMO a perfectly legitimate question on the name, even if (?) Toyota still has the rights to the "Echo" name.
Compare this to the Encore which was mentioned, SO much better.
The Encore, along with some other Buicks, got a new, smaller grille last year, which is less In-Your-Face than the old chrome-waterfall. The Regals will get a similar revision this fall.
Well, ironically, that is one of the few things that (at least on paper) I criticized the EcoSport's design on....the Mickey-Mouse 1.0L turbo three engine that all but the top-line SES version is stuck with. I say "on paper" because, traditionally, I leave final judgement for my review or sample. Sometimes, engines that look Wimpy on paper are actually stronger on the road than their feeble numbers would suggest....weight, transmission/final-drive gearing, ECU programming, and a number of other factors come in.
At least there's a choice. Even though it's an expensive choice at that, but I can if I wanted to.
I don't believe that the high hood on the EcoSport is because of pedestrian impact requirements. This crossover is built on the same sub-compact platform as, and shares engines with the Ford Fiesta. If the Fiesta does not require such a high hood, the EcoSport won't. It is all due to styling.
To me, it looks like Ford placed a much, much taller body (seems to be 9 to 10 inches from the specifications I could find) on the Fiesta underpinnings (including the relatively small wheels & tires of the Fiesta), leaving us with a sub-compact crossover that has its proportions that look all wrong -- extremely tall, short, narrow body on tiny wheels & tires.