Cars - Toyota Vitz

Home > Listing Index > Cars > Toyota Vitz

	Cars - Toyota Vitz

The Toyota Vitz, Toyota Ractis, and Toyota Belta are the current models of a small subcompact car in Japan launched by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999. Vitz is the name used in Japan for 3- and 5-door hatchbacks, Belta for sedans and Ractis for a small, now obselete minivan. In Europe and Central and South America it is sold as the Yaris. For North America, Toyota renamed the car ECHO until mid-2006, at which time it will be replaced with the new model of Belta, and will be named the same as Europe and the other part of Central and South America, the Yaris.

The name Vitz came from German word 'witz', which means 'wit', 'witticism', or 'gag' in English.

First generation (1999-2005)

The Yaris went on sale in Europe early in 1999. The Platz was sold in North America first in 2000 under the name of Echo and available only as sedan with 2 or 4 doors. However, after the design of the European Yaris hatchback was slightly refreshed in February 2003, its slightly modified version went on sale in Canada for the 2004 model year as the Echo Hatchback, but was not sold in the United States. The Yaris was voted European Car of the Year for 2000.

Instead of conventional instruments, the hatchback models Yaris and Echo utilized digital instruments which are mounted in the center of the dashboard. The US and Canadian Echo (and the Yaris T Sport) have a conventional speedometer but it is still mounted in the center of the dashboard.

The European Yaris was initially available with two gasoline-powered 4-cylinder 1.0 L and 1.3 L engines with Toyota's VVT-i technology, with the "warm hatch" 1.5 L T Sport following in 2001. After the 2003 facelift, a 1.4 L D4-D diesel engine offering 75bhp was also included in the lineup. This diesel engine is also licensed to BMW for use in their MINI One D model, but was later replaced by PSA's 1.6 HDI engine, also seen in the Peugeot 407, Ford Focus and Volvo S40.

The European Yaris T-Sport (Vitz RS in Japan) version was introduced in 2001 and is powered by a 1.5 L engine, which also powers the North American Echo models and the Asian Vios models, as well as the Scion xA. The 1.5 litre T Sport is marketed as more fun to drive than the base models because of a sportier suspension and extra power compared to the 1.3 L model.

An interesting addition to the Yaris range came in 2000 with the Yaris Verso, a small MPV which used the same running gear as the conventional hatchback, but was designed to have an even more practical interior. In Japan, the model bore, to English ears, the unusual name of Funcargo. The model was discontinued in 2004.

The running gear is shared with the Toyota bB and Ist, sold in the United States as the Scion xA and xB, and with the Japan-only Toyota Will Vi. The same CP platform is the base for Probox and Succeed Japan-only wagons. In Asia (excluding Hong Kong and Japan), a modified version of the Platz sedan was sold under the name Vios.

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 product 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.

The Echo sold in very high volumes in Canada, where smaller cars are much more popular than in the USA. Sales were so high that Toyota introduced the 3 and 5-door hatchback models to the Canadian Toyota lineup for the 2004 model year. They are sold as the Echo Hatchback and look almost identical to the European Yaris, but with a larger bumper to meet Canadian safety standards.

Second generation (2005–)

Toyota released a second generation Vitz in Japan in 2004. The Platz has been replaced by the Toyota Belta; the FunCargo has been replaced by the Ractis in October 2005.

The European, Australasian and Canadian markets saw the second generation Yaris at the end of 2005. In the Australian and North American markets the car was sold as "Yaris" for the first time. The production North American 2007 Toyota Yaris was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2006.

The 4-cylinder 1.0 VVT-i engine was replaced by the 3-cylinder engine which can also be found in the Toyota Aygo and Daihatsu Sirion. The 1.3 litre was revised to offer slightly more power, and the 1.4 D-4D got a 15bhp boost to 90bhp. The Yaris became the first car in its sector to offer nine airbags.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Toyota Vitz ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Toyota Vitz; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Cars - Toyota Vitz

First generation (1999-2005)

Second generation (2005–)

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay