[RAVMAN]

I did a little GOOGLING this evening and found this --->

http://www.donlen.com/buildstart_toyota.asp

Donlen is a LARGE fleet management company. The information that caught my eye was it appears the 2006 RAV4 will be available in December 2005, not August as rumored. The really interesting part is they list a 2006 V6 RAV4 available in February of 2006 8)

Viewing the rest of the Toyota info makes me think this Donlen site is accurate, as they list the Celica as being discontinued (true) and the Echo being replaced with the Yaris (true). (The MR2 is also being discontinued at the end of M/Y 2005, but I guess they don't offer it in FLEET sales, as it's not listed on the chart :? )

 

[ron8818]

YAY !!!
POWER !!!
No more 0-60 in like 10.5 Sec.
hahahah VERY GOOD FIND !!!!
I hope it looks good or better then the Rav4.2 ( I hate the Photo chops/shops ) people have done. I might even trade it in my Rolling Buggy Rav4 !! :lol:

 

[Mohit]

all the magazine articles i've read have stated that the 4.3 will come with v6 power so this is a good sign. btw, the echo, yaris and vitz are all the same car.

 

[RAVMAN]

the echo, yaris and vitz are all the same car.

Yes... all the same "platform" (along with the Scion xA/xB), but different sheet metal/lights/etc. The US Echo is in desperate need of an update. IMHO... the Yaris provides this

 

[Mohit]

I just checked the Toyota USA site and i noticed you guys get the uglier Echo sedan body shape only. We own an Echo hatchback which looks a lot better than the sedan. Sorry, what i meant to say before was that the Echo (in Australia), Yaris (in Europe) and Vitz (in Asia) are all the same car...just badged differently.

 

[tankd0g]

We have the echo hatch available in Canada, it's a neat little car but it's way too little for me Snow banks destroy them, hit a curb with one and it's just aobut written off

 

[garfieldgurl]

Yaris in Panama too. So ugly . My sister bought one, but she's happy (the most affordable).

 

[Scott Cummings]

Good find Kelly.

Bit off topic what do you guys think of the new Vitz/Yars/Echo

Though looks like 2/3 Door model has been dropped only 4/5 Door available.

 

[RAVMAN]

Not a car I would buy... but a GREAT improvement over this --->

:roll:

 

[Jeff]

I hope the V6 option is available with a 6-speed stick.

 

[Mohit]

The new Echo looks really good. We have the current Echo (a 2002 model) and it does look better than the current Sedan (which is a bit dumpy looking). The Echos are very economical...we get about 650km from one tank of fuel (45L). Our LandCruiser on the other hand gets the same distance from 145L of fuel (95L and 50L fuel tanks)!

 

[nouse4aname]

Hope they at least match the Saturn Vue's Honda built V6. Have seen a lot of would-be RAV owners go for the Saturn instead because it comes with that Honda engine and a lot of rebate $$$. Though 250 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque is a bit of a lofty goal for the RAV.

So the previous 2.0l did 10+ to 60.
Current 2.3l does it in 8+
New v6 will do it in 7+?

That's quite a change in just a few years.

 

[JMEaT]

My dealership told me that 2005 was the final year of the Echo in the US.

 

[toyota_kitten]

one of the guy's in my scion club has an echo - and he is putting SCION badges on it and puttign xE on teh back LOL i was like - ROCK ON THAT RULES!!!

i liek the echo platform - so small and echonomical! but honestly i like my rav4 better than my scion xB - but im biased - it was my first car.

 

[Airmax97]

haha

I actually thought about removing the toyota badges and putting scion ones and putting on the back Xr or Xj but thought id get flamed for it, what do u guys think about it? i even thought about getting the black/red nice steering wheel they make for scions

 

[Becky J.]

When Scion first announced their xA and xB, I figured the current model Rav 2-door would probably eventually be released as xR or something similar. I think it would've been an excellent fit with the Scion line. I personally think badge engineering, unless it goes crazy like some of the "TRD" Hondas that are out there, isn't an altogether bad thing.

Becky

 

[TOY]

only if i had leased my car... i'd get the v6... but now i'm ditching toyota... hopefully my next car is a audi TT or BMW Z4 or Nissan Z... dang they are all at the same price range... which one should i get.

 

[epitaph]

Move this discussion somewhere else.....I want to read about Rav4 2006 and NOTHING more about the Scion :roll: