About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Toyota Vitz

Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOY : Toyota Vitz

This article is about the Echo/Yaris hatchback, for the Echo/Yaris sedan, see Toyota Belta

The Toyota Vitz, Toyota Echo hatchback, and Toyota Yaris hatchback are the current models of a small subcompact car in Japan launched by Toyota in 1999. Vitz is the name used in Japan for 3 and 5 door hatchbacks. In Europe and the Americas, it is sold as the Yaris. The vehicle was known as the Echo until 2005 in Canada and 2006 in the United States.

The name Vitz came from German word witz, which means "wit," "witticism," or "gag" in English. The name Yaris combines the German expression "ja," which is similar in meaning to "yes," with Charis, a Greek goddess who symbolized beauty and elegance.[#endnote_Yahoo] Coincidentally the chief designer for the Yaris is Greek.

Contents

First generation (1999–2005)

The Yaris went on sale in Europe early in 1999. After the freshening of the European Yaris hatchback in February 2003, a slightly modified version went on sale in Canada for the 2004 model year as the Echo hatchback, but the hatchback was not sold in the United States, where the Toyota Echo sedan was the lone model. The Yaris was voted European Car of the Year for 2000.

Instead of conventional instruments, the Yaris and Echo hatchbacks utilized digital instruments which were mounted in the center of the dashboard. The Canadian Echo (and the Yaris T Sport) had a conventional speedometer but it was 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 75 hp was also included in the lineup. This diesel engine is also licensed to BMW for use in their MINI One D model.

The European Yaris T-Sport (Vitz RS in Japan) version was introduced in 2001 and was powered by a 1.5 L engine, which also powered the Echo and the Vios, as well as the Scion xA. The 1.5 L T Sport was 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 the name of Fun Cargo. The model was replaced by the Ractis 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 the Japanese-only Probox and Succeed wagons.

The Echo sold in very high volumes in Canada, where smaller cars are much more popular than in the US. 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 the second generation Vitz in Japan in 2004, while the Fun Cargo was replaced by the Ractis in October 2005.

The European, Australasian, Mexican 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 L was revised to offer slightly more power, and the 1.4 D-4D got a 15 PS boost to 90 PS (66 kW). The Yaris became the first car in its sector to offer nine airbags.

The Canadian version of 2006 Toyota Yaris is available in 3 and 5 door models named Yaris Hatchback, running on 1.5 L 4 cylinder VVT-i engine rated 106 hp and 103 ft·lbf torque. 3-door CE and 5-door LE versions come with 14-inch wheels, while RS versions have 15-inch alloy wheels with stardard antilock brake and electronic brake force distribution (EBD).

The American version of 2007 Toyota Yaris is mostly the same as the Canadian version. The 3-door model is called the Yaris Liftback. The 5-door model is not sold in the United States, presumably to avoid internal competition with the xA and xB. CE, LE, RS packages in the Canadian hatchback cars are replaced by more modular convenience, power, all-weather guard packages. The Yaris Sedan is also available as the Yaris S, which has a standard convenience package. However, the power package on Yaris Sedan only offers alloy wheels as an option.

Notes

  1. ↑  [Yahoo! Answers: The origin of the word Yaris]

External links

Advertisements

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: