The Verso echoes that other small car

By DAVID LINKLATER

Toyota New Zealand gave its top-selling Echo supermini a purposeful edge with the launch of the warmed-over TS version last month.

Now the company is putting practical matters first with an Echo-based mini-MPV called Verso.

An example of the quirky looking five-door was spotted last week by Automotive News in Auckland.

It could have been a used import - except that it wore an Echo Verso badge on its tailgate, marking it as an Australia and New Zealand model. In Japan the vehicle is called the Funcargo, while in Europe it wears the Yaris Verso monicker.

It is TNZ's policy not to comment on future model releases, but a company spokesman confirmed that the vehicle was an evaluation unit "being assessed by a number of Toyota customers."

He emphasised that no decision had been made on the Verso's Kiwi future as yet and that there was no significance in the Echo badges on the evaluation car: "Frankly, that was a surprise to me. It's a European specification vehicle, but I understand that the cars can come from the factory in wearing any of the badges used worldwide. Since this particular vehicle was destined for New Zealand, it got Echo badges. There's nothing more to it than that."

Perhaps TNZ is finding it tough to make a decision on the Verso because it's such a hard car to categorise. Part hatchback, part people mover, the Verso is 100mm taller and 250mm longer than the Echo five-door. An extra 130mm in the wheelbase and squared-off styling endows it with van-like interior volume - even more than Renault's Scenic, according to claims made by Toyota in Europe.

The 1.3 and 1.5-litre engines, basic platform and suspension systems are carried over from the standard Echo, but no body panels are shared.

The Echo is about 120kg heavier than the Echo hatchback depending on model, but is fitted with a thicker anti-roll bar in an effort to maintain the model's highly regarded handling abilities.

The dashboard continues the central instrument binnacle theme from the standard Echo, but the design is slightly different. Toyota has also found room to add to the Echo's already-generous array of cabin storage spaces.

The super versatile interior layout features five individually mounted seats and a completely flat cargo floor. The outside-rear chairs can be folded and stored in compartments underneath the front seats, while the narrow centre section can be collapsed and used as a tray table, or removed completely and attached to a special mounting in the boot.

The Verso can even be used as a three-seater if needed. The rear-seat passenger can then enter and exit through the side-hinged tailgate, which is fitted with an internal release handle.

In Europe the Verso is priced at a similar level to high-specification versions of the Echo hatchback. In New Zealand terms the clever little wagon could be in showrooms for less than $30,000.