Echoes of Europe in new Toyota

Talk about international - the Echo is a Japanese small car styled in Belgium by Sotiris Kovos, a British-trained Greek. DAVID LINKLATER meets him.


With all due respect to his employers, Sotiris Kovos does not believe that the new European-designed Toyota Echo could have been styled in Japan.

"There is a lightweight feeling in Japan, but in Europe there is solidity and a lot of history. Environment is very important and there are strong European elements in the Echo."

Kovos, the 33-year-old Greek responsible for the exterior design of Toyota's seminal supermini, has had the world on his shoulders for the past three years.

Echo, already the subject of rave reviews overseas and the European Car of the Year for 2000, is charged with changing Toyota's fortunes in Western Europe, where the Japanese giant currently claims a dismal three percent of the market.

And Kovos, working from the company's Brussels-based European Office of Creation (EPOC), was the man charged with giving the newcomer a truly European face when his design concept was chosen for the Echo project in 1997.

Kovos, a 1993 graduate of London's Royal College of Art, claims EPOC could not have been better located for the task.

"Belgium is without its own vehicle manufacturing industry, so in many respects it is neutral. EPOC is not directly influenced by the cultures of the north or south of Europe, but can choose from either as it pleases."

The Echo's predecessor, the Starlet, was desperately bland. A repeat performance of that car's anti-style for the Echo would have been disaster for such an important new model.

"We did not want to build an appliance," explains Kovos. "Instead, we set out to devise a style that would create emotion, a warm feeling. We wanted people to love it. Or, if they must, hate it. That is better than being indifferent."

Emotion was part of the reason that Kovos followed the Echo project to Japan in 1997, to work on the overall package with chief engineer Yasuhiko Ichihashi and his team.

"I believe a designer has to take his feelings into a car. So we felt that, to keep the original design feeling, it was important to follow the project right through."

Kovos says that he took the most inspiration from Germany for the styling of the Echo. "In Germany, form follows function. In Italy, for example, it is often the other way around. And because Echo had to offer such functionality, a Germanic design represented the best balance of practicality and strength.

"The front has a strong theme, with big lights. They are impressive and have a feeling of luxury. The thick A-pillar is unique in the Toyota range. We have a massive bonnet, the sides are very robust, the roof is dynamic and there is a thick C-pillar. A feature I particularly like is the main character line and large shoulder. It creates an impression of quality and simplicity of design."

Kovos is emerging as a major force at Toyota. Aside from the Echo, he is responsible for the MR2 replacement, due in New Zealand this year, and the Lexus coupe concept revealed at last year's Tokyo Motor Show. Does he have styling favourites among other manufacturers?

"Among sports cars I think the Aston Martin DB7 is a beautiful design. I also like the Porsche Boxster and Audi A6. For small cars I like the Fiat Punto."

For now, though, Kovos's work with the Echo has brought Toyota the best of all worlds. The new hatchback is rapidly emerging as a volume-selling model with international appeal.

"It is important that the strong character of the design means that Echo is acceptable in world markets, including Japan," says Kovos.

"Japanese companies are in fact quite brave. Japanese buyers will accept European design more so than the other way around. That is why Echo is perhaps right for its time."