ET's a little monster under the bonnet

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Toyota calls its latest Echo model "ET". The abbreviation has nothing to do with a small-fry alien who is told to phone home. It means simply Echo Turbo.

But ET will do nicely, because ET, like Steven Spielberg's famous creation, has special powers.

What is it? Where's it from? Why is it here? What will it cost? Will it bite? You bet it will bite. Right down to the bone in the bum of the driver who plays silly buggers.

But more on that later. ET is a three-door, pocket-rocket prototype, with sports chassis/seats/drilled pedals/skirts/spoilers/alloy wheels/suspension/brakes/gearbox and powered by a turbocharged version of the 1.5-litre, variable-valve engine found in the Echo Sport, or ES, a lively if modest performer.

ET is built by Toyota's performance people in Japan. It's here because Toyota New Zealand wants to see if there is a market for it, now that the carmaker is in Formula One and all that.

What it will cost is anyone's guess. Somewhere between $35,000 and $40,000 has been suggested. Toyota won't say.

What it will say is that ET is "deceptively fast". Sure is. Its boosted engine produces 110kW at 6000rpm and 196Nm of torque at 4200rpm.

That's 38 per cent more power than ES. But that's the official figure. Performance houses almost always quote power output on the low side.

ET feels much quicker than 110kW. Closer to 120kW - especially with the turbocharger on the boil and the 16in tyres scrambling for grip.

And that's in a straight line. Get the turbo ticking over and front-drive ET will wheelspin in first, second and third on a wet surface. It's a hatchback hooley.

Its power-to-weight ratio comes in here. ET weighs around 1000kg, slightly heavier than ES, but it has a nearly 40 per cent better power-to-weight ratio.

Use its oomph recklessly and you might have to phone home from a hedge. Feed it in judiciously and it will point and grip through the twisty bits like a good gun dog. It brakes like one, too.

ET was using 98 octane fuel. A New Zealand-spec model would use an engine management system for 96 octane.