TOYOTA SEEKS NEW CLOUT IN ENTRY-LEVEL MARKET: ECHO TAKES AIM AT CIVIC, NEON.(Statistical Data Included)

SAN DIEGO - The Echo will replace the Tercel at the bottom of Toyota's lineup. But Toyota hopes its new entry-level subcompact will do more than just make up for lost sales.

The Tercel, which was axed in 1998, tended to be picked by new-car buyers on a wafer-thin budget, regardless of age. With the Echo, Toyota will reach out to a new generation of consumers: people under 30, many of whom don't think much of Toyota, if they think of the company at all.

And Toyota is counting on an eye-catching interior, a spirited engine and a reasonable price to do the trick.

``Critics of small cars say times have changed and that the small-car market is dead. …