THE Echo dashboard is a unique design, featuring a centrally mounted digital instrument pod and up to seven storage areas (the upper portion of the dual glovebox is not available when the passenger airbag is optioned). Toyota claims the instrument binnacle is a safety feature because it reduces the time required to look away from the road to the speedometer in the case of the speedo that's true, however, the bar-type tachometer is not as easily read. The characters for the speedo and the like are displayed in a fluorescent green colour, with the images projected onto a mirror to give the impression of depth. It actually looks as if the instruments are set in the bonnet, rather than the dash. Design features of the two-tone dash include four rotating "eyeball" vents and large, easy-to-handle rotary ventilation controls.