2014 Toyota Aygo : Euro-hip city hatch unveiled
Looking as though it has a big, black ‘X’ stamped on its face, the new generation Toyota Aygo has debuted at the Geneva motor show just after its rival Renault Twingo and twins-under-the-skin Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108 were shown.
Said to be styled off a design theme called ‘J-Playful’ – which in Japanese youth culture denotes strong and outspoken shapes and forms – about 10 panels of the three- and five-door sub-light hatchback are interchangeable by owners.
Toyota claims it wanted to address the issue of sub-light hatchbacks not being focused on desirability and equipment, which are “treated as secondary”.
“There seems to be an implicit agreement amongst vehicle planners, stylists and engineers that drivers of small cars don’t spend much time behind the wheel anyway, and that therefore they won’t mind having to compromise,” stated Aygo chief engineer David Terai. “I simply cannot believe that this is true. I am convinced that these drivers – just like any othe – want a car that they can be proud of , and I took it as my task to create such a car.”
The second generation Aygo sub-light hatchback is 25mm longer than its predecessor, at 3455mm, and despite overall height being reduced by 5mm, interior headroom increases by 7mm. Similarly, the wheelbase is unchanged at 2340mm but the length of the cabin has increased by 9mm, and luggage capacity swells by 29 litres to 168L thans to a 75mm-wider load area.
Highlight of the funky interior is a seven-inch colour touchscreen, called the x-touch multimedia system, featuring MirrorLink smartphone connectivity and app integration.
The Toyota Aygo retains the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine as before, shifting the 840-905kg three- and five-door hatchback range from zero to 100km/h in a claimed 14.2 to 15.5 seconds.
Consumption in a new Eco version falls to 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres, down from the 4.1 and 4.2L/100km of regular models.
In addition to the standard five-speed manual transmission, an optional ‘x-shift’ automated-manual transmission is available with three modes – Easy Mode (easy mode), Manual (M) or Reverse (R). The auto mode is claimed to ‘creep’ on light lifts of the brake pedal like a regular automatic tranmission would, and is equipped with a ‘kickdown’ function aksi like a regular auto.
CarAdvice has contact Toyota Australia about the possibility the Aygo may come to Australia.
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