MOTORING
Aygo steps up the fun factor
T
he new Aygo, revealed at the Geneva motor
show, is another example of Toyota’s
commitment to build ever-better cars that
catch the eye and are genuinely fun to drive. A
distinctive and characterful design, dubbed
playful, and a wealth of customisation options
show how Toyota has made fun a key element in
crafting its new city car.
At the same time new Aygo builds on the
qualities that made the original such a success
throughout its lifetime, keeping the car compact,
nimble and reliable, with genuinely low running
costs. The latter are supported by revision to its
award-winning three-cylinder 1.0-litre VVT-i
petrol engine to secure class-leading fuel economy
and CO2 emissions.
Compact packaging was fundamental to the
design new Aygo to maintain its town-friendly
handling. The overall length has increased by just
25mm to 3,455mm, which means it keeps the
class-leading compactness of the previous model,
and although front headroom has been increased
64 April/May 2014
by 7mm, vehicle height has actually been reduced
by 5mm to 1,460mm, supporting the car’s
aerodynamic efficiency. Both front and rear tracks
have been widened by 8mm.
New Aygo may be compact and characterful in
appearance, but it’s robust and has real street
presence too. Its solidity comes from a strong form
which gives the design its core volume. But, to
introduce a playful element, the designers used the
concept of a soft object breaking through the hard
shell of the design, creating break lines and giving
Aygo its distinctive frontal X-graphic. This spreads
outwards across the surface of the bodywork, and
takes in all the vehicle’s main external features,
including upper and lower grilles, headlamps,
foglamps, and even mirrors and side glazing.
New Aygo will be offered with a five-speed
manual transmission or optional new x-shift, a
much-improved automated manual transmission
that can be used in fully automatic mode, or with
manual gear selection using paddle shifts or the
shift lever itself.