What they said when the Toyota Aygo was new… (May 16 2005 )
THE Aygo - pronounced I-go - is Toyota's first city car in Europe and goes on sale here in July with prices expected to start below £7,000.
The Czech-built babe will be one of the shortest four-seaters on the market at 3.4 metres but, with its wheels-in-corners design, wide stance and good headroom, it offers a surprising amount of cabin room.
It's also a little economic miracle, its three-cylinder one-litre petrol engine returning over 50mpg in town and more than 60mpg on average - one wonders what the Peugot-Citroen-sourced diesel will give when it arrives next year - and that is allied to a 1E insurance rating, cheap service and repair costs and extremely low CO2 emissions.
Add in Toyota's usual build quality and reliability and it has the makings of a big winner, especially among the younger buyers who are its principal target.
With that in mind, the Aygo is quite a funky-looking car, with its broad face and distinctive rear end which features eye-catching bold haunches and a bubbly lights cluster.
The car will be available in three and five-door forms, both versions sharing the same profile but, obviously, with different features.
The first offers very big and wide-opening front doors and has a good sliding seat system to make entry and exit simple for the rear-seat passengers. The small rear windows, giving an almost aeroplane feel, are fixed.
In five-door form, the doors become good-sized and the rear windows are bigger and have catch-opening.
Both versions have a cabin design that continues the youthful and characterful theme, with enduring sharkskin-style plastics, nice upholstery, metallic facings for the radio/CD and a bulging pod for the speedo, built on to the steering column so that it is always visible no matter what height you set the steering wheel.
This adjustment facility compensates for the lack of any height variation of the seats and comfort levels are good.
The Aygo handles well, too, with the progressive electric power steering very well judged, beautifully light in town but positive on the open road.
Curiously, Toyota opted to show off its city car almost exclusively on country roads, presumably taking the in-town agility as a given.
Certainly, its size and nimbleness - not forgetting a 4.7m turning radius - should make it a joy in urban tight spots.
And the country roads did prove the Aygo has fair capabilities beyond the city walls.
The little engine may not offer great acceleration but it is sprightly enough and, on a short, linking motorway stretch, demonstrated it wasn't embarrassed by the pace.
Okay, long hill climbs will find it out but generally it provides satisfactory power and pull in a lightweight car. The ride is a little unsettled over worn surfaces but there's nothing wrong with its certainty through bends.
Standard fittings include the latest-generation Bosch ABS with electronic brake force distribution and 14in wheels.
The newcomer arrives in three trim levels, Aygo, Aygo+ and Sport and the entry model also offers, in safety measures, two front airbags, Toyota's excellent MICS (Minimum Intrusion Cabin Structure) system and ventilated front disc brakes.
The Aygo+ will probably be the biggest seller, and this includes electric front windows, side airbags, remote central locking and upgraded sound system, while the Sport adds front foglights, alloys and a tachometer pod.
Both the higher grade versions have split folding rear seats - there's a one-piece bench in the basic Aygo - and air conditioning is available as an option at these levels, The options list also includes a Navigation pack.
The folding back seats might prove the most useful measure because, like all city cars, the boot in the regular set-up is minimal. However, in-cabin stowage facilities are quite good and there are also drinks holders.
On sale on July 1, the Aygo is a chic, well-built highly-economical little car which, I suspect, will appeal to empty-nesters just as much as those targeted young buyers - echoes of the first Mini - while families may take to it as a second car.
The projected annual UK sales of 13,000 could prove conservative.
Words: John Scantlebury
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