The New Toyota Aygo

Urban living requires a certain kind of car that is both practical and easy to park, yet offers a unique, dynamic drive as well as a trendy design. Toyota's brand new AYGO offers all this in a stylish and eco-friendly package. Only 3405 mm long, 1615 mm wide and 1465 mm high, the AYGO is the smallest Toyota ever for Europe.

Its name stems from a combination of the two syllables 'I' and 'go', to symbolise freedom and mobility. The AYGO offers independence for a new European generation. This refers to the type of active and urban individual who likes to just get up and go, taking full advantage of an environment where borders and distances are practically inexistent. Plus, it offers a quality superior to any other car in the sub-B segment. In short, AYGO is about easy, yet dynamic, urban mobility.

The AYGO marks a new approach for Toyota at several levels. It has the potential to attract customers who are younger than the average Toyota buyer. This explains why Toyota expects 80% to 90% of the AYGO customers to be new to the brand. "We see a very positive mutual relationship between AYGO and the Toyota brand", notes Andrea Formica, Toyota Europe's Vice-President of Sales & Marketing. “AYGO brings emotional attributes to Toyota's rational values of superior quality, durability and reliability. The 'AYGO by Toyota' logo featured at the Toyota stand and to be used at dealerships throughout Europe visualises this powerful combination".

In total, 100,000 AYGOs will be produced each year in the Czech Republic.

Vibrant Clarity, a new design philosophy “Japanese culture, or what we like to call the 'J-factor', forms the foundation for Toyota's unique design direction, " Clarity", says Wahei Hirai, Managing Officer of the Toyota Design Center.

'Vibrant Clarity' is the synergy of two distinct sets of values. 'Vibrant' product's forward-looking, innovative nature, and the invigorating feeling the customer gains from interacting with it. 'Clarity' stresses the importance of rationality, as well as the clear symbolism of the concept in the vehicle form.

Rejecting commonly held stereotypes that compact should only mean economical, AYGO re-defines the perceptions of what small can be. Focusing on the fun and enjoyment that only a condensed approach can achieve, the Toyota AYGO defines a new territory, independent of size and cost, by introducing new experiences in small car design.

When designing AYGO, the objective was to purify the essential elements and create value as a completely new compact car with simple and lucid styling.

The front design, serving as the new face of Toyota, features a dynamic three-dimensional form that starts with the Toyota badge and is intended to enhance the forward-looking, dynamic nature of the brand and vehicle as well as increase the public's familiarity with the Toyota brand.

The interior design intends to reflect the same fun and enjoyment as the exterior. The instrument panel is compact and two-tone, to enhance the unexpectedly wide and open space. The cylinder shaped heater control unit, and simple, modern meter graphics add to the feeling of fun and enjoyment, inviting the user to look and touch, and creating a new sense of interaction between user and vehicle.

Interior and practicality The AYGO's interior was developed to accommodate passengers of all sizes, even the very tall. Most innovatively, meters are mounted on the steering column so that the position changes according to the steering column angle, thus improving visibility for all drivers. The AYGO impresses with the shortest overhangs among direct competitors, allowing for a much better use of interior space. The distance between front and rear hip-point is also the biggest in comparison with direct competitors.

There are plenty of handy storage spaces, including 4 door-pockets, 8 trays, 3 cup-holders, a coin case, and large vanity mirrors.

The audio system is available in 2 specifications with a standard CD player. All units come with a connection socket that allows an external device like an MP3 or mini-disc player to be plugged in. This means the driver will have complete freedom to enjoy his/her favourite urban tunes everywhere, whether driving around the coolest places in town or taking their AYGO beyond city limits. There's an AYGO for everyone

Superior quality in safety Toyota aims at achieving the highest impact protection score in the A segment with the AYGO. The car features Toyota's own Minimal Intrusion Cabin System (MICS), a safety structure that effectively reduces the risk of serious injury during impact.

In addition, the most modern passive safety features are available in the AYGO: eight airbags (front, side and curtain), seatbelt pretensioners for front seats, passenger airbag cut-off switch and ISOFIX system.

Although a rare feature in the segment, the AYGO offers on all its versions a seatbelt warning system (with buzzer reminder) as standard.

Toyota has aimed at achieving the segment's best pedestrian protection with the AYGO. An example is the energy-absorbing structure, adopted in the front bumper reinforcement. Once deformed, the structure will absorb the impact energy, minimising the level of leg injury.

Braking performance benefits from the latest-generation ABS system, also featuring Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD).

Solid and clever The Toyota AYGO is a compact city car that rivals higher-segment vehicles in many areas. For instance, it features a high content of high-tensile steel, and most of the bodyshell adopts galvanised steel. In addition, the rocker panel cross-section has been enlarged, which not only favours a more solid appearance but also provides better anti-chipping protection.

An all-new, 1.0-litre VVT-i 3-cylinder petrol engine is the AYGO's star powertrain, boasting 68 DIN hp (50 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 93 Nm or torque at 3,600 rpm. At only 69 kg, it is also the lightest engine available on the car market today.

It boasts class-leading torque and power among engines of the same size and, in many cases, beats engines of higher displacement. In addition, this engine allows the AYGO to achieve record-low fuel consumption and emissions in the petrol A and sub-B segments (4.6 l/100 km, 109 g/km CO2, both combined target figures).

A revolutionary engine mount system is used to drastically lower the amount of noise and vibration. Instead of the conventional 3-mount layout, the AYGO features an engine mount on each side, which draws an imaginary line intercepting the engine's centre of gravity. Furthermore, the third engine mount (placed at the bottom of the engine compartment) is replaced by a torque rod that efficiently suppresses the engine's rotational movement when idling or accelerating.

Alternative to the 1.0-litre petrol is a PSA Peugeot Citroën-supplied diesel engine, available from early 2006, which develops 54 DIN hp. This unit is derived from the already recognised 1.4-litre 70 DIN hp unit used by PSA, and the reduction in power allows it to evidence improved reliability, simultaneously clearing EURO IV emissions.

Multi-mode Manual Transmission (M-MT), Toyota's manual transmission driven directly by electric motors, is now widely available in the AYGO. The system has automatic clutch operation and offers the choice of automatic mode (E) and manual mode (M), to suit the driver's needs. It provides a less expensive alternative to automatic transmissions, making life in city traffic much easier.

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