By: Dave Abrahams
Prospecton, Durban - Industry mavens say South African car buyers are spoilt, that we demand luxury features on budget vehicles.
Certainly the A-segment market in this country is one of the most competitive in the business. To stand out in this crowded marketplace you need to be competitive pricewise - that goes without saying - and you need a car with a solid feel and distinctive (not to say quirky) styling.
And that's where Toyota has gone with the second generation of the Aygo hatch, released in South Africa this week, more than a year after its world debut at the 2014 Geneva show. But that’s not altogether a bad thing, as we get the benfit of a minor update earlier this year, including a more upmarket sound system.
The Aygo is by far the most Eurocentric of Toyota's line-up, as well it should be; it's built in Kolin in the Czech Republic, on a production line shared with the Peugeot 108 and the Citroen C1. Yet there's more than a hint of Japanese Manga culture in the X-shaped grille, double-bubble roof and oddly kinked waistline.
The “X” motif extends all the way to the base of the A pillars, and down to the edges of the bumper, framing the central air-dam. There's another X in the rear bumper, below a one-piece black glass tailgate.
Even more distinctive are the two-tone “X-Play” derivatives. The X-Play Black combines a black roof with either red or white body colour, while the X-Play Silver has a dark grey body under a silver roof.
OFF-BEAT PERSONA
Toyota is keen to exploit the car's off-beat persona, aiming it at “a more expressive customer, who wants his car to be an extension of his personality,” rather than the more practical approach of B-segment alternatives such as the Etios.
That plays out inside with body-colour door panels, bucket-shaped front seats with contrasting inserts and a centrally-mounted speedometer with a trip data display in the middle of its face, a bar-graph rev-counter on its left and a shift light on the right.
Standard kit includes remote central locking, front power windows, a 12-volt power socket, electrically adjustable side mirrors and aircon, as well as a four-speaker sound system with a touch-screen display (which Toyota claims as a first for the segment), Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port and an auxiliary jack socket.
X-play models add metallic inset elements on the fascia and leather trim for steering wheel and gear lever.
There's only one engine option, a tweaked version of the previous model's one-litre twin-cam petrol three with variable valve timing on both cams and a stratospheric 11.5:1 compression ratio, driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
Outputs are quoted at 51kW and 95Nm, the latter peaking at 4300rpm, getaway time to 100km/h at less than 15 seconds and nominal fuel consumption at 4.4 litres per 100km, driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
Suspension is entrusted to conventional MacPherson struts in front and a compact torsion-beam set-up at the rear, while safety kit includes front and side airbags, ABS and brake assist.
PRICES
Aygo 1.0 - R 138 900
Aygo X-play Black 1.0 - R139 900
Aygo X-play Silver 1.0 - R 139 900
These include a three-year or 100 000km warranty; a service plan is a extra-cost option - unless you're one of the first 1000 Aygo customers, in which case Toyota SA will throw it in for free.