By: Dave Abrahams
Brussels, Belgium - Toyota Europe has quietly released a new range-topping variant of its cute Aygo A segment hatch, less than a year after the whole range was revamped.
The in-your-face Aygo x-cite (Toyota calls it 'extrovert) comes in a special greeny-blue colour called 'cyan splash' with gloss black inserts for the X-shaped front styling and rear bumper insert, and a satin black finish on the front bumper inserts and side mirrors.
Even the 15-inch alloys have been neatly colour-coded by finishing them in gloss black with body-colour centre caps. Also available when it goes on sale in Europe later this month will be a 'two-tone' version with a black roof and A pillars.
The special body colour is also splashed over the interior (sorry, couldn't resist that!), on the air-vent and door panel inserts, the seat bolsters and floor-mat edging, while the instrument panel, centre console and and gear lever surround wear satin black, and the gearshift knob and the door releases are finished in chrome.
Motorvation is supplied by Toyota's familiar one-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, tuned in this application for 51kW and 95Nm, for which the maker claims a nominal 3.8 litres per 100km.
SAFETY SENSE
More importantly, the latest Aygo is also available (as an extra-cost option) with what Toyota calls a 'safety sense' package of active safety technologies designed to help prevent - or at least reduce the severity of - collisions in a range of traffic situations.
It includes a pre-collision system that detects other vehicles ahead, warns the driver, primes the hydraulics and finally, hits the brakes itself if you ignore it. It works from 10 to 80km/h and if you're travelling at less than 30km/h it'll stop the car dead in its tracks - hopefully before it hits anything.
It also has a less-intrusive lane-keeping assist that monitors lane markings warning you if you drift out of your lane without indicating, but without actually affecting the steering.
Toyota says that in order for these systems to work effectively, as many cars as possible (not just premium models) should have them, which is why it has brought the technology right down to the A segment - and at what it describes as “a highly competitive price”, to encourage even entry-level buyers to adopt them.
Toyota SA says it cannot confirm whether the Aygo x-cite will be released in South Africa due to price negotations - the strength of the Euro is counting against it - but if it gets the green light it could arrive as early as the third quarter of this year.
As soon as we know, so will you.