Toyota Aygo. Freedom of motion
Toyota Aygo is a small compact front-wheel drive city car, which belongs to the ‘A’ class, from the Japanese manufacturer Toyota. Today it is available as a 5-door hatchback, and it had three-door versions previously. The second generation of Toyota Aygo Hatchback 5-doors, which was restyled in 2018, has already been presented on the Israeli market.
Initially, Toyota Aygo is a joint project of Japanese Toyota and French PSA Peugeot Citroën. Aygo has been produced since 2005 at their joint Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile Czech plant in the Czech Republic. And the name of the Aygo hatchback comes from the English ‘i-go’, which should symbolize freedom of movement.
First generation
The first generation of Toyota Aygo was sold from 2005 to 2014. It was restyled twice in 2009 and 2012. Two car giants - Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën - have agreed to create a joint platform on which a small city hatchback will be produced. And this is how 3 almost identical cars were born. They are Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, and Citroën C1. According to the agreement between the Japanese and the French, all models used the same chassis, the same front doors, windshields, and some interior elements. Technically, all three cars had a lot in common with the second generation of Toyota Yaris (Vitz is for Japan). The first Aygo differed from its counterparts not only by the brand and name but also by the easily recognizable rear part of the car plus an individual interior.
In 2009, Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, and Citroën C1 were updated. The changes affected the rear lights, the front bumper, and the radiator grille. The configuration has not changed. On the other hand, CO2 emissions have been reduced and fuel economy has been increased. New exterior colors also became available. In 2012, the second restyling brought the updated Aygo only a slight improvement in appearance. The release of the first generation of Aygo lasted until 2014, a total of 722 thousand of these cars were made.
Second generation
The second generation of the Toyota Aygo compact hatchback has been produced from 2014 to the present, all in the same place in the Czech Republic, in a joint venture with PSA. The second Aygo completely ceased to resemble its French ‘brothers’ outwardly, although there are still many similar components and assemblies between them in the technical part.
Two car giants - Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën - have agreed to create a joint platform on which a small city hatchback will be produced. And this is how 3 almost identical cars were born. They are Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, and Citroën C1.
The exterior of the second generation Aygo is formed by diamond-shaped headlights, emphasized by LED sections. ‘Combat’ X-shaped paint, the lines of which run from the side mirrors applied to the front. Compared to the first, the second Aygo slightly increased in size and added about 30 liters in the luggage compartment. In the interior, a huge multimedia screen and an equally impressive speedometer compartment are striking. Almost all buttons and switches are concentrated on the patch of the center console and on the steering wheel.
The 2018 restyling brought the hatchback an, even more, accentuated X-shaped front end. Contrasting inserts appeared under the optics, and the diagonal ‘crossbars’ on the sides of the false grille became more massive. The 2018 Aygo headlights lit new LEDs both in front and behind. Sound insulation has been improved in the interior, the choice of materials has been expanded, and the dashboard has received new graphics and more lighting options.
The set of options for the new Aygo is also not bad. There is climate control, multimedia with a touch screen, keyless access. But the main pride of the updated 2018/2019 Aygo is the Toyota Safety Sense set of electronic assistants. This includes sensors for recognizing road markings and cruise control with automatic braking.
