The new 2014 Toyota Aygo city car has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.

Exterior features

Dubbed J-Playful in reference to “hip youth culture and a wealth of customisation options available”, the 2014 Toyota Aygo still builds on the same design and structural qualities of its predecessor.

The overall length has increased by 25mm to 3455mm, and although front headroom has been increased by 7mm, vehicle height has been reduced by 5mm to 1460mm to support the car’s aerodynamic efficiency. Both front and rear tracks have also been widened by 8mm.

To introduce a playful element, the designers used the concept of a soft object breaking through the hard shell of the design, creating break lines and giving Aygo its distinctive frontal X-graphic. The revamped Aygo additionally has a sloping beltline and an integral rear spoiler while body style choices will be limited to three and five doors.

The rear end features a similar design theme to the front, with the tailgate and lower bumper forming break lines in the vehicle’s solid surface. The lamp clusters are set within the hexagonal tailgate, and the upper bumper section widens into pronounced wheel arches which give the car a broad and stable stance.

Powertrain

Power comes from a revised variant of Toyota’s three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine which now delivers 51 kW of power at 6000 rpm and 95 Nm of torque at 4300 rpm.

The unit has been re-engineered to run with a higher, 11.5:1 compression ratio, and has an improved combustion chamber design for better efficiency.

Claimed combined fuel consumption is 4.1-litres/100km, with CO2 emissions of 95g/km. The Aygo will be offered with a five-speed manual transmission or optional new x-shift, an improved automated manual transmission that can be used in fully automatic mode, or with manual gear selection using paddle shifts or the shift lever itself.

Interior features

Inside, the Aygo features a trapezoidal centre console, Toyota’s x-touch multimedia system operated using an integrated seven-inch touchscreen display which is offered as standard with a rear view camera.

Toyota also elongated the cabin by 9mm and the increased the luggage room capacity to 29 litres – which makes loading easier thanks to the space between the sill and rear seatback being made 5mm wider.

It’s interesting to note the Toyota Aygo shares many components with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. Full details of the South African model range and prices will be announced nearer to the launch date later this year.

2014 Toyota Aygo gallery