Toyota Aygo 2014

The Toyota Aygo – in retail form, and in the UK. It’s been all pre-production drives abroad before this, and while there’ll be a full road test examination in short order, this initial car – one of the few in the country – earns another first look.

Much about it we have learnt before. This is a marginally bigger follow-up to Toyota’s popular city dweller which has been on sale since before Twitter was born. It continues to share a platform with PSA PeugeotCitroën, although aside from the rear passenger door and the angle of the windscreen, not a single body panel is the same.

The Aygo is differentiated even more clearly by the x-graphic on the nose; as brazen a love-or-hate feature as it’s possible to imagine. The shape, of course, is largely incidental – the point is that you can swap out the inserts (quickly, via a dealer) for new ones, thereby personalising your car. Given that there are currently only three colours to choose from, your options are somewhat limited, but you get where Toyota is going.

Its thinking continues inside, where a more uniform architecture can be similarly customised with two levels of interior pack that swap out much of the glossy dashboard plastic (in as little as seven minutes, we’re told). If that weren’t enough, you can also have the distinctive double-bubble roof in a contrast coloured decal.

All of that’s on the option list; as standard in the UK, both the 3 and 5-door Aygo come in three grades: x, x-play and x-pression, with two special editions: x-cite and x-clusiv. As ever, the mid-spec trim will be the seller, but the DAB-equipped, alloy wheeled and x-touch media carrying x-pression looks tempting despite a sizable premium.

The x-clusiv driven here is only a few hundred pounds more than that and largely adds styling enhancements to justify its short price hop. There’s currently only one engine to choose from; the three-cylinder 1.0-litre VVT-i carried over from the previous Aygo, albeit in revised format. A five-speed manual gearbox is standard, with Toyota’s automated manual X-shift a £700 option.

]Our yardstick for city cars has moved up a notch or two since the introduction of the impeccably mannered VW Up, but the core credentials remain unchanged: about town convenience, a bit of sprightliness beyond and moderate motorway ability. The Aygo pretty much nails all three. Light control surfaces, its small size, tight turning circle and good visibility make the Toyota a natural urbanite - much as its predecessor was.

In the wider world, the news is better still. Thanks to additional spot welds and a higher use of high-tensile steel, this is a stiffer, lighter Aygo – and it shows. The ride is busy, but very well-judged and rarely seems overloaded; meaning that there’s plenty of play to accommodate some mid-bend surface turbulence even when cornering. The result, when combined with decent grip levels and an even-tempered front end, is a city car that can happily be driven with vigour.

The engine is somewhat less of an attribute. Near the beginning of the Aygo’s life cycle the 1.0-litre unit was an award-winner; now, even tweaked for slightly more power and still better efficiency, it feels off the current three-pot pace. The engineers have reorganised the gearing for a bit more low-range perkiness, and this helps, but there’s a noticeable mid-range flat spot to go with a predictably limited amount of gusto.

By and large, though, this doesn’t detract from the experience. The lowering of the hip point in the front is a boon for keen drivers, but the packaging elsewhere is just as accomplished. The double-bubble roof – unique to Aygo – helps facilitate an impressive amount of back seat headroom. The Aygo ought to seat four sensibly sized adults without a eliciting a groan from any of them. The boot has been made more accessible too; although there’s still a mighty lip to heave shopping over before you’ll find the floor.

Compared with the Up, there are some questionable plastics dotted around the cabin, but if your eye isn’t drawn to the possibilities of those extra colour options, then the 7-inch x-touch screen ought to do the trick. Again, this is a shared item, but that doesn’t detract from its appropriateness - the intuitive, simple menu, easy-peasy connectivity and standard DAB tuner easily proving a match for any of its current rivals.

]A two-hour spin suggests yes. Over the last few years we’ve applauded most loudly for the Panda’s practicality and sense of fun, and the Up’s polish and maturity; the Aygo, with some sensibly selected updates and gently innovative ideas, appears to have earned mention in the that exalted company.

As Toyota has already acknowledged, there is more competition than ever for a new small car - not least from the PSA alternatives which will certainly be cheaper - but, at the moment, its latest contender looks set to immediately return to our city car top five. How high up? Well, that’s what the road test is for.

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Toyota confirms fuel cell launch for 2015

The car, which will be a mid-sized saloon comparable to the currentAvensis, will closely reference the Toyota FCV concept shown at the Geneva motor show last month.

Toyota says it will use a high-density fuel stack and will have the potential to cover 500 miles on a single tank of fuel.

European president, Didier Leroy said he recognised fuel cell technology will take time to be adopted. “To help that happen we will bring a reasonable number of cars to Europe. The volume will be limited, but they will be visible on the streets,” he said.

The firm is working with BMW to accelerate its fuel cell research and development. Karl Schlicht, Toyota Europe’s second in command said the firm would pioneer the technology and points to Toyota’s role in the widespread adoption of hybrid drivetrains. He said: “There is of course a long way to go, as with any game-changing technology, but remember the same was said about hybrid only 10 years ago.

“Toyota is ready to back and lead this change, so we will be pioneering fuel cell step by step.”

He also said that hydrogen fuel is easy to store, better at capturing renewable energies than batteries and can be produced anywhere. “Taking these facts into account reinforces how Toyota is convinced fuel cell can deliver our ultimate goal of zero emissions and sustainable transport,” he said.

Toyota has revealed the final design for its new Fuel Cell Sedan. It's a 'Ronseal', does-what-it-says-on-the-tin choice of name for the car: it is, indeed, Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell-powered saloon - and this one is coming to a showroom near you sooner than you think.

The H2 car may blend concept car cues with Japanese global design blandness, but the Fuel Cell Sedan is significant as much for the numbers involved as the futuristic look.

Toyota today confirmed this car will be launched by April 2015 in Japan, and in summer 2015 in Europe and the US. That's next summer. A full, hyrdogen-powered production car.

Toyota Fuel Cell Sedan: the lowdown

The company announced indicative domestic pricing of around seven million yen; call it around £40,450 at today's exchange rates. That's the likely Japanese price - the cost in Europe and North America will be confirmed at a later date.

The Fuel Cell Sedan was first shown as a concept car at the 2013 Tokyo motor show and today's announcement is further proof, were it needed, of Toyota's ambition to launch a commercially viable fuel-cell product at scale before its rivals.

We may scoff at the dire provision of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure today, but it's hard not to recall Toyota's bold commitment to hybrid cars back in the 1990s - and look where that trend has gone today.

It's telling that Toyota will initially launch the Fuel Cell Sedan only in areas of Japan which support H2 refuelling. Today, there's only a single public hydrogen refuelling centre in the UK near London's Heathrow airport. And that's not much good if you live in Aberdeen or Exeter.

Toyota's environmental mission

One line stands out in today's announcement. 'Toyota’s commitment to developing vehicles that are kinder to the environment is based on three principles: embracing diverse energy sources; securing low vehicle emissions; and driving positive environmental change by making these vehicles popular with customers.' There, in a nutshell, is the mission statement for Toyota's disparate green technologies.

The Fuel Cell Sedan uses a Toyota hydrogen stack, developed in the real world through a Japan and US trial of the FCHV crossover since 2002.

Refuelling now takes three minutes, says Toyota, and it claims performance and driving characteristics comparable to a petrol-engined saloon of the same size.

Karl Schlicht, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Europe, said: 'There are many challenges ahead, such as the availability of fuelling infrastructure and customer awareness. But our history with hybrid gives us all the experience we need to bring a new technology to the market.

'In Europe we will be taking it step by step, gradually introducing the car in selected markets. But we are confident that hydrogen will become increasingly popular as a way of powering vehicles.'

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BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe attempts to downsize the recipe of the four-door coupe concept, which was pioneered by the Mercedes CLS. Like its big brother, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, it combines rakish coupe-like looks with four doors and a big boot to create a stylish family car.

Based on the fine 4 Series Coupe but offering a bigger boot and easier passenger transport, it’s a worthy rival to the ageing but successful Audi A5 Sportback and Volkswagen CC.

onlookers could be forgiven for not noticing the difference between the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and a standard BMW 3 Series – a criticism we’d never level at the far more imposing (and expensive) 6 Series Gran Coupe.

That said, the 4 Series Gran Coupe is still a handsome machine in the metal, with the 4 Series’ wider rear axle helping boost the car’s planted stance.

For extra visual aggression and around £3,000, you can spec the M Sport pack, which adds a more aggressive bumper an standard 18-inch alloy wheels, plus a comprehensive revamp of the interior.

Driving

4.2

Perhaps the highest compliment we can pay the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, is that you’d never notice the extra 50kg of extra doors and slightly taller stance.

In short, it handles just like the 4 Series Coupe, which is to say very well indeed – if lacking the final word in excitement. Thanks to its 50:50 weight distribution and the same widened tracks as the 4 Series Coupe, the Gran Coupe exudes balance, while remaining flat and confidence-inspiring in fast direction changes.

As with most modern BMWs, it’s the slightly dull steering that’s the main disappointment – it never really transmits a lot of information from the front axle. This sadly detracts from an otherwise engaging drive in which you experience from one of the most resolved (and adjustable) driving positions of any sports saloon.

The range of engines mirrors the Coupe’s too, save for the fuel-sipping 418d variant, which has been included due to its fleet-friendly CO2 rating. 

Reliability

3.5

Based on the proven mechanicals of the BMW 3 Series Saloon, there’s nothing in the 4 Series range that should give cause for alarm. In fact, the current 3 Series came 14th in our 2014 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.

However, BMW has some slight catching up to do to beat its rivals on customer service: its 10th placed finish in our 2014 Driver Power survey fell behind Mercedes (9th) and also Jaguar and Lexus (4th and 2nd respectively). Audi, meanwhile, languished in 12th place.

Practicality

3.5

Despite BMW stubbornly billing this car as a ‘coupe’, its four doors and hatchback boot make it a more usable proposition than you might expect. Instead of the 4 Series Coupe’s bootlid, the Gran Coupe uses a hatchback tailgate with automatic opening and closing as standard, giving a much larger loading aperture.

At 480 litres, the Gran Coupe’s boot is also 35 litres larger than that offered by the 4 Series Coupe - exactly the same size as the cargo area offered in the 3 Series Saloon. Even the car’s closest rival, the Audi A5 Sportback, can’t trump the BMW as it offers a 480-litre space.

Another oddity in the car’s specification is its ‘4+1’ seating arrangement. Essentially, there is a middle seat on the rear bench, but it’s raised above the other two to clear the transmission tunnel. When combined with that curving roofline, it’s left only as an emergency seat for children.

Running Costs

4

The extra practicality of the 4 BMW Series Gran Coupe represents great value for money when you consider that it’s priced identically to the 4 Series Coupe range. 

It might be a big coupe lookalike, but the 4 Series Gran Coupe should serve up some supermini-sized running costs thanks to its two four-cylinder turbodiesel engines. According to BMW’s official figures, the 418d and 420d can record 63mpg and 60mpg respectively.

The 420d would be our choice as its extra torque endows this sporting saloon with some much-needed punch. That said, BMW’s diesels are rather noisy, so if you’re a fan of the black pump it’ll be worth waiting for the six-cylinder 430d and 435d Gran Coupe variants due soon.

Petrol fans are even better catered for, with the choice of 420i and 428i turbocharged four-cylinder engines and a flagship 435i six-cylinder also available at launch. If you’re not doing huge miles, the four-cylinder variants in particular are worth a look – they’re urgent and far more refined than the ‘default option’ diesels.

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Falcon GT F 351

The muscular cular ‘351’ GT F is a nostalgic tribute to a long line of Ford street fighters. A big part of its appeal is the fact that it makes 351kW.

But it doesn’t.

Most of the time, except in first gear, or when the ambient temperature is high, the GT F pumps out 404kW.

What? A car that produces more than the people selling the car say it will?

What madness is this?

It makes 404kW due to something called transient overboost, which is another way of saying the supercharged engine goes bananas and produces an extra 15 per cent of power for 15 to 20 seconds.

Because it can’t do it all the time, in all conditions, Ford chooses not to count the extra power in its official power figure.

TopGear has previously written about this mysterious source of extra power, but this is the first time Ford has gone on record and admitted its existence.

The good news for some FPV owners is that the transient overboost function is not limited to the 351 GT F, but is present on every single Australian-developed supercharged 5.0-litre V8 FPV has sold since it was introduced in 2010.

The soon to be reintroduced XR8, which will be launched in November, will also feature the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 with the transient overboost feature.

FPV insiders suggest the 351 GT F can blast from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds. This is around 0.2 seconds faster than the GT R-SPEC, which was the fastest GT to that point thanks to its wider rear tyres.

Development testing suggested a 0-400m sprint time of 12-something seconds for the final GT F, which is damn fast.

TopGear was given a little taste of the GT F, including a couple of fast starts and a few laps at 160km/h on the banked oval at Ford Australia’s You Yangs proving ground south west of Melbourne.

We also went for a handling circuit ride with one of Ford’s crazy-fast development drivers, who was able to show that, in the right hands, the final GT is able to go blindingly fast around corners as well as in a straight line.

The GT F gains all of the suspension upgrades of the R-SPEC car, which includes nine-inch wide rear tyres (instead of eight-inch) and a full range of suspension upgrades to dramatically improve the handling of the big Ford.

It also gets six-piston front Brembos and four piston calipers at the rear.

The engine upgrades were done without any mechanical changes, instead relying on clever software tweaks to gain the extra grunt.

Ford developed a special exterior design, complete with a single wide stripe that runs over the bonnet, roof and boot and it also blacked out the door handles, wing mirrors, parts around the headlights and the rear spoiler.

There are a range of changes on the inside, the seats have special stitching and 351 embroidered in the headrests, there are unique black plastic trim bits and a special instrument cluster. Nerds will love the digital gauges on the centre screen, showing things like boost pressure and even G-forces. Ford suggests these gauges are for the passengers rather than the driver, who should be paying attention to the road instead.

FPV customers love badges with big numbers on them, so there are 351 badges for the boot and on the front quarter panels next to the front wheels.

We suggest owners order some spare badges because there is a good chance they’ll go missing at some stage.

Ford will make 500 GT F 351 sedans for Australia and another 50 for the Kiwis. Almost all of these have already been sold despite a considerable price of $77,900.

It will also produce 120 Pursuit utes (20 for the Kiwis), which have most of the 351 GT F features, but run a 315kW engine from the GS instead. These cost $52,990.

It only gets the less mental engine because the leaf-sprung ute already has trouble getting power to the ground with the 315kW version of the Miami V8 and engineers suggested fitting the ute with the 351kW (or 404kW) engine would have been pure madness.

Check out Top Gear Australia magazine for a more detailed test drive of the last ever GT Falcon.

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Harley-Davidson LiveWire Electric Bike

Dyed-in-the-leather Motor Company faithful who had their worlds rocked by water-cooled V-Rods and rolled by made-in-India Street models may want to sit down for this one—Harley-Davidson, that pillar of conventional, conservative, American cruiser-style motorcycles, has built an electric bike. Now we know for sure that pigs—or Hogs, at least—can fly.

Called Project LiveWire, this sleek eBike is sure to send a shockwave through Harley-Davidson's existing consumer base—if not through the entire motorcycle industry. And that's a good thing. Following on the heels of the Dark Custom series and the entry-level Street lineup, Project LiveWire is the latest salvo in Harley-Davidson's both-barrels-blazing effort to attract new, younger, and different customers to the bar-and-shield brand.

"America at its best has always been about reinvention," said Matt Levatich, H-D President and COO. "Like America, Harley-Davidson has reinvented itself many times in our history, with customers leading us every step of the way. Project LiveWire is another exciting, customer-led moment in our history."

The bike you see in these images is not a final product intended for sale—at least not yet. It's a development prototype intended to gather input about riders' expectations for an electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Did you know you had any expectations for an electric Harley-Davidson?) Just like with the Project Rushmore touring bike revision, Harley-Davidson is soliciting an unprecedented amount of consumer input into the development of its first electric motorcycle. All summer long, consumers across the country will be given the opportunity to ride the LiveWire at over 30 Harley-Davidson dealers—or participate in a "simulated riding experience" called Jumpstart, if you're a non-riders—and give feedback that will directly shape the future of Harley-Davidson's eBike. "Longer term plans for retail availability of Project LiveWire will be influenced by feedback from riders along the Project LiveWire Experience tour," the company says.


Very little is known about the LiveWire at this time and Harley shared no specifications, except to promise "tire-shredding acceleration" and a unique "fighter jet" sound unlike any existing internal combustion or electric motorcycle. The design is more naked musclebike than any current Harley-Davidson cruiser, with what appear to be 17-inch wheels, disc brakes front and rear, a substantial inverted fork, and centrally mounted rear monoshock. We know nothing about motor or battery technology except to note that the area described by what we presume is the battery box is quite large, with space for enough cells to provide at least the industry-standard 12-15 kWh capacity, delivering range and performance on-par with well-developed products from Brammo or Zero. Many small details including the triple clamps, rearsets, and unique combination mirrors/turn signals appear to be hand crafted and exquisite. We expect to learn more next week, when we'll have an opportunity to ride the LiveWire ourselves.


This is big news. Who would have thought it would be Harley-Davidson—not Honda or one of the other big four, or even BMW—who would be the first established OEM to announce an eBike? This is just further evidence of how focused Harley-Davidson is on constantly reinventing itself to remain relevant for the next 110 years of its history. We look forward to riding the LiveWire next week, and getting our first glimpse at what the future of Harley-Davidson looks like from the behind the handlebars.

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Mercedes Benz GLA 200 CDI

This is the new Mercedes GLA crossover – an interesting car for all sorts of reasons, and a rival for the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. This is more of a crossover hatchback than a compact SUV – it has up to 185mm of ground clearance, but the silhouette and driving position of a fairly large hatchback rather than of a typical 4x4.

The car you see here is a GLA 200 CDI, which comes with front-wheel-drive and a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes (Indian cars are likely to get only the auto). Power comes from an up-rated version of the same 2,143cc turbo-diesel used in the A 180 CDI and B 180 CDI, which in this car makes 134bhp and 30.55kgm of torque. India is also slated to get the GLA 220 CDI, which uses the same engine, but with outputs of 168bhp and 35.67kgm.

It’s refined, economical, comfortable and pleasant – albeit not as practical and convenient as some. Mercedes’ 2.1-litre diesel is a good choice for the GLA, showing off much better manners under the bonnet of this compact crossover than it does in other applications.

The engine is a little bit clattery at idle and shudders slightly on restart, but is quiet and smooth at normal operating revs, and even revs with a commendable lack of coarseness. It hits its peak torque at just 1,400rpm, and is seldom short on pulling power or insistent on a lower gear to negotiate a short climb or a typical highway overtake.

The car steers precisely, with little effort necessary through the rim, but little feedback flowing through it either. It makes for a relaxed, easy-going driving experience complemented well by ride quality that’s much more supple and absorbent than we’ve found in any of Mercedes’ other new-generation compact cars.

In the UK, ‘Comfort’ suspension comes as standard on ‘SE’-grade cars, and it deals with bumpy and broken surfaces very calmly indeed. Even the ‘Sport’ suspension, fitted as standard to AMG Line models, allows the GLA a considerably better isolated cabin than any A-, B- or CLA-class model – as another test car proved.

The GLA’s driving position is recumbent by SUV standards, and its ride height and visibility relatively ordinary. That low profile makes for quite clean, balanced and wieldy handling; on the flipside of the equation, you’ll find more cabin- and boot space, and a higher access point, elsewhere in the compact SUV class.

But you won’t find much better fuel economy. From a mixed route taking in mountain roads and expressway, our GLA 200 CDI test car returned just over 17.5kpl, thanks in part to a class-leading drag coefficient.

When it comes to a buying decision, it depends if you find the idea of a premium-brand crossover more appealing than that of a more upright compact SUV. This tester suspects many will, once they realise that the Mercedes GLA provides as much space and capability as they really need, combined with impressive performance, efficiency, quality and brand allure.

There’s certainly little wrong with this particular execution of Mercedes’ premium crossover concept, and plenty to like about a car we’d confidently describe as the best yet to come from Daimler’s new compact generation.

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