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.

Read More

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.'

Read More

Toyota LandCruiser Prado

New South Wales’ Snowy Mountains played a role in the Australian beginnings of Toyota, and the Landcruiser, when construction company Thiess used second-generation 20 Series ’Cruisers as Snowy Scheme workhorses in the late 1950s.

Four decades later the Toyota Prado arrived in Australia in its second generation, a slightly smaller version of the LandCruiser. Now in its fourth generation, the best-selling large SUV has just been treated to a facelift. (Meanwhile, as engineering feats go, we Aussies are still yet to top the Snowy Scheme).

Revised styling and redesigned interiors herald new driving aids, retuned suspension and improved safety. Meanwhile, pricing of the entry-level turbo diesel six-speed manual Toyota LandCruiser Prado GX (above) remains unchanged at $55,990, and price increases further up the range are small. The three-door, which was a slow seller, has been dropped.

A bold new five-column grille dominates the frontal styling rework, taking attention away from the new headlights and deeper bumper. Elsewhere, new 17- and 18-inch wheels and new paint colours set the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado apart from the original fourth-gen model, which arrived in Oz in late 2009.

Inside, a redesigned dash brings a new multi-media audio system, ‘Optitron’ dials and a TFT info screen for up-spec models; new interfaces and settings for carry-over off-roading systems, such as the addition of a ‘rock and dirt’ mode to the multi-terrain select system, which is now operated by a dial; and the addition of new systems such as trailer-sway control, which is incorporated into the electronic stability control.

Seven airbags and a rear-view camera remain worthy safety inclusions in the five-star ANCAP-rated wagon.

Toyota LandCruiser Prado GX and GXL variants offer silver highlights and piano black trim, while the upmarket VX and Kakadu (above) bring leather accents and woodgrain-look trim that looks both very Japanese and dated. Seven-seater variants – that’s all bar the GX, in which the extra row costs $2K – benefit from better third-row access thanks to a rear seat that now folds forward at a greater angle.

Toyota says the $64,190 turbo diesel five-speed auto GXL (up $555) is by far the buyers’ pick – 70 per cent of people choose it. Just five per cent of punters opt for the pricier $78,990 (up $1355) VX turbo diesel, and five per cent choose the expensive if well-equipped $92,590 (up $1455) turbo diesel Kakadu flagship – it gets a rear Blu-ray player, for example, which is far too good for the kids. The 20 per cent who buy the base GX includes a large proportion of commercial buyers.

The take-up rate for petrols is just five per cent, and the percentage of people who buy a manual in preference to the $2700-costlier auto is almost as small. Why does Toyota offer a petrol variant? Because when the Japanese maker sells almost 15,000 LandCruiser Prados each year (more than any vehicle in its segment), five percent of which amounts to more than 700 cars. However, at $1000 extra for the torquey, economical turbo diesel, you’d have to be seriously anti-diesel not to consider it.

Both the 4.0-litre petrol V6 (above), with 202kW of power and 381Nm of torque, and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, with 127kW and 410Nm, are carry-over engines.

Look more closely at the figures and you’ll see why it’s the diesel that does it for most buyers. While the torque figures are similar, the diesel offers its peak from a lazy 1600rpm – 2800 less revs than in the petrol. Meanwhile, the diesel is easier on the juice, at 8.5-8.8L/100km (manual-auto), compared with 11.5L/100km for the auto petrol.

Australia is the world’s third-largest market for the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, and the development of the LandCruiser remains inextricably linked to our wide, brown land, starting with the 450,000 durability and reliability testing kilometres carried out Down Under. Chief engineer Sadayoshi Koyari says his team’s motto is, “If it can survive in Australia, it can survive anywhere.”

Also, the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) found on up-spec variants was invented and developed by Western Australia’s Kinetic Suspension Technology. The system can decouple the anti-roll bars, allowing increased wheel travel.

A short off-road test course at the $16m new National Industrial Skills Training Centre in Wodonga, Victoria, provided a sample of the LandCruiser Prado’s significant skill-set.

The front camera’s ability to tell the driver, via an on-screen graphic, where the front wheels are pointed proved invaluable when the LandCruiser Prado’s oversized grille was pointed at the sky.

The crawl control system took the throttle and brake work out of climbs and descents, leaving a relaxed driver to merely steer.

And the full-chassis 4×4’s long-travel independent front and live axle rear suspensions, with KDSS, helped keep all four on the dirt over a particularly challenging sequence of moguls.

Suspension revisions aimed at improving the LandCruiser Prado’s on-road manners also formed part of the facelift. Roll-stiffness was increased in an effort to reduce body roll, the hydraulic power steering was recalibrated, and the tuning of the stability control and traction control systems was improved.

On tarmac, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado remains understeer-biased. There’s a feeling of reluctance to turn-in that results from a small amount of lost motion either side of straight ahead, and a slight sense of unwillingness from the chassis as it’s coaxed into corners.

However, once you’re used to it and turn in earlier (or dial on more steering lock) the Prado’s an agreeable tourer on open country roads.

A lack of steering feedback does sap confidence and makes it difficult to judge front tyre grip levels. The nose feels like it will move from a subtly understeery mid-corner attitude to actually sliding, and will. But, again, a more sympathetic driving style helps sidestep the problem.

The above are standard separate-chassis symptoms and also reflect the offroad-ready tyres fitted to the LandCruiser Prado. It’ll never approach the dynamic ability of SUVs that aren’t engineered to also go offroad, but in the context of its separate chassis specification, the LandCruiser Prado handles well and rides comfortably.

The turbo diesel is clearly an off-roader-style rather than passenger-car-style engine, but is a willing worker that’s acceptably quiet. Other noises, such as tyre and wind are similarly well contained. The low torque peak means you don’t need to rev the engine hard, however the auto is a bit slow to downshift on hills, requiring a right-foot prompt for a lower ratio.

The Prado’s brakes are powerful and inspire confidence, and the ABS works effectively on dirt.

As medium-duty four-wheel-drives go, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado GX and GXL represent a worthwhile upgrade from the likes of Mitsubishi’s Pajero ($50K) and Nissan’s Y61 Patrol ($55K). The Toyota costs a bit more than its Japanese rivals, but it is more refined, has better road manners, and is just as capable in the bush.

However, the up-spec VX and Kakadu start to feel expensive in the context of the genuine premium on offer in a German SUV. Also consider that $100K buys a base Range Rover Sport, which will seriously challenge the LandCrusier Prado off road while trumping it for interior class and dynamics.

At the lower end, it’s best to think hard about what it is your wagon will spend its days doing, because if you’re not going to make full use of the abilities that a separate-chassis off-roader such as the Prado brings, a more dynamic road-biased SUV would make a better, more comfortable family car.

Consider Toyota’s own Kluger ($40K) or, even better, a Ford Territory ($40K) or Mazda CX-9 ($45K).

However, for genuine off-roaders, only a Land Rover Discovery 4 ($70K-$130K) can top the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, which means this civilised off-roader certainly has its niche, as more than 200,000 Aussie buyers have discovered since 1996, at a rate of more than 1000 a month.

Read More