From a luxury villa to a studio apartment. So maybe at first glance, the transition from the Skoda Kodiaq, which I had at my disposal last time, to today's test car, the Toyota AYGO, might look like. However, it doesn't seem so clear on the first sitting, but let's not get ahead of ourselves…
The first generation of this city vehicle saw the light of day in 2005 and was produced in its unchanged form for a whole 9 years before being replaced by the second generation. This year it was time for a facelift, and the designers of the Japanese car company really went out of their way. The design is fresh and modern, some may find it almost overpaid, but the idea cannot be denied. If Pokemon mated with Transformers, the egg would have to hatch into something quite similar to this little Toyota. In white, it also resembles a cute animal, with a snout, whiskers, eyes, and a red tongue in the bumper… It will certainly arouse protective, almost maternal instincts in any woman, and it is quite evident where the design was aimed.
After sitting behind the wheel, I'm in for a pleasant surprise, because from here the car does not seem cramped in any way and looks much larger than it actually is. The interior may seem a little wild, but it certainly can't be called boring. You will be pleased with the large touch screen, which can be paired with the phone using Bluetooth and thus use all its contacts and music. Its other function, the rear parking camera, may seem unnecessary to some in this case, but believe me, you will always look there out of curiosity. Below the display are two concentric controls for ventilation and air conditioning. The alarm clocks in front of you are dominated by a huge tachometer, in the center of which is a smaller circular display showing information about fuel level, outside temperature and kilometers traveled. Scattered around the display and to the right of it in a separate compartment are the warning lights and shift signals, and in the left compartment there is an unconventional column digital tachometer. The central alarm clock is surrounded by a chrome frame, which, together with the well-crafted steering wheel, guarantees a pleasant view ahead. On the other hand, the used plastics freeze a little, and they are not very attractive to the eye or to the touch. A successful detail, however, is the area around the air conditioning vents made of panels in the body color, which gradually move into the side of the doors.
The space behind the front seats is already starting to get smaller and smaller. With my height of 180 centimeters, the driver's seat has been moved all the way back, so there is about 10 centimeters of legroom behind it, but on the passenger side, with a certain compromise, two people could fit behind each other. However, the place where the most savings were made is further back. Of course, I am referring to the trunk and the question is whether this space can even be labeled as such, perhaps I would rather call it a compartment behind the rear seats. If someone plans to buy the AYGO as a shopping bag for the city, know that in the case of a larger purchase, most will have to end up in the back seats. But if you want, almost anything is possible, for example we traveled as a couple with a child in a car seat and a stroller, when we put the stroller chassis behind us next to the car seat and the bassinet in the "compartment behind the back seats" J.
After starting, the engine has an almost solid mechanical sound, which in my case increases by several levels during the first start. The clutch and gas pedal are very sensitive and it takes me a while to get my feet in sync. For a car intended primarily for the city, where those starts will be blessed every time, I would have expected a slightly duller and thus more benevolent reaction. But of course it's just a habit. Otherwise, the toy car drives very nicely, the driving position is comfortable, the steering wheel is comfortable to hold and allows you to control the radio and, if paired with a phone, also hands-free. By the way, I miss the storage space for my phone. The shifter is a bit longer for my taste and a bit wobbly, but it shifts accurately with it and that's the main thing. In the city, the car is lively, driving from traffic light to traffic light and weaving between lanes is not a problem at all, but you kind of expect that. What I expected less is that the dynamics does not disappear from the car even after I pass the red crossed-out sign with the name of the capital. You can drive briskly on the roads, but you need to pay attention to the quality of the roads, because every pothole can throw you off at higher speeds, especially the one in the corner. The 72k liter three-cylinder has no problem getting the speedometer needle up to 150 km/h, but it shows that it doesn't like the over-revving, and its sound and general (un)culturedness are not very pleasant in this treatment. Which is not surprising, this car was not created for road pirates. The brakes have no problem at all with a higher speed or gas/brake style and slow the car down from any speed with absolute certainty. But the trouble is over, let's go back to the city. On the way there is also a mandatory photo shoot, which reveals a few more details, and unfortunately not always pleasant ones. One of them concerns the back door. These are about five centimeters thick, and the inner filling is made of one piece of plastic that squishes when touched. You definitely don't want to be in a car accident in the back, and it's further proof that the back seats are more of an emergency. While admiring the cool ninja star-shaped wheels, I notice the missing rear wheel arch covers. The last thing is opening the trunk, but that's just stupid and again it's just a matter of habit. In most cars, you simply grab the handle and open it like a door, if the trunk has a separate handle with a lock, it is usually located above the handle, so you press the handle with your thumb and grab the handle with your other fingers. Here the lock is under the handle, so for the first time I instinctively grab the rear bumper with my fingers and almost tear it off when I try to open it… So for a while I open the trunk with both hands, which seems quite impractical, especially when I imagine a woman with her hands full of shopping bags. Then, thanks to a friend, I come to the grif, first click on the suitcase with my thumb and then open it with the same hand. But it still feels a little awkward to me…
You may have found this review to be a bit negative, but please know that this is by no means a bad car, I just maybe wanted something different from it at times than what it is intended for. Its advantages are completely different. It gets mixed up everywhere, parks everywhere, eats little, and all this in the quality and reliability of the Toyota brand. And last but not least, it looks great. So if you don't have deep pockets and are wondering what to put under the tree for your wife, here is one tip. The AYGO might even fit there J. If you're wondering how much such a gift might cost you, the basic model starts at a bargain price of 235,000, the x-play version we tested with the Style and Connect packages, including, among other things, a leather steering wheel, touch screen with parking camera, fog lights and remote control of central locking, is for a special price of 287,000. And if the wife prefers an automatic transmission, know that then it is already obligatory " for pure money "…
