The recent yearly safety inspection of my own car gave me just enough time to take exterior and interior snapshots of some current European Toyota models, as displayed in the dealership’s showroom. Which means, at least for now: neither a Corolla, nor a Camry.
Let’s start small with a Toyota Aygo x-pose 1.0 VVT-i.
Toyota’s A-segment hatchback is available with 3 or 5 doors. Its overall length is 3,455 mm (136”), width 1,615 mm (64”). That’s a genuine city car alright.
The second and current generation of the Aygo was introduced in 2014. The Aygo is built at the Toyota-PSA plant in the Czech Republic since 2005, together with the related Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107/108.
This little fellow’s power unit is a 69 hp, 1.0 liter 3-cylinder 12v DOHC engine, enough for a top speed rating of 160 km/h (100 mph).
Matching hubcaps for sure.
Clearly this must be the x-pose part of the trim level.
Not only the hubcaps are matching, so is the interior. The transmission is a 5-speed manual.
The Aygo is the best selling Toyota model in the Netherlands, next are the Yaris and the C-HR. If you’re interested, here are the Dutch 2016 and 2017 car sales numbers, the brands and the models. Scroll up and down, it should be great fun! The contrast with the cars you’ll find on the US charts just couldn’t be bigger…size-wise and everything else.
Scaling up now to the C-segment (as in Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus) with this Toyota Auris, more precisely an Auris Touring Sports Freestyle 1.8 Hybrid.
Touring Sports is Toyota-jargon for a wagon. Add a bit of optical toughness and you end up with a Freestyle. By the way, this is a true wagon, since it’s longer – as in having more rear overhang – than the Auris hatchback.
An Auris Hybrid has the same powertrain as a Toyota Prius. In North America the Auris hatchback is offered as the Toyota Corolla iM.
And here’s another Toyota-PSA product, a Toyota Proace Verso Dynamic 2.0 D4D minivan.
Simply said, the Proace Verso is the MPV-version of the Proace panel van. Or the other way around, if you prefer.
A sliding door on the left…
…and a sliding door on the right.
The 150 DIN-hp 2.0 liter diesel engine comes from PSA; the van’s transmission is a 6-speed manual.
Now don’t complain about (a lack of) leg room while sitting in the rear, also known as the cargo compartment.
Have your pick, I’ll take the Auris, thank you.
Examples 1 and 3 just confirm that the bizarre nature of current Toyota “design” is pervasive worldwide.
The Auris wagon is nicely balanced and the Toyota slit and slash nose styling has been toned down to almost palatable. With a bit of a gutsy gasoline engine and a six speed manual I could be aroused to visit my local Toyota showroom. I am quite sure that such a car will never be sold in North America.
It is hard to tell how big the wagon is; there are really no American market wagons to compare it to. I guess it must be about the size of a Golf wagon or maybe even a bit longer?
Thank you for posting these interesting photos.
It is an inch longer than a Golf wagon, and 2 inches shorter than a Corolla sedan.
The Proace doesn’t look like a Toyota because it’s a Peugeot.
Agreed- I’m really liking that Auris.
I think I agree with you on the Auris, although the Freestyle version that as you say has optical toughness only is an example of the pseudo crossover that European brands (and branches too apparently) seem to do – they don’t have a decent amount of ground clearance! Adding 15-20mm of ride height just takes a modern low-slung car back to what was normal in the 1980s. Surprisingly the Auris Freestyle adds no extra ground clearance!
The other two look great for their purpose. Well the Aygo doesn’t _look_ great, is the ‘adventurous’ styling putting off the stereotypical elderly buyer that Top Gear and the magazines would have us believe are the only buyers of Japanese cars in Europe?
Japanese and South-Korean brands get their sales volume from the A- and B-segment, and to a lesser extent the C-segment.
Anything bigger (cars with higher profit margins) is European. That is, mostly German.
Interesting that the Aygo is just 1/2″ shorter than an Austin A30 but 9″ wider. Guess average waistlines have grown somewhat!
Also doors are no longer as thick as two sheets of steel and some space for a window to roll down. I’m sure I’ve seen door trims on some cars that are thicker than the entire door of a 1950s car!
Very true! But it does make it harder getting through narrow streets. When the car coming the other way is well over six foot wide every inch counts.
I think the Auris Freestyle (or Corolla Fielder as it’s called in Japan) would sell well in the US as a true replacement for the Matrix that the Corolla iM isn’t, particularly if the plan is to butch up the RAV4 in the next design cycle. That and the C-HR’s failure to thrive leaves a model gap in the line.
The Auris wagon body style isn’t actually sold in Japan, and the Corolla Fielder is a completely different vehicle based off the Vitz/Yaris platform.
I would like to know if these Toyota-PSA fusion products are as reliable as those Toyota sourced from Toyota Japan. Again, the looks are acquired taste only
“Euro-Toyotas” are built in the Czech Republic (Aygo), France (Yaris, Proace), the UK (Auris, Avensis) and Turkey (C-HR).
So just a handful of them is sourced from Japan anyway.
It depends on how well Toyota’s Production System is integrated into local manufacturing, esp. in the area of subcontractor relations. As there seems to be no substantial quality difference reported between American and Japanese Toyotas, I would expect it to apply in Europe as well, but the only folks who really know probably signed NDAs with Toyota.
FWIW, back in Henry Ford’s heyday, I read he could never get his British factories to match Dearborn’s productivity. Britain’s craft traditions, and America’s lack thereof, was one difference, but of course a lot has changed since then.
Here in the States, there’s a whole subculture of folks who refuse to buy US assembled Japanese cars. If the VIN doesn’t start with a J, they won’t buy it. I encountered them when I was selling Toyotas 25+ years ago…
Most of whom are Jalopnik subscribers.
In case of the Proace: that’s a French van, built at PSA’s Valenciennes plant, using PSA technology (their 1.6 and 2.0 HDi diesels).
One simply can not exceed the French (both Renault and PSA) when it comes to mid-size, state of the art, FWD panel vans for the European market. So you might as well join them.
The Aygo name reminds me of frozen waffles. “Let go my Eggo!”
Given that one of its key rivals is the Volkswagen up! (with exclamation point!), whose current trim levels include the Move up!; up! beats; and the e-up! electric, I think it fits right in.
….and the (115 hp) up! GTI. Which means that VW offers a hot hatch in the A-, B- and C-segment.
The GTI at least isn’t an obnoxious pun!
The Corolla IM doesn’t have great reviews in the US, mostly because the styling makes promises the engine and chassis don’t deliver.
I would like to think that there is a reasonably sized market niche for a Vibe/Matrix type of car, but I would guess that with gasoline so reasonable customers for that type of car have upsized to a RAV4.
The Aygo is a non-starter for the US, it is too small and gas is cheap…not to mention Toyota’s sales disaster with the same sized iQ.
Now the ProAce, seems like a no brainer as competition for Transit Connect type vehicles. So why didn’t Toyota get the jump on every other manufacturer? Too conservative and even more important: they may not have a factory in a low wage country that can build it like Ford with the TC in Turkey.
The Proace is substantially bigger than the Transit Connect, it’s about the size of a Ford Transit Custom.
In essence the Proace is a French (it’s also built in France) midsize FWD diesel van.
The iM is one of the few survivors of the Scion line. I want to like it, because it’s a hatchback, but the visibility to the rear is not terribly good and the interior seems really cheap and plain. It just doesn’t light me up like a VW does.
The iM doesn’t seem to light other Americans up either. Last month Toyota sold 20,011 Corolla sedans vs only 1,396 iMs.
I enjoy Marek’s tests of European spec models. The Auris 5 door hatchback doesn’t light him up either.
The introduction of an all-new Auris, based on Toyota’s TNGA platform, isn’t too far away anymore.
The introduction of an all-new Auris, based on Toyota’s TNGA platform, isn’t too far away anymore.
Introduction of the Mk 8 Golf isn’t far away either, summer 2019. The bar keeps moving up.
In fact, Steve, near the end of the winter of 2017/2018 we already know that the Golf Mk8 will sell like hotcakes and will completely dominate Europe’s C-segment from the summer of 2019 onwards.
I expect a hatchback will be an important part of the Corolla lineup going forward from the next full redesign; the current iM just gives up too much back seat room to the sedan with the wheelbase difference.
If the Scion was meant to be sporty then it certainly does *not* deliver. It’s simply very bland to drive.
However, in Europe it isn’t marketed as a sporty car at all, and accordingly doesn’t really disappoint on that level. Its selling point here is the hybrid powertrain. My dad owns an Auris wagon just like the one Johannes has shown here, minus the “Freestyle” plastic. Just what he needs on his daily commute: a solid, economical, comfy box that happens to look quite smart.
I believe the gentlemen over at DriventoWrite were rather lukewarm on the Auris, as well. Another adequate product product from Toyota, that checks all the right boxes, but doesn’t quite feel like the sum of its parts.
When I was but a wee lad, I had a Renault 5 (LeCar, if you will), that I really liked. The ride, the cheerful drunken sailor handling, the general gallic wierdness, but most of all, the fabric sliding sunroof. For this reason, and a few more (like color keyed interior bits and wheel details etc), I would love the Aygo in my morning commute. The others I really like also, but anything that goofy and fun is good. I do believe that it does ones soul wonders to have had exposure to French cars at some point in ones life, especially from back when they were really something else, like no other cars on the road. Pauls recent series on the comparisons of the ’67/’68 imports really made me all fuzzy for a Renault 10 again.
The ride, the cheerful drunken sailor handling, the general gallic wierdness,
“Drunken sailor handling” perhaps, but my LeCar could groove curves better than any car I had had before, and better than the Mazda that followed it. The French figured out that making a suspension stiff didn’t do as much for handling as a rigid body structure, with very efficient shocks and lots of wheel travel. On roads that the LeCar would grove smoothly, the Mazda would bounce from pothole patch to pothole patch, without a tenth of the Renault’s stability.
…but most of all, the fabric sliding sunroof.
Loved that huge sunroof. Actually, it didn’t slide on the LeCar. When putzing around town, I left the center bow untied, so when I came out of work in the afternoon, I only had to reach inside the boiling hot car to unclamp the front bow, then pivot the bow rearward to open the roof, then secure the bow with the two tie down straps. All the hot air would fly out of the car through the roof in a moment. Worked better than a/c.
I enjoyed that sunroof so much that it is the one and only reason I keep considering a Fiat 500 Cabrio.
You and I are on the same page, for certain! Your right about the roadholding on the R5, it was pretty amazing to me, way better than my dropped Datsun 510 ( remember when EVERY 510 had BRE wheels, a front dam and flares ?) as it just was TOO stiff in the turns. Fun though! Its funny what you remember about some cars, for me it was many of the little details of the R5, like to headlight adjuster for a load, the way the car seemed to squat evenly when braking, unlike the front end dive on everything else I was used to, the seats if I recall were very good, and the great economy. Fun times, and it ranks with my ’78 CVCC Civic as most memorable cheap car ever. I must dig up a pic or two.. I have the same thought on the Fiat as well, and at least the sliding fabric sunroofs don’t reduce headroom!
like to headlight adjuster for a load,
You must not have had a US spec R5 as mine had no headlight adjuster.
… the way the car seemed to squat evenly when braking, unlike the front end dive on everything else
I didn’t notice a lack of front end dive on mine. The one time I really lit up the Michelin XZXs was when an orange Austin Marina tried to pull out in front of me. I was less concerned with dive, than maneuvering between the protruding front end of the Marina, and the front end of a van hanging out from a driveway on the opposite side of the street. To the Renault’s credit, the variable brake proportioning valve linked to the rear suspension did it’s job and the car remained dead straight, without the rear brake lock and sideways slewing my Ford always exhibited.
I would attribute the tendency to squat on braking to the trailing arm rear suspension. With the arms mounted to the body higher than they are mounted to the wheels, a rearward pull on the arms from braking the wheels will exert a downward force on the rear of the body.
My Xsara and my friends Xantia both brake rear end first during harsh brake events, that pulls the car down on its suspension at both ends increasing traction for steer and stop, dont bother bringing anything Japanese of German to a cornering contest with either the incredible turn in ability and passive rear steer is truly magic far past what other cars consider the limit.
… the seats if I recall were very good,
Excellent seats, though not the best. I had some wheel time in a Renault 18. *Those* were seats to die for.
at least the sliding fabric sunroofs don’t reduce headroom!
Several smaller cars with rigid sunroofs have the glass roof slide above the fixed roof, rather than under it. I have looked at both a Fiat 500 Lounge and a VW Beetle with a sliding glass roof that worked that way. In the Fiat’s case, the roof still had rails that protruded below the normal inside roof line enough to cause a problem for me. The VW had enough headroom that the sunroof rails did not interfere.
The sunroof in the LeCar actually increased the available headroom due to the roof being on top of the flange that sat on top of the fixed area of the roof. I tried out a Fiat 500 Cabrio at the auto show a couple years ago, but they had the roof open, and did not have the keys to close the roof to see if I still had adequate headroom.
I must dig up a pic or two..
Mine. Looked exactly like one in the brochure.
Oh bugger ! I did find all my pics, and lo and behold I have two of my r5, one in its original orange, and the other after a compete respray into white. Yes I was a bit daft to do so. Oh and it was a Canuck spec car, explaining the headlight adjusters. Will try and scan and post.
Yep, that big long sunroof they call a cabrio is the second reason I love my Fiat 500c. The Abarth turbo is the first.
And I find I usually only open the roof into the full sunroof position, leaving me the rear window, rather than drop the back window into the full open position. Besides rear visibility, the airflow over the car is better and less annoying inside.
Back in the mid-90’s, Chrysler was showing a Neon with a sliding fabric sunroof, not unlike the one on the R5, IIRC. I would have chucked my Lancer for that car as soon as it became available, but it never came to pass.
I’m skeptical that these newer cars with the glass panoramic sunroofs will hold up well into their old age.
I would pick the Auris, very handsome inside and out. Thanks for linking the Dutch sales charts, a real eye-opener in how different the Euro market is. Chevy is only minor blip on the radar, and Cadillac dead last (doesn’t say much for Caddy’s claim they build “Euro” type vehicles.)
I had a first generation Aygo as a company car. It wasn´t a beauty and I´m not a fan of small cars in general, but it was a practical, small and reliable little thing. Good for the daily traffic in our city´s but not my choice for long trips on the Autobahn. The second generation shown here looks bigger in my eyes. The Proace I have never seen before, unlike its french brothers. But maybe that is a regional thing,´cause we are here in “Volkswagenland”. Hard to find a van which is not made by them. How´s about in the Netherlands? Is the Proace a common thing there?
The Dutch 2017 sales numbers of Toyota commercial vehicles increased with 93.8% compared to 2016. All thanks to the Proace. Yet our importer doesn’t report how many commercial vehicles the automaker sells here.
I live nearby a Toyota dealership (founded in 1965), so they’re quite common in my region. But all in all, nationwide, I’d say that the Peugeot version sells the best.
Volkswagen dominates our van market too, yet to a lesser extent than in Germany. A few years ago there were 892,000 vans registered in the Netherlands, more than 20% of them was a VW.
We still get the Japanese Hiace here from Toyota only the Peugeot/Citroen store has the Proace under their own badging,
The Hiace was phased out here many moons ago. It simply wasn’t competitive any longer.
The current Proace is actually the second generation.
It’s amazing how different American automobile taste is from European. Some of it can be explained by gas prices but not all. To most Americans, more is more. There is a significant minority who prefer European cars not just for the perceved status Then there are those of us who just March to the beat of a different drummer Goofy is good. Personally, I like anything with with a cloth sunroof. I also like french cars though I only drove one once.
They can be a difficult habit to break I failed and bought another recently base model manual diesel no sunroof (thankfully) but quiet, supremely comfortable and everything still works
That generation of the C5 did very well. A roomy and very comfortable car at a fair price.
Visit the EU and drive on our roads (not just pay our fuel prices) and all will become clear…
We’re about to turn in the Mini and if the Aygo was available in the NA market it would certainly be on the short list.
Keep in mind that the Aygo and Mini operate in completely different segments. I checked our price lists, the Aygo starts at € 11,550 while the base Mini is € 22,163.
Some direct Aygo competitors are the VW Up, Kia Picanto, Renault Twingo and Opel Karl. All of them are in the same price and size segment.
Mini competitors are the Opel Adam, (Citroën) DS3, Audi A1 and Alfa Romeo MiTo.
Especially young folks drive Aygos etc., often it’s their first brand new car. A Mini arrives later in their career.
VW does dominate in Europe, no? You add up the group brands and it has 20% of the Dutch market, double PSA’s. Though I suppose we must now add in Opel to their figures.
I rather like that cloth-headed Aygo, though it would be nice if they installed a dashboard.
And is it just me or is there room in the footwell for a fourth pedal between brake and clutch? And if so, is it some low-cost double clutch option for the VERY quick on their feet?
Yes, Volkswagen (the brand, not the VAG Group) is the leader of the pack with a 2017 market share in Europe of 10.9%.
You are exceedingly funny, justy baum!
Double-clutch with two clutch pedals – put a trademark on it!
I myself drive a 95 Toyota Carina Wagon (called Caldina in Japan, NZ and AUS). It, too, has a factory installed double clutching system:
1.press clutch pedal
2.shift from gear into neutral
3.release clutch pedal
4.press clutch pedal
5.shift from neutral into desired gear
6.release clutch pedal
It sounds complicated, but if you have practice it is really fast, particularly on downshifts it’s actually quicker, race drivers used to do it before synchromesh came around when they were downshifting before a turn.
Anyway, think twice before you check that double-clutch box on the options list!
Now, that’s just double-declutching in your Carina, what you need to contemplate is double-clutch double-declutching in the REALLY cheap four-pedal option without syncromesh.
Which, in fast stop n’ go traffic, must surely resemble the driver playing Flight of the Bumblebee with their feet.
Which, to a bystander, would look for all the world like he was moving a pedal car….
It never ceases to amaze how an automotive colossus like Toyota continues to sells cars with such lowest denominator designs.
Maybe they know something you don’t.
I’ll bet it is “most people do not give a damn about cars”….
… how an automotive colossus like Toyota continues to sells cars with such lowest denominator designs.
Not surprisingly, I have a theory about that:
I figure, after the basic car is designed, each manufacturer has an extra dollop of discretionary money to put where they wish. Toyota puts that discretionary money into reliability, so the car is utterly characterless, but it isn’t needy. VW puts that extra dollop of money into better handling, more responsive powertrain and nicer interior materials, but you may want to put the VW mechanic on your Christmas list.
Since Toyota and VW have been neck and neck for largest car maker in the world for several years, I would say one approach is as valid as the other. Results in the market depend on what the buyers respond to in that particular market.
In Europe, VW Group is #1 with a 23.7% market share. Toyota ranks 9th with a 4.7% share.
In China, the VW brand, alone, ranks 1st with 12.95% share. Toyota ranks 5th, with a 4.7% share.
In the US, Toyota ranks 2nd, with 14.5% market share. the VW brand ranks 12th, with a 2.1% share.
It’s like the engineer’s challenge “you can have it cheap, fast or good. pick two”