I owe you all an apology. Last week, I wrote about a teaser for a Toyota concept, called the X Prologue. Or, at least we thought it was called the X Prologue. It actually turned out to be the Aygo X Prologue, a high-riding concept of the brand’s next-generation Aygo subcompact, which isn’t sold in the U.S. In other words, not an electric vehicle, as I and some others suggested.
Nope, this is a proposal for a regular old A-segment hatchback. I mean, I suppose it could be powered by batteries, given that Toyota’s entirely design-focused press release doesn’t specify what the powertrain is supposed to be in this thing. I just don’t expect it. The new Aygo will be built on Toyota’s GA-B platform, according to Auto Express, and that is indeed internal combustion-powered, so yeah — not an EV.
The Aygo X Prologue isn’t the harbinger of Toyota’s future in quite the way some expected, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not worth studying. I really happen to like this little dude. You can see bits of Toyota’s current design language carrying over to this concept, like the GR Yaris’ bulging rear-wheel arches, except it’s been raised and made even more muscular, while gaping fake grilles and frivolous creases have thankfully been kept to a minimum. The proportions are borderline cartoonish too, which I love — even though those rear doors look painful to crawl through.
Throw the GR Yaris’ all-wheel-drive system and 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder in this beefed-up Aygo, and I think you’d have a pretty good time. Of course, the same would be true with a regular-old GR Yaris, but that’s neither here nor there. Really, I just want to experience the GR Yaris in some way, shape, or form. I’m not picky at this point.
Toyota turned to its ED² design studio in France to pen the Aygo X Prologue, which has experience designing small cars particularly for Europe. The concept builds upon Aygos of the past, but adds some fun extras, like GoPro-esque “action cameras” embedded into the side mirrors, as well as a skid plate at the rear with a bicycle mount and a roof rack. I’m starting to tire of front lightbars, but I dig the shape of the one on the X Prologue, as well as the two-tone paint job. (Worth noting that the Aygo was a partner program to two French hatchbacks, sharing platforms with the Citroën C1 as well as the Peugeot 107 then 108.)
The adventurous vibe of this concept suggests we could see an equally active-minded Aygo “Cross” or something of that nature in the future. Although, when I say “we,” I don’t mean any Americans reading this, because of course we don’t get Aygos. We don’t get any of the cool Toyotas. Maybe somebody should do something about that.