Aston Martin Cygnet

"What's a Japan-made Toyota iQ doing in the Kuwaiti-owned British sports car company known as Aston Martin? And how does an Toyota iQ modified to look like an Aston Martin?" That is the question only you can answer because what we see know is Aston Martin's first compact car, the Cygnet, based on the Japan-made Toyota iQ subcompact that is truly a decent rival to the smart compact cars.

2011 Aston Martin Cygnet

True to its form that the Cygnet is the British version of the Toyota iQ subcompact, the exterior sports its trademark Aston Martin look on the front and an eccentric tail lamps attached on the rear. This is nothing more like "For Tokyo, James?" and James Bond would say "No, not for me." because I think the men with their inner Bond would not like the Cygnet's compact look. What makes up for the Cygnet is only for the girls who want to be like the Bond girls in several Bond movies. Speaking of that, the rich dads who have Aston Martins in their garages are happy to lend the Cygnet's key for the spoiled brats who've reached their driving age. Pretty much to say that the Cygnet is a spoiled brats' driving force.

2011 Aston Martin Cygnet interior

The Cygnet is truly the GT-R Egoist in the making because the interior packs several color combinations that can be use it in ways that suits your mood and personality. From the choice of Alcantara Suede trims (10 Alcantara colors and 5 Plisse alcantara colors) and leather trims, choosy customers may want to spend some time finding the right interior trim for the Cygnet. Looks like what will they do is apply the Egoist knowledge until the right interior combination comes out to mind and rightfully take home the over 30,000 British Pound Aston Martin subcompact car that will be surely be small wonder for the Kuwaiti-owned British sports car maker.

The main engine for the Aston Martin Cygnet is the Toyota-sourced 1.3L 1NR-FE Dual VVT-i engine that carries 98bhp/6000rpm of power output, 125nm/4400 of torque output, and Euro 5 compliant. The Cygnet 6-speed manual consumes for about 58.9mpg EC Combined and no, the Cygnet 6MT variant does not have Toyota's Smart Stop (idling stop) system found on the Toyota iQ Go 6MT and the third-generation Vitz/Yaris. The CVT variant of the Cygnet is the most fuel-efficient Cygnet ever, resulting to the fuel consumption of 55.4mpg EC Combined and the CO2 emissions of 120g/km. Those looking for some fun riding should go for the Aston Martin Cygnet 1.3L 6-speed manual transmission but for those looking for some gas-saving cars should consider the Cygnet 1.3L CVT variant. The choice is yours...

The Aston Martin Cygnet comes with several color variations to choose from;

Special Paints:
Sports car paint - Black bear
Sports car paint - Blue anchor
Sports car paint - Grey bull
Sports car paint - Red lion
Sports car paint - Silver fox
Sports car paint - Silver jubilee
Sports car paint - White horse
Sports car paint - Yellow kangaroo

Metallic Paints:
Contemporary metallic - Blue anchor
Contemporary metallic - Grey bull
Contemporary metallic - Red lion
Contemporary metallic - Silver fox
Contemporary metallic - Yellow kangaroo
Fast track metallic - Black bear
Fast track metallic - Silver jubilee
Fast track metallic - White horse

My Comment:
Well, I'm not excited about the first compact car from Aston Martin, which is essentially a Toyota iQ in Aston Martin guise. The Toyota iQ was assembled in Japan and the Aston Martin Cygnet's assembly takes place at Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK. However, the folks at Gaydon require the Japan-made Toyota iQ as the donor car and swap it out with something Aston Martin on it, resulting to the finished product. The Aston Martin Cygnet is half-Japanese, half-British, something like, well you know, a mixture of eating sushi and sipping English tea for lunch. Looks like the Cygnet will only live twice (cue the song You Only Live Twice, please) because this looks more of a substitute to the Toyota 2000GT Open-Top from the Bond movie, You Only Live Twice, which was driven by the Bond girl, Akiko Wakabayashi. If I were to recreate that Bond film, maybe Aki may use this Cygnet as a support vehicle while she and Bond are getting away from the goons.

Photo: Aston Martin

Desu No! White and Black

Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Edition

It seems that Aston Martin, famous for Bond cars, announced the pricing for the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city compact! The pricing for the Cygnet starts at 30,995 British Pounds (about 3,950,000 Philippine Pesos) and because of that, a special edition called the Cygnet Launch Edition is announced.

This special primer comes with two special colors that made me saying

"DESU NO! WHITE AND BLACK"

White and Black! 

That's right! 

Snow White and Magic Black are the colors for this special edition Cygnets, great for those who want to take the first step of Aston Martin's first compact car designed to wow the crowd.

Ha ha ha! Now, that's Kuroko's song!

Wait, this is somewhat similar that back in 1997, Toyota Motor Corporation launched special edition models of the Camry Gracia (sixth-generation Camry) station wagon in Pearl White and Black colors. This is the first "Desu No! White and Black" situation.

Anyway, time to listen to the song "Desu No! White and Black"

This time, the brand behind Bond cars does Kuroko's song

Toyota iQ Go 6MT or Honda Fit/Jazz RS 6MT

Toyota's sporty addition to the iQ compact, the iQ → (iQ Go)

and the recently facelifted Honda Fit/Jazz RS, now with the available 6-speed manual

Yes, I know. Both of these hot JDM hatches are armed with the sporty 6-speed manual. But which one's better in the eyes of a JDM hot hatch aficionado?

CASE ONE:

Launched at Japan in late August 2010, the iQ → (iQ Go) is the sportier side of the Toyota iQ micro car. In November 2010, a 6-speed manual transmission is offered on the iQ Go. The Toyota iQ Go 130G 6MT is powered with the 1.3 1NR-FE Dual VVT-i engine that produces a power output of 94PS and the fuel economy of 23.5km/L. Plus, the iQ Go 130G 6MT is equipped with the idling stop system and Toyota's Smart Stop technology.

CASE TWO: With the launch of the recently facelifted Honda Fit/Jazz and the addition of the new Fit/Jazz Hybrid, the Fit/Jazz RS is also facelifted and this time, not only comes with the CVT, but also a sporty 6-speed manual transmission. On the performance side, the Fit RS is armed with the L15A engine that produces 120 PS of power output and the fuel economy of 17.4km/L. Best of all, the Fit RS can fit up to 5 people. iQ Go can fit up to 4 people.

In the performance side, the Fit RS wins. The iQ Go outperforms the Fit RS because of the fuel economy. For seating and easy access, winner goes to the Fit RS thanks to the 5-doors while the iQ Go is only 3-doors. I would gladly prefer a Honda Fit RS 6MT rather than the Toyota iQ Go 130G 6MT because of its performance and easy access. Hot hatches never been this hot!

The sportier side of Toyota iQ

Toyota iQ Go

           

At the end of August 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation just unveiled the sportier side of the super-small compact car known as the Toyota iQ.

Called the iQ→ (iQ Go), this iQ boasts a sporty front side and offers the same choice of a 1.0L and 1.3L engine.

For the first time, the manual version of the iQ→ (iQ Go), available in November 2010, will offer Toyota's first Smart Stop system. This is the first time Toyota's offering a manual-tranny car with the idling stop system. The fuel economy of the iQ→ (iQ Go) goes on about 23.5km/L. With that fuel economy, the iQ→ (iQ Go) will win over against the new Suzuki Swift ZC72S.

Geez, I hope Toyota Motor Philippines will bring not just the normal iQ, but also this sportier version called the iQ→(iQ Go).

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation