Toyota reveals new Aqua with all-wheel drive and bi-directional charging

Tuesday, 20 July 2021

The new Aqua has been revealed with quite an impressive resume, but it won’t be coming here in any official capacity.

Toyota has revealed the new Aqua/Prius C, coming with all-wheel drive, bi-directional charging and self-parking.

The little electrified hatchback has shifted to the TNGA-B platform, which improves fuel efficiency by as much as 20 per cent compared to the old Aqua, a figure helped by a new bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery.

Toyota NZ CEO Neeraj Lala told Checkpoint the company is concerned people might delay a vehicle purchase, thinking an electric option would soon be on the market.

Toyota says this has twice the output of the previous generation while being more compact, allowing for more responsive acceleration and higher speeds while running on the electric motor alone. The maker doesn’t elaborate on how large the battery actually is, though.

Paired with a 1.5-litre petrol engine, the powertrain sips a claimed 2.8L/100km of fuel, while the electric-only capabilities have been expanded to let the Aqua run without the engine at all in a “wide variety of urban scenarios.”

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For easier access you can swivel the driver's seat around.

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Just like the first-gen Aqua, the new model could well see time on kiwi roads as a grey import.

This is also the debut of Toyota’s new ‘Comfort Pedal’, essentially one-pedal driving. By selecting the Power+ Mode, drivers only have to relax pressure on the accelerator pedal to generate regenerative braking force, and smoothly slow the vehicle.

Also new to Aqua is the E-Four all-wheel drive system, optional on all trim levels. Every Aqua gets the full Safety Sense suite, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane-tracing assist, and something called ‘Plus Support’, which helps manage sudden acceleration due to “misapplication of the accelerator pedal.”

For the first time in a Toyota compact car, buyers get Toyota’s self-parking system, which works in parallel and perpendicular situations.

This can control all parking operations, including the steering, brake, accelerator, and gear shifting operations; in addition to detecting stationary objects in front of and behind the vehicle. It can also detect stationary objects on either side and provide alerts and brake control to avoid collisions

That new battery is also strong enough for bidirectional charging. All versions of the Aqua get an accessory outlet and an emergency power supply mode, which lets the car power electrical appliances during a blackout.

Without knowing the size of the battery it’s hard to say how long the Aqua could maintain the supply but, considering it’s just a small hybrid and not a plug-in or fully electric vehicle, it probably won’t be all that long.

In terms of design, the Aqua continues the inoffensive, curvy design of the first-gen model, with swoopy vertical rear lights and a minimal front end. The wheelbase has been extended by 50mm to improve rear passenger space and storage capacity.

Inside is soft synthetic leather upholstery, powered seats, and a 10.5-inch infotainment display. The driver’s seat can swivel around for easier access.

Stuff reached out to Toyota New Zealand to see if the little Aqua would make it here, and was told that the plan is to focus on the Yaris Hybrid as a new car while Aqua will be supported as a used vehicle option.

That means there’s a good chance we’ll see the new compact on our roads, but as a grey import in a few years time.