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Toyota’s decision to partner with Peugeot and Citroen to create the Aygo, C1, and 107 turned out to be a very good one. The combination of Toyota reliability and the French panache for small cars produced a Toyota with character; something that doesn’t happen very often. So, it should come as no surprise that they are at it again with the revised 108, C1, and Aygo.
Despite being (almost) mechanically identical, the Aygo can’t quite match the official fuel economy of the Peugeot and Citroen because Toyota in its wisdom hasn’t fitted a stop/start system. Whilst stop/start can be seen as offering a small gain in mixed driving, for a car that is designed to spend much of its life in the urban environment it is a bit of an omission.
More thought has been given to the styling, which successfully differentiates the Aygo from the French twins to such an extent that it is now difficult to tell that they share the same underpinnings. Toyota has intentionally gone for a more striking look with the ‘X’ frontal styling on the new model to appeal to young buyers, and the result is attention grabbing.
With a clear trend towards increased personalisation, the latest model allows various exterior tweaks, and interior colour combinations some of which are more tasteful than others. The dashboard design incorporates a simplified central control unit with a 7-inch touchscreen display. The result is appropriate for what is supposed to be an affordable city car; it’s uncluttered, and retaining rotary dials for ventilation control is much better than fiddly touchscreen menus.
The revised Aygo has moved the game forward with even better fuel economy, more style, a bigger boot (196 litres) and mobile-friendly touch-screen displays. Some of the new colour combinations are questionable and material quality still isn’t at the premium end of spectrum but it remains sensibly priced, practical and fun to drive.
Read our full Toyota Aygo review
