Key Facts
Model tested: Toyota Aygo x-clusiv 1.0 five-door
Pricing: Aygo x-clusive five-door from £11,695; range begins at £8,595
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol
Transmission: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: five-door hatchback
CO2 emissions: 95g/km
Combined economy: 68.9mpg
Top speed: 99mph
0-62mph: 14.2 seconds
Power: 69hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 95Nm at 4,300rpm
Our view:
Having seen a celebrity who should know better give the poor old Toyota Aygo a thorough kicking in a recent review (said celeb then only compounded his error by writing a glowing appraisal for one of its near-identical sister cars, the Peugeot 108, just weeks later), and having been subjected to the car's ultra-aggressive 'Go Fun Yourself' ad campaign, we were intrigued to see what Toyota's refreshed city run-around offering was like in the normal world we all inhabit. Free from peer pressure and the needlessly in-yer-face brainchild of some loopy advertising exec, our aim was to find out how good - or bad - the Aygo really is.
Well, short of writing a 'Spoiler Alert!' for the rest of the article, the good news for Toyota is: we think it's excellent. Within five minutes of making its acquaintance, you're impressed. One cursory walk around the exterior, which won't take long given the car's minute dimensions, sells you. Where the first Aygo was inoffensive, this one is superb to behold - the X-branded face being the obvious main draw, although the rear light treatment and wheels shoved to all four corners are also great, as is the sculpted roof. It's clear this will appeal hugely to younger buyers, rather than the sort of blue-rinse brigade who still run the first-gen cars. It's also, in our opinion, better looking than its Peugeot and Citroen cousins.
The Aygo's interior is a great example of how to build something to a cost without it feeling horrifically cheap. Yes, the dashboard's upper surface is made of hard, unremitting plastic. Yes, the doors are what the waiter who served Mr Creosote might have termed 'waffer thin'. Yes, the rear doors have venting quarter light openings, rather than wind-down windows. And yes, the ridiculous parcel 'shelf' should be called a 'parcel fabric'.
But it all works. The dash is not made of that 'rhino skin'-effect plastic, instead featuring some neat little moulds and flourishes to keep the eye interested. Thin doors mean more shoulder room for the larger occupant, and a smaller footprint for the vehicle as a whole. Rear quarter lights? Well... who's going to sit in the back anyway? And they still let air in and out of the car. And as for that fabric over the boot, as I'm a sucker for pointless, tiny parcel shelves, so the Aygo's effort motors straight into my personal Top Five.
The overall effect of both the striking exterior and well-judged interior - such as the body-coloured panels running around the dash - is of a car that's from a class above. Which might explain the price. At £11,695 as an x-clusiv five-door, the only models that are more expensive all come with the x-shift automatic gearbox. True, there are some nice toys on the x-clusiv, such as a touchscreen multimedia system, steering wheel controls, air conditioning, Bluetooth, a DAB radio, 15-inch alloys and LED daytime running lights, but getting on for £12,000 for a city car is asking a lot. However, similar rivals from the Volkswagen Group or Hyundai can easily be specified well into the five-figure ballpark, so Toyota isn't alone on this score.
To drive, it's a bit of a throwback, but in a good way. The Aygo's normally aspirated 1.0-litre engine means you have to maintain as much velocity as you can, which is entertaining and a facet that will teach these lazy turbo-weaned whippersnappers a thing or two about being in the right gear at the right time. Given the Aygo's pedestrian 0-62mph figure, the peppy way it gets to 45mph is surprising and a pleasant corollary of the car's 900kg kerb weight and clean throttle response; it certainly feels livelier than the bigger Yaris with the same engine. But if you want to make decent progress without thrashing the poor three-pot to within an inch of its life, it's all about cornering as quickly and smoothly as you can.
Luckily, the Aygo is a hit on this score as well. The steering is very light and lacking genuine feedback, due to its urban leanings, but with fine weighting once loaded up in a bend you at least know what the front tyres are up to. There's quite a lot of body roll, but again it's not atrocious and the Toyota has more grip than you might at first give it credit for. The net result is you can barrel it along back roads in a feisty manner, keeping the little engine boiling away near its peak torque output and travelling at acceptable speeds to other road users. Overtaking is even possible and not completely terrifying.
But it's a more grown-up proposition, too. Tyre noise is a mite intrusive at cruising speeds but the engine's thrum and wind noise are both kept to a minimum. It also rides well - not smoothing out every bump and lump, yet dealing with them much better than you'd expect, looking at its wheelbase. On a dual carriageway run it kept up with traffic, held a good speed and generally didn't feel painful in the slightest. It also managed a 50.1mpg average over 211 miles of mostly hard driving, which is commendable.
Maybe the advertising campaign really irked our celebrity, to the point he felt he had to take it out on the Toyota Aygo. But he shouldn't have done, because the little Japanese city car is hugely endearing and among the class leaders. There are one or two areas it could still improve upon, yet the second generation Aygo gets a hearty thumbs-up from us. Go Fun Yourself, indeed.
Alternatives:
Hyundai i10: similar three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine from the Koreans and it's one of our favourites, thanks to its excellent noise suppression at speed.
Skoda Citigo: slightly better equipment levels and much better dealer after-sales experience could tempt buyers from the Volkswagen into the Czech car.
Volkswagen up! : cute looks, the badge to have, not exactly cheap.
