Toyota Aygo review

The Mk2 Toyota Aygo comes complete with edgy styling that improves upon the original car’s more bulbous looks. The Aygo has always shared its oily bits with its Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108 siblings. The Toyota is much more likely to turn heads, with sleek headlights and a pointy nose. The Aygo comes with three or five doors, although the most recent models are five-door only. 

The Aygo’s styling is highly customisable when new. It’s why some of the cars on cinch have a black ‘X’ across their face, along with body-coloured door mirrors, a different-coloured roof and so on. Shop around to find the perfect combo for you.  

The Toyota Aygo’s suspension is well-judged for life in town – the ride quality isn’t too soft or too firm, and manages to deal with your average road surface. You’re going to feel a pothole if you hit one, of course. The body doesn’t lean too much on roundabouts. Plus, the light steering makes life simpler when you’re trying to get into a parking space. 

There’s just a single engine choice – a thrummy 1.0-litre petrol – and it’s perfect for its intended purpose, proving pretty nippy when you’re setting off from traffic lights. The Aygo is capable of being used on faster roads, of course. You’ll just need to work the engine hard to keep up with motorway traffic. 

‘Funky’ is a great way to describe the Toyota Aygo’s interior - and you can see why it appeals to its target audience (young drivers) so much. The front seats look and feel like they’ve come out of a hot hatch, and on most versions the driver’s seat adjusts for height. That should make finding a good driving position easier as the steering wheel adjusts only for reach, not height. 

This is a keenly priced city car, so you can’t expect oodles of soft-touch plastics. The Aygo’s interior feels nicely put together. There’s a seven-inch touchscreen set high on the dashboard, with a digital display for the ventilation below it. The driver gets a rather eye-catching instrument binnacle. Even the air vents look, ahem, cool and air-con is standard on most cars. 

Front-seat passengers will generally be happy with the available space. Although the rear doors make getting into the rear seats easy, knee room will be tight for taller adults – certainly tighter than in the Kia Picanto and Volkswagen Up. The rear windows only hinge open for ventilation. 

Some models feature a Mirrorlink system to display your Android smartphone’s screen, while later trims get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s Bluetooth connectivity across the board and the digital radio has four speakers – the JBL Edition has a much-improved system with a subwoofer instead of a spare wheel. 

The Toyota Aygo is a city car at heart. That’s not to say it doesn’t have room for a few goodies picked up on a shopping trip. In fact, it has a surprisingly decent amount of storage room. There are bins in all doors, cup holders, the glovebox is a good size, there are cubbies for phones, and you’ll find a USB socket in some models.  

The boot has space for a couple of holdalls with the rear seats in place – and there’s a parcel shelf to keep things hidden from prying eyes. Most examples have rear seat backs that are split 50/50; with both folded you’ll be able to fit in a couple of suitcases. 

There’s only a single engine fitted to the Toyota Aygo – the 1.0-litre petrol unit with an official average fuel economy figure of 57.7mpg (measured using the current, more realistic WLTP method). In the real world, you should be able to get close to 50mpg, which is still very good. 

We love the Toyota Aygo’s cheeky styling, both outside and in, and we think young drivers will too. They’ll also appreciate the infotainment’s connectivity and the city car’s low running costs, thanks in part to the small engine. The Aygo’s tiny dimensions make it easy to park in town, while5-door examples mean that those in the front seats won’t have to climb out every time someone wants to get in the back.