Toyota’s little star car still has the X factor W
E tried out the latest version of Toyota’s popular city car the Aygo after it launched in the UK a couple of years ago and found it to be practical and lots of fun.
Since then other manufacturers have come up with (or upgraded) their own ‘fun’ city cars, so to see if the Aygo has still ‘got it’ we had a week with an x-press mid range version filled with motoring must haves like a reversing camera, hill start assist and DAB radio as standard - with our test car also having sat-nav (a £400 option).
The second-generation Aygo is much more distinctive than the first model and starts from £8,995 in ‘x’ trim, making it the most affordable car Toyota sells in the UK.
For such a small car, there are quite a few trim options, with the range-topping x clusiv grade getting leather seats, 15-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, a seven-inch touchscreen with DAB radio, Mirrorlink smartphone connectivity and a reversing camera.
Our little Toyota, with its smart black and red colour scheme and black alloy wheels, turned out to be every bit as good as I remembered - it’s a hoot to drive and one of those cars that makes you smile as soon as you get in… it is trying to be mean with that ‘angry ninja’ corporate Toyota face but just looks cute.
The Aygo is bristling with safety features such as lane departure warning, collision avoidance, stability control, hill start assist, ABS, EBD, tyre pressure monitoring six airbags and traffic camera alert.
It feels well-made and has a quality finish inside, particularly good is the latest Toyota infotainment touch screen system. There’s lots of room for people in the front on stylish sports seats, but rear seat passengers will be a little cramped. For this mark two model Toyota made a number of technical improvements under the skin, including that enhanced vehicle safety.
The Aygo proved more than up to the task of motorway driving being comfortable at the legal limit, but that three cylinder 998cc VVT-i petrol engine feels like there is not much more left when you eventually get there (0 to 62 in 14.2 seconds) although Toyota say it will reach 99mph.
But then this car is designed to shine on city streets. It certainly is not a big car but I got a small folding leaf table and two stools in the back with relative ease with the rear seats folded down.
The steering is light and accurate, the Aygo turns into corners well and there’s good grip plus the car is very frugal (up to 78.5mpg) and easy to personalise, with lots of options available.
Underneath are much of the mechanicals from the old model including that three-cylinder engine, which has been tweaked to give even better fuel economy, with the biggest upgrade being bodywork styling and interior.
There are various styling and equipment packages to choose from plus a three- or five-door body, a full-length fabric roof and the ‘x-shift’ auto gearbox.
The Aygo range starts from £8,995 (on a current Toyota deal) for the x model through x-play, x-press, x-style and x-clusive up to the x-claim limited edition at £14,895.
And earlier this month Toyota unveiled a new addition to the range the x-cite which comes with a red and black contrast colour theme inside and out and what Toyota say is a, ‘big car’ specification including automatic air conditioning, dusk-sensing headlights and gloss black 15-inch alloys from £12,520 (manual) or £13,220 (x-shift transmission)
Our x-press is £12,055 on the road, which compares well with similarly specced rivals like the Vauxhall Adam, VW UP and Skoda Citigo.
And it looks like the Aygo does still have the X factor as last month the little motor was named Best City Car in Auto Express magazine’s annual Driver Power survey.
Readers ticked boxes for the Aygo on its fun styling with customisable colour combinations, lively performance about town and Toyota’s five-year/100,000-mile warranty.
“The Toyota took the top spot thanks to excellent scores in infotainment and fuel economy, as well as reliability”, said Auto Express, adding: “Owners also found the Aygo the best looking of the city cars, giving it the highest score for styling.”
So we have our answer then. THIS weekend, classic car fans will be flocking to Knutsford’s’ Tatton Park to sample a superb array of U.S ‘dream machines’ at the Stars & Stripes Classic American Car Show.
The hugely popular show will feature Stateside vehicles of every size and shape from 1950s chrome classics through more modern muscle cars, custom hot rods, pickups, ex-army trucks, Harley motorbikes and even American motorhomes.
An added attractions this year will be authentic wild west shows, courtesy of the ‘Lone Star Re-enactment Society’, as well as the motorcycle ‘Wall Of Death’.
There will also be 100 Americanthemed and general trade stalls, live bands and singers, childrens’ rides, food and refreshments.
It is open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm. Full details at; www. cheshireautopromotions.co.uk.