The second-generation Toyota Aygo was launched back in 2014 and the range has swollen since then with a number of options and special editions in an attempt to reach out to the target market of young, city-car drivers.
Despite being the result of a joint venture with French manufacturers Citroen and Peugeot, the Aygo features more distinctive styling to make it stand out from its C1 and 108 sister cars.
But with so many trims and special editions to choose from, finding the ideal Aygo for you is no easy feat. To help, in this article we dissect the range and identify which grade and options we think offer the best value for money.
Engine
You won’t struggle to choose which engine to go for seeing as there’s only one 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine on offer. It produces 69bhp and 95Nm of torque and proves perfectly adequate for the city driving it’s intended for.
Automatic or manual transmission?
Five-speed manual transmission is standard, while the x-shift automated gearbox is offered on most five-door models.
X-shift can be used in fully automatic mode or gears can be manually selected via paddle shifts or the gearlever itself.
It’s not a conventional automatic or CVT gearbox, it’s actually a robotised five-speed manual with electronics taking care of the clutch.
Automatic transmissions can be very useful in city traffic, however this type of gearbox in smaller cars is often jerky, less refined and not usually pleasant to drive, therefore we’d recommend the manual. However, the cost of £700 for an automatic is more competitive than rivals and economy is not compromised much as a result which is rare.
The manual transmission achieves combined economy of 68.9mpg and CO2 figures of 95g/km, while x-shift achieves 67.3mpg and 97g/km.
Three- or five-door?
Whether you opt for the three- or five-door bodystyle will no doubt depend on your personal preferences and circumstances, although the five-door version is not available on entry models. If you have young children the added practicality of five doors is beneficial but if the Aygo will be bought as a young driver’s first car, the extra doors probably won’t be as much of a priority.
That said, five-door models cost only £400 extra and we think that offers very good value for money for the additional practicality they offer.
Six trims
The Aygo is currently available in three trims, X, X-play and X-pression, and three special editions, X-cite, X-pure and X-clusiv.
There are a number of features which are standard on all models including:
- Isofix child seat fixings
- Passenger airbag cut-off switch
- Driver’s seatbelt reminder system, with buzzer
- Front seatbelts with pretensioners and force limiters
- Vehicle Stability Control to prevent skids
- Childproof rear door locks (five-door models)
- Hill-start Assist
- Tyre Pressure Warning System
The X trim level is the most basic in the range and includes 14-inch wheels, projector beam and LED headlights, and a seatbelt warning system which will alert you if someone is not buckled in.
Next up is X-play which adds 15-inch wheels, gloss black X-grille, leather steering wheel and gearknob, four-speaker stereo, Bluetooth, air-con, rev counter, height-adjustable driver’s seat and split-folding rear seats.
Moving up to X-pression includes 15-inch alloy wheels, gloss black rear bumper trim and front wing inserts, front foglights, part-leather sports seats and the X-Touch infotainment system with DAB radio and a reversing camera.
Special edition X-pure brings with it white and silver paintwork, tinted rear windows and white-painted alloys. Inside you get grey seat fabric with white and light grey bolsters, plus a silver and white centre console and gearshift surround. You also get the X-Touch infotainment pack, including Bluetooth and DAB, and a reversing camera.
X-cite stands out in Yellow Fizz paintwork with bi-tone black colour finish, gloss black alloy wheels, exterior and interior detailing and black cloth upholstery with yellow bolsters.
Top-of-the-range is the X-clusiv, featuring black and silver alloys, leather upholstery, X-touch multimedia system with DAB, reversing camera and automatic headlights. X-clusiv is the only trim to also come with the X-wave electric retracting roof as standard too.
Toyota Safety Sense
Toyota Safety Sense is offered on all trim levels with the exception of x, for £375 and is well worth considering.
The laser-controlled pre-collision system warns the driver of an imminent crash and will emergency brake the car as soon as the brake pedal is pressed. If the driver doesn’t take action, the system will reduce speed by around 19mph automatically which should either bring the car to a stop, or reduce the force of an impact.
Lane Departure Alert is another useful feature included which alerts the driver if the car deviates from its lane when the indicators have not been used.
Options
There’s an extensive range of customisation packs available to help make your Aygo unique.
X-cite and X-clusiv models have the option of upgrading with the X-tra premium pack which adds leather seat upholstery, keyless entry and push-button start.
An INstyle option is also available for X-play and X-pression which includes leather seats with accents with a choice of four colours.
The X-tra convenience pack adds automatic air-conditioning, dusk-sensing headlights, keyless entry and push-button start to X-pression, X-cite and X-pure models.
An X-wave canvas roof option is available to five-door X-pression owners which is electrically operated and extends to the near full length of the car. Extra exterior chrome touches can also be added to this model with the OUTshine pack, while both three- and five-door versions can have the OUTshield pack with rear parking sensors, a boot liner, aluminium scuff plates, rubber floor mats and mud flaps.
Verdict
Weighing up all the options, we think X-pression trim offers the best value for money here. We also think that the five-door option is a must, allowing you to enjoy added practicality and strong residual values when you come to sell in the future.
Despite the extra cost, we would recommend opting for Toyota Safety Sense, plus a manual transmission will make your city journey smooth, refined and keep you engaged when you head out of town.
