Adjusting the rearview mirror
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The Toyota Aygo is part of a dying breed: lightweight, and simple small cars, that are cheap to buy and run, don’t use much fuel without resorting to expensive technology, and don’t take up much space on the road.
Thankfully, they were very popular when new, and that popularity means buyers looking for low-cost transport enjoy abundant choice on the used car market. Toyota Aygos are easy to find, and their simplicity and Toyota reliability means that even if you’re shopping among the cheaper models on the market, you’re not necessarily sacrificing dependability. Along with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108, which were built on the same production line as the Aygo, this little Toyota makes a fine budget car purchase.
The Toyota Aygo is one of the most sensible small cars around. It might not have the brand image of a Volkswagen Up or the style of a Fiat 500, but as a used buy it’s even more affordable than when it was new, reliable, plentiful on the market (so you can be choosy), and a doddle to drive and own.
Highlights include a 1-litre petrol engine whose mid-50s mpg rating is pretty simple to achieve in real-world driving, but enthusiastic enough to get a move on if you’re deft with your gearchanges - the manual is better than the automated manual in this regard. The controls are light, which makes town driving, surely the Aygo’s key environment, easy and stress-free, but it can be fun on the open road too and adept on motorway trips if you accept the car’s limited performance.
The small, simple petrol engine keeps maintenance costs low, but this 1-litre has a good reputation anyway, so regular servicing should keep it ticking over happily for many years to come. You should be happy enough with everything else too, as the Aygo’s exterior styling still looks fresh (if you’re not keen, the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108 are largely identical under the skin and have their own unique looks), and standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (in later models at least) means the infotainment is up to date.
There are more spacious cars in the class - the Volkswagen Up comes to mind - but interior space isn’t bad, and having three- and five-door options is useful. The boot’s a bit small, but that’s not unusual for this class. VW Up (and its Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii siblings) aside, alternatives to the Aygo include the Fiat 500, Renault Twingo, Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto.
As the Aygo has been around for a few years it’s had time to depreciate to true budget-car levels, so we’d avoid the base model X-Play and its predecessors and opt for one of the higher-spec cars. It isn’t that the X-Play is meanly equipped, as air conditioning and CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility are welcome, but when you can step up to a better-equipped model for the sake of a few hundred pounds and get toys like alloy wheels and fog lights, it’s worth doing. Keep an eye out for special editions too, which sometimes received even more kit, but don’t pay over the odds.
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All Aygos got the same engine so there’s no performance advantage to higher trim levels (nor any suspension changes for a sportier drive), but you do get a choice of three doors or five, and manual and automated-manual gearboxes. The auto-manual can be jerky, but if you need an automatic, it’s the only choice.
The second-generation Toyota Aygo’s 2014-2022 production run saw several different trim levels come and go, but before the car was replaced by the crossover-style Aygo X, Toyota settled on three trims, X-Play, X-Trend and X-Clusiv. Air conditioning and an infotainment screen were generously offered across the range.
The Toyota Aygo’s dimensions are:
The Toyota Aygo’s boot size is:
Find an Aygo registered before April 2017 and your VED, or ‘road tax’ as it’s sometimes known, will be absolutely free, thanks to the car’s low CO2 emissions. Later Aygos jump to £180, which is the same as most other petrol cars on the market and less of a bargain - but what you save in fuel you can set aside to pay this yearly tax bill.
Another benefit of low-cost small cars like the Aygo is low insurance. While some cars on the market are cheaper still, it’s difficult to complain about a starting group 5 rating, and a range that still only tops out in group 9 in the 1-50 group system. Unless you’re a brand new driver whose risk factor means high premiums whatever you buy, an Aygo shouldn’t cost much to insure.
£9,729
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£9,499
£1,079 off£12,995
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£11,595
What is the most popular colour for Toyota Aygo ?
What is the most popular gearbox for Toyota Aygo ?
What is the most popular fuel type for Toyota Aygo ?
What is the most popular engine for Toyota Aygo ?
What is the average mileage for Toyota Aygo ?
30991
How many Toyota Aygo cars are available for sale?
106
