Toyota Aygo review

Although around 90% of Aygos are bought on PCP finance, and you’ll find it competitive when compared like-for-like against the Volkswagen Up. The equivalent Hyundai i10 undercuts it, too.

The Aygo’s running costs are more impressive. With CO2 emissions of 93g/km it'll make a cheap company car, and the official WLTP combined fuel economy is a competitive 57.7mpg. Expect to achieve around 50mpg with relative ease in the real world.

Avoid the entry-level X trim, which is about as basic as cars get these days — it gives you electric front windows but no air conditioning or alloy wheels and, as we've mentioned before, its infotainment system is from the dark ages. 

Instead, step up to X-Play. You still have to put up with steel wheels but gain air conditioning, electrically operated door mirrors and a leather steering wheel and gear knob. And don't forget that you get the better infotainment system, rear-view camera and driver's seat height adjustment that we mentioned earlier. 

X-Trend is pricier but does have climate control, alloy wheels, automatic headlights and privacy glass, while X-Cite is mainly about its special Mandarin orange trim and contrasting black roof. X-Clusiv, which adds even more style and customisation options, part-leather seat trim and adds the safety pack we covered in the safety section, but it's too pricey to recommend.

The Aygo finished a decent eighth in the 2019 What Car? Reliability Survey, and Toyota as a brand finished in an impressive second overall, ahead of Kia and Skoda, and finishing only behind the brand’s own upmarket division, Lexus. 

All Toyotas come with a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, with no mileage limit for the first year. That's significantly better cover than you get with the Volkswagen Up, although the Kia Picanto benefits from the brand’s industry-leading seven-year coverage.

The Aygo was awarded a disappointing three stars for safety by Euro NCAP in 2017, but you can add a safety pack with automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane departure warning on all but entry-level X trim, which lifts the Euro NCAP rating to four stars. Top-spec X-Clusiv trim is the only variant that has this as standard.

Every Aygo has a steering column lock and an immobiliser. However, security firm Thatcham Research has rated the Aygo poorly in its resistance to being broken into, awarding it two out of its maximum five stars. In tests to determine its resistance to being stolen, the Aygo did better, scoring four stars.

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