The Toyota Aygo is PARKtastic ... but it is very much a City slicker

Take your pick

The Aygo is only 3,455mm long and 1,615mm wide, which makes it a tad smaller than even the hardly vast Up. Even so, for such a small car there is a decent if not groundbreaking amount of space in it. The five-door version will easily let four adults get in, travel in some comfort and then get out at the other end with the blood still flowing to all their limbs. With 168 litres of boot space available when the rear seats are up it will carry some of their luggage too.

The boot is spacious but the parcel shelf is very flimsy

I wasn't massively taken back by the interior build quality and from Toyota, as I had reckoned on better. Take these two prime examples: the gear knob had a habit of rotating in my hand and the flimsy rear parcel shelf pretty much fell off and apart every time I looked at it. Beyond that the whole cabin felt far more plasticky than I expected. The comparison with the VW Up is not flattering. That feels like a small, minimalist version of the Golf. The Aygo on the other hand just feels like it has been built down to a price.

Small car but no shortage of doors

Assuming the Aygo still sounds like your bag of bananas should you pick the Toyota over the Citroën or Peugeot models in the bunch? I'd say yes. The Citroën is a little prettier on the outside, unlike the Pug which is a dull lump that sadly does not look at all like a small 208. Under the skin and inside, all three cars are near enough identical but the Toyota is on average around £250 cheaper spec for spec. If like me you're part kilt wearer the Aygo is obviously the one to go for thanks to that Saltire nose job.

The Reg Verdict

I’m in two minds about the new Aygo. I like the looks, the packaging and the handling. And around town the performance is fine. But the ugly dash harks back to a bygone era, interior build quality is less than impressive in places and engine noise is significantly more intrusive than it is in the VW Up. The rather gutless open road performance came as a bit of a disappointment too, notwithstanding the Aygo’s urban-focused market segment. Granted the cheapest Up will cost you around £800 more than the cheapest Aygo but the VW would still be my choice. ®