Toyota Aygo | Independent Car & Driving Preview

So, what makes a car feel fun? Sprightly handling? Cheeky looks? Clever marketing? Well, can an urban runabout really qualify for purchase on those grounds? Well, with this model, an improved version of the second generation Toyota Aygo, we're told that it can. Now, you might think you know this car, but if you haven't tried the enhanced version of this Mk2 model launched here in the summer of 2018, then you probably don't. Now, yes, it does share its mechanicals with the original design, and no, it's not quite the same. So, let's start with the fundamental thing that hasn't changed. As before, this contender is produced as part of a joint Toyota PSA Group venture that also brings us French alternatives which share most of this car's important bits, namely Peugeot's 108 and Citroen C1. That's always been the case with this Aygo, but in its earlier forms, this model wasn't always completely successful in differentiating itself from its design cousins. Now, that's something Toyota better addressed with the original version of this Mk2 model which was launched back in 2014, and it's an approach that's further developed with this improved lineup. It's not only the look that's now more unique, but also the very specific way that you can personalize it to suit almost any kind of taste or preference, which is all very nice, but will it be enough to attract the buyers that Toyota needs in this segment in the face of competition from slightly larger and sometimes slightly cheaper rivals? To try to help in this regard, Toyota has treated this revised model to upgraded infotainment and more mid-range pulling power from the one-liter engine. Would it all be enough, though, to keep this Aygo competitive in the closely fought city car segment? Let's see. The Aygo has always been pretty single-minded in its choice of engine. In the past, did Citroen and Peugeot development cousins have supplemented this design's core one-liter three-cylinder power plant with a perkier 1.2-liter unit, but Toyota's never bothered. The one-liter engine, the company will rightly tell you, suits this car best, so it makes sense not to diversify from it, but to make every attempt to improve it, which is exactly what's happened here. Now, the key change relates to pulling power, which has been refocused in the middle part of rev range, which is where it's really needed. You probably won't be interested in the engineering updates that have been made to achieve this, a differently shaped exhaust port, improvements to the cylinder block, the addition of a variable valve timing mechanism onto the exhaust camshaft and so on. Forget about all that. What you need to know here is that pulling away in first and second gear is now slightly easier, and you won't have to change down quite as often if you're darting through a sudden gap in traffic. Unfortunately, all this is relative, by which we mean that Toyota, like its Peugeot and Citroen joint venture stablemates, wasn't beginning from a very strong starting point with this normally aspirated little 998cc VVTi engine. Even with all the improvements, peak pulling power, now down slightly to 93 Newton meters, still isn't developed until you thrash the thing all the way up to 4,400 revs, which you're going to have to do to make meaningful progress. Even then, the rest of 62 miles an hour time is a distinctly leisurely 13.8 seconds. That's provided you go for the manual model. If you choose the optional X-shift robotized manual transmission, that's basically a stick shift without a clutch, that figure will fall to 15.2 seconds. The top speed for both variants is 99 miles an hour. Of course, if you're merely pootling about, and this Toyota will be doing that for 95% of its road-going life, none of this will be much of an issue. In fact, the three-cylinder thrum that you get in the low to mid-rev range could be said to be rather endearing, but it certainly won't fit that description if you're, say, accelerating up a motorway slip road or if you're cruising at the legal limit, at which point, unlike some other modern city cars, this Aygo is certainly well out of its comfort zone. The refinement thing, we found a touch disappointing because Toyota wanted us to tell you just how much effort they've put into enhancing it with this revised model. Four areas were focused on for eradication of noise, the dashboard, the A-pillars, the doors, and the rear deck, and copious amounts of insulation have been added in. It's probably all led to a marginal improvement, but it's frankly not enough to meet the ideal class standard in this regard. We're also touch disappointed by this car's low-tech braking mechanism. Now, Toyota has chosen here to do without rear discs and opt for a cheaper rear drum setup instead. If you can live with the issues we just raised, and you probably can, then the rest of the report card is pretty positive. Elsewhere in this film, we'll tell you how this model's efficiency returns can't be better than the class, and that's partly because of the engine updates, which have been aimed at frugality, but mainly because this car is so much lighter than many of its rivals. That obviously also helps handling and makes this little runabout surprisingly agile and chuckable through the bends. Pitch into a corner and you'll get the predictable helping of body roll and tyre squeal that you'd expect from this kind of car. Stick with it, though, and this Toyota can nevertheless be pretty good fun to pedal on, and it's aided by nicely weighted and direct steering, which will allow you to place this Eigo confidently through the turns should you be taking a few back doubles and running late for work or a coffee morning, or the school run, or your partner's train, or your scheduled gym session. Delete any of those as appropriate. The ride quality isn't too bad either. Toyota engineers no doubt aided here by PSA French group expertise. It's hardly cosseting, but then you wouldn't expect that from a city scoot. The main thing is that speed humps and potholes don't upset this car too much, which is about as much as you can ask for in this segment. We're not so keen on the change quality of the five-speed manual gearbox that's rather vague and rubbery, and it works with a curiously sharp short travel clutch pedal, so there could be a good case for recommending the X-shift clutchless transmission that we mentioned earlier if you happen to be frequently urban bound. This does come with a set of steering wheel gear shift paddles that we doubt too many potential owners will bother with, and which will probably just confuse the predominantly older buyers who tend to prefer not to have to use their left foot. In town, of course, you'll feel that you've reached the environment that this car has been specifically designed for. Here you'll appreciate the light steering and the tight 4.8 metre turning circle. Parking is as easy as you'd would be in a car with an overall length of well under 3.5 metres, with good all-round visibility that's only marred by the slightly chunky rear C-pillars. The wide rear wheel arches might be a bit vulnerable here, but since most variants will be fitted with the X-Touch multimedia system's standard reverse parking camera, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The big clear mirrors should help too. Bottom line? Well, if you stay within the boundaries of this little Toyota's urban comfort zone, there's plenty to like about it. Unlike some rivals, it can't extend the envelope very far beyond that, but if for you that doesn't matter, then bonding with an Aygo might be quite pleasurable for the right kind of buyer. There are lots of very capable city cars on the market, but not many that are visually distinct enough to stick in your mind. Now, rather cleverly, this Aygo focuses on exactly that approach. Shared underpinnings with PSA group models mean it can't be the most spacious or the most powerful car in the class, but it can offer the sassiest looks, and it does. Now, in a crowded marketplace, it's better to have a design that half your potential customers love, rather than one that nobody objects to. Hence the hefty dose of attitude that features here at the front end. Now, with this revised model, we have a three-dimensional version of the X-shaped frontal graphic that was introduced in two-dimensional form on this car back in 2014. This so-called J-Playful design philosophy was apparently inspired by Japanese youth culture, and in particular, by the car in the Japanese cartoon Astro Boy. No, we hadn't heard of that either. Anyway, this time around, the X effect is more integral to the styling of the nose section, rather than merely being a visual graphic. Its upper section is emphasized by the LED daytime running light framing of the restyled headlamp clusters. The lower section of the X frames the front grille, and extra opportunities for personalization are provided by the way that it's possible to color code the spoiler lip and these triangular patches just beneath the headlamps. Talking of personalization, red or black can be chosen to decorate the front and rear bumper accents, the side sills, and the roof decal that you can add to emphasize this car's unique double bubble roof design. Now, that roof can be had finished in either silver or, as here, in black with certain trim variants, or you can equip it with an optional fun roof folding fabric top on some versions. The silhouette's exact look and feel differs quite a lot between the rare three-door variant and the five-door model that we have here today, which extends its window graphic into the tail lamps and gives an impression of extra length. Visual tricks aimed at creating an impression of forward movement include this rear kicked-up door frame and, at the rear corner, the LED light guides and the revised lamp clusters. The wheels are now different too. Generally, the rims are mostly 15 inches in size, but design features like silver machined face spokes and black paint makes them seem larger. The rear doors, incidentally, are the only body panels that are shared with the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 sister models, which roll out of the same Czech factory as this Toyota. Here at the rear, with its integrated roof spoiler, you'll better appreciate the intricate effort that's gone into redesigning these tail lamp clusters. Otherwise, the primary focus, as before, seems to be aimed at mirroring the x-orientated frontal design statement, hence the way this black tailgate panel is angled towards the color-coded lower bumper insert panel. Fewer changes feature once you get inside. The circular instrument binnacle features fresh coloring and a three-dimensional turbine-style design. There's also body-colored matching of these side air vents and some fresh upholstery trims. The main change kicks in towards the top of the range, though, if you can stretch to a variant like this one, which upgrades the 7-inch X-Touch center-dash infotainment color touchscreen to display audio status. That means it'll be kitted out with voice control and Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, smartphone mirroring. This will, of course, allow you to pull up navigation through a phone app. Although, if you'd rather have a proper built-in navigation system, then the display audio setup, like the standard one, can also be kitted out with that. Quite a few city cars in this segment, the Volkswagen Up and its clients, for example, still haven't been designed to accommodate any kind of monitor of this sort, which seems a surprising oversight, given how media-savvy the youthful target audience for this kind of car tends to be. Now, this screen comes as standard, providing you avoid entry-level trim, and it incorporates a DAB tuner, Bluetooth, and even a rear-view camera as standard. Enough with media stuff. What else? Well, it's reasonably easy to get comfortable, providing you avoided an entry-level variant without seat height adjustment. Now, that's something that it's important to have, because the steering wheel adjusts only up and down, not in and out. The bar graph rev counter stuck to the side of the speedo pod looks a bit odd, but the wide dashboard's nicely trimmed in this cool matte finish, and it's framed by refreshingly slim A-pillars that aid visibility. Okay, so the quality of the trim isn't quite up to the kind of thing you'd find in, say, a Volkswagen Up, but the design's more interesting, which takes your mind off the fact. As with the exterior, personalization rules, which is why the instrument panel, the center console, the air vents, the gear shift knob, and the gear lever surround can all, in theory anyway, be changed to a color of your choosing, even after years of ownership. On a more practical note, though, there are two cup holders, there's a good-sized glove box, and there are door bins big enough to hold a 500ml bottle of water. So, time to check out the rear seat. Before doing that, we need to draw your attention to something quite important, namely, just how much smaller this car is than its key rivals, which you might well think to be a good thing, if you prioritize nippy maneuverability, rather than interior space in a car of this kind. Measuring at just 3,455mm in length, an Aygo is fully 145mm shorter than, say, a Volkswagen Up, it's 210mm shorter than a Hyundai i10, and a massive 486mm shorter than a Ford Ka Plus. And these are big differences, so once you've squeezed your head under the swept-back roofline, don't expect this back seat to be terribly spacious. It isn't. Adults will find their knees brushing the front seat backs, and their heads very close to the ceiling. But then, just how often do adults travel in the back of a city car like this? Well, almost never is the answer, and if it does happen, then the journeys are usually very short. The rear seats in runabouts like this are usually used for kids, and they'll be just fine with the accommodation provided. Well, space-wise, anyway. Let's finish with a look at the boot. Now, like the Volkswagen Up and its clones, this is one of those city car designs that uses a tinted glass panel to replace a tailgate, and we realise that from a production point of view, this usefully reduces the cost of manufacturing, but from an ownership perspective, it's a feature we've never really liked. Unlike a proper lifting rear hatch, this opening glass panel doesn't cut into the bumper, so there's quite a high lip over which you have to lift your shopping, and then there's quite a drop to the boot floor. Once you get your stuff in, you quickly realise you need to pack fairly light. There's just 168 litres of space on offer. To give you some class perspective, you get about 250 litres in a rival Volkswagen Up or a Hyundai i10, but again, this is of little consequence to most owners who merely want to fit in a few supermarket shopping bags. An Eigo isn't the kind of car you go on holiday in, after all. For those occasions when you do need more space and your Eigo is the only thing on hand, you can, of course, fold the rear backrest, providing you avoid entry-level trim. It splits 50-50. Unfortunately, once the backrest is retracted, the folded rear seats create quite a large step in the floor of the extended load bay. Still, in this configuration, you get 750 litres of space to play with, and if you need more space than that in a city runabout, well, it might be time to change your lifestyle rather than your car. Prices start at just under £10,000, but that only gets you the Spartan Base X-Spec trim level that you're unlikely to want. More realistically, you need to be looking to budget between £11,500 and £15,000 for this car, depending on how generously specified you want its trim level to be. As ever, the basic Eigo recipe remains pretty straightforward, a single one-litre petrol engine option, and the majority of the range based around this five-door body shape. Although, with that entry-level X-Spec, you can have a three-door body shape at a £300 saving. As we'll see a bit later in this section, you're going to need to avoid base-level trim if you're going to have the equipment, the safety, and the personalization options that you probably want. If you can do that, you'll be offered the option of Toyota's X-Shift Automized Manual Gearbox for an extra £700. Now, the starting point in this mainstream part of the range is X-Play trim, and that's a spec level that was built on at the launch of this revised Mk2 model by a limited-run X-Press variant. Now, beyond that, if you want to make a bit more of a statement, you can opt for X-Trend, X-Splore, or as in this case, X-Sight versions. At the top of the range, though, lies an exclusive variant. So, to the value proposition this Toyota's pricing represents in the city car segment. As you might expect, it costs pretty much the same as the two models that share its basic design and which roll from the same Czech factory, Peugeot's 108 and Citroen's C1. From that trio, you would probably buy this Toyota if you prioritized visual appeal, as the sales figures suggest that most buyers in this segment do. The Aygo arguably has more scope for personalization than its two French stablemates too, and that's another key buying incentive. So, how does it stack up against contenders elsewhere in the city car sector? Well, arguably, the toughest challenge comes from the model that customers in this class know either as a Volkswagen Up, a Skoda Citigo, or a Seat Mii. That shared design offers more interior space than this one does, but the official figures suggest that the power plant on offer in this Toyota will take you four to five miles further on every gallon and put out six to seven grams per kilometer less of CO2 than the volume 60 PS one liter MPI engine that nearly all versions of the Skoda, the VW, and the Seat use. That could be a significant difference price-wise. In rough terms, if you're looking at an Aygo, think in terms of a Citigo costing about £500 less, a Mii being around £500 more, and an Up costing around about the same, but offering slightly less equipment. Beyond these options, we could understand if you were to conclude that there's nothing else in this segment quite like this Toyota. The Ford Ka-plus, the Vauxhall Viva, the Renault Twingo, the Fiat Panda, the Kia Picanto, and the Hyundai i10, they're all bigger inside than an Aygo, and they all cost about the same, but crucially, they're all about 20% more expensive to run. Think around 55 to the gallon and 115 to 120 grams per kilometer of CO2, rather than nearly 70 to the gallon and 93 grams per kilometer of CO2. That's a huge difference. A comparably priced Smart 4.4 is a better bet, but in its base pure form, that lacks a few key equipment items that you get in a comparable X-Play version of this Toyota. A Suzuki Celerio, that's not too far off this Aygo's economy, and it could save you up to, well, around £1,500 in terms of upfront price, but that looks dull and it feels cheaply built. Let's say you've done your homework, you've weighed up all the options, and you've decided that an Aygo is indeed what you want. What can you expect for the money? Well, it is a bit disappointing to find that the entry-level version does without a 50-50 split-folding rear seat and a rev counter, and it can't be ordered with any of the option or customization packs, which are restricted to plushy variants like this one. Still, in base X spec, you do get high-tech projector headlamps with LED tracer lights, LED daytime running lights, an integrated rear spoiler, electric front windows, a 12-volt power socket, remote central locking, aux-in and USB connectivity, and an RDS stereo, although at base level, that only has two speakers. Hey, as we've already said, hardly any of the Aygo's sold here will be base X spec cars. Your dealer will be wanting you to start your search on the second rung of the trim ladder, X-Play, and that's the point at which you can really start to specify your car the way you want it with the personalization options and the chance to pay extra for key features like X-Nav satellite navigation and the X-Shift semi-automatic transmission that we mentioned earlier. Now, the two key inclusions at X-Play level are air conditioning and the X-Touch multimedia system with its integrated DAB radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity, and its rear-view parking camera. There's also driver seat height adjustment. There are larger 15-inch steel wheels, electric mirrors, and a four-speaker stereo that you can actually hear, and that's controllable from a leather-covered steering wheel. Should you go further up the lineup? Well, if you want your Aygo with a few real niceties, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, smartphone mirroring, for example, you're going to have to. Now, in the mid-range, there are X-Trend and X-Explore variants, plus this X-Sight model and the limited edition X-Press version we referenced earlier. They're all fitted out with 15-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights, and rear privacy glass. The X-Explore does without most of the shouty stuff. That gives you navigation instead. Otherwise, though, it's all about the street side statement. The X-Trend features colored accents for the front and rear bumpers and the sills. The X-Press model builds on that with a full roof decal too, plus you get black alloy wheels, and they also feature on this trendiest X-Sight variant, which is perhaps the most eye-catching of all, thanks to its unique bi-tone magenta fizz paintwork, which is set off by this black or silver colored roof. The X-Sight spec additionally gives you front fog lights and that important Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, smartphone mirroring setup too. At the top of the range lies exclusive trim, which also gets the black or silver contrast colored roof, along with alloy wheels featuring a twin-spoke design. Inside of this level, you get keyless entry, part leather upholstery, and automatic air conditioning, along with the Toyota Safety Sense package of camera-driven safety features that we're going to cover off in just a moment. The exclusive variant is the only other Aygo model that features that smartphone mirroring system as standard, although the special edition X-Press trim level offers it as an extra. Talking of options, let's try to summarize what's available to you as a buyer of this Toyota. We've already referenced the way you can pay extra for navigation on most models, and many Aygo customers tend to pay extra for metallic paint or a special white flash finish. On the popular X-Play version, you can jazz things up a bit with black or spoked alloy wheels and a roof decal. A chrome garnish can be added to the lower boot door. For the lower side doors, you can have black, red, chrome, or piano black garnish strips. You can also pay extra for front fog lamps, a vertical cargo net, a protector sealant for the alloy wheels and the bodywork, and if you haven't kicked the habit, an ashtray too. On most variants, you can also add an innovate interior package that gives you a body-colored finish for the gear shift surround, the air vent surrounds, and the center console. Avoid entry-level trim, and you can also specify an out-shield package, which includes rear parking sensors, a boot liner, aluminum scuff plates, rubber floor mats, and mud flaps. Those last three features can also be ordered separately. On the X-Plore and the exclusive variants, you can even specify your car with a retracting electric canvas fun roof that'll give your Aygo a real open-air feel. Paying extra for a bit of Aygo tinsel is fair enough, but having to fork out more to get a decent safety spec is less acceptable. Now, the first-generation, pre-2014 era version of this car did without safety basics like ESP stability control, side airbags, and Isofix child seat fastenings, which was really unacceptable. Since then, a lot has changed in the way that Toyota prioritizes safety. Since 2014, all Aygo models have featured a standard twin front, side, and curtain airbags, stability control, ABS, and Isofix. There's even a tire pressure warning system, a hill start assist control to stop you from drifting backwards on uphill junctions, and a speed limiter on the manual models to help to safeguard your license in urban areas. As for this revised Mk2 model, the brand wants to go further by opening up its TSS, Toyota Safety Sense, package of camera-driven features to Aygo buyers. As referenced earlier, this comes as standard with the top exclusive variant, and it's a worthwhile £475 option elsewhere in the range, provided you avoid entry-level trim. Over the course of ownership, you should make that outlay back in the lower insurance group ratings that having the TSS package will entitle you to. Now, the pack gives you a lane departure alert feature that warns you if you're unintentionally deviating out of your lane on the highway, but its main inclusion is autonomous braking. Toyota calls its system PCS, or pre-collision system. Between six and 50 miles an hour, this setup scans the road ahead to detect vehicles you might be about to hit. If a danger point is sensed, you'll be alerted with a warning light and a buzzer at the same time as the brakes are primed, and if necessary, automatically applied to either bring you to a complete stop or to reduce the severity of the accident. Carefully consider this package before you spend too much splashing out on personalized trim would be our advice. Toyota's perspective is that a small city car should be, well, small, and here is where that approach really pays off. We commented in our design and build section just how much shorter this car was than its A-segment rivals, and that, of course, means it's lighter too. An Aygo can weigh as little as 840 kilos. To give you some class perspective, that's 89 kilos less than a Volkswagen Up, 93 kilos lighter than a Hyundai i10, and a massive 223 kilos lighter than a Ford KA Plus. To put it another way, this car is the weight of an average-sized adult lighter than its most featherweight competitor. Small wonder, then, that it offers fuel and CO2 stats that can't be bettered in the class. The figures in question, 68.9 mpg on the combined cycle and 93 grams per kilometre of CO2 for a manual variant, can, of course, be equalled by the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 models that share all this Toyota's engineering and fundamental design, but otherwise, as we referenced in our market and model range section, any other car in this segment is going to cost you quite a lot more to run. Think around 55 to the gallon and 115 to 120 grams per kilometre of CO2 from most rivals. Some, like the Ford KA Plus, are much worse than that. The magazines don't tend to emphasise this point when they wax lyrically about the interior space of a Volkswagen up or the sharp driving dynamics of a Ford KA Plus. We don't know why. Now, those figures haven't changed much from those we quoted when we first tested the original version of this second generation Aygo model back in 2014, but the official test procedure that's produced them has. It's become far more stringent and real-world relevant. Now, the figures we just gave you are the ones that Toyota supplied to us, calculated on the new WLTP, World Harmonised Light Vehicles, test procedure cycle, but converted back to the most recent NEDC, New European Driving Cycle spec, since that's what a lot of rival models are still using. Complicated, isn't it? Yes, but the bottom line is that, based on the official readings, this car ought to have become less economical as part of becoming compliant with the latest Euro 6.2 regulations in this facelifted form. It hasn't because Toyota and its PSA Group partners have put in an awful lot of engineering effort to improving the efficiency of the single one-litre three-cylinder VVTi petrol unit that's on offer. Now, we'll try not to bore you with a whole load of technical gobbledygook in explaining the changes, but in the vanishingly unlikely event that you're actually interested in how the necessary enhancements and frugality and cleanliness were actually achieved, we'll cover off the keynote points which apply to the various underbonnet updates. A new dual fuel injector system has enhanced combustion efficiency, plus the compression ratio has been increased and friction within the engine has been reduced. A new throttle body motor and ignition coil have been adopted, and updates have also been made to the cylinder head and block, the piston design and the EGR, the exhaust gas recirculation system. There, done. You can switch back on now to learn something a bit more relevant. That's the X-Shift robotised semi-automatic transmission that you might well want to have in this car to save all that left foot pumping in town. It's basically a gearbox without a clutch only fractionally impacts on this Toyota's quota returns. If you're considering an Aygo X-Shift variant, then you're looking at 67.3 mpg on the combined cycle and 95 grams per kilometre of CO2. Gratifyingly, the figures for both the manual and the X-Shift variants aren't affected at all, whether this Toyota rides on 14-inch wheels or, as is much more likely, on the 15-inch rims. Whichever version you choose, you can keep an eye on your fuel consumption progress via the useful graphs which are provided on the X-Touch multimedia system. What else? Residual values. They may not be quite as strong as those commanded by a Volkswagen Up, but once you've had a chat with your friendly Toyota dealer, you'll probably end up paying less for an Aygo, which we'll sort that out anyway. Depreciation on this car has traditionally been slightly less than is the case with its Peugeot and Citroen design stablemates. Industry experts reckon that after three years and 60,000 miles of use, a typical Aygo variant will be worth 33% of its original asking price, which is very class competitive. On to insurance groups, and that will be affected quite a lot by whether your Aygo comes fitted with the TSS, Toyota Safety Sense package of camera-driven safety features, primarily autonomous braking. Because of this, you get a situation where the range-topping exclusive variant, which gets TSS as standard, gets a lower 5E group rating than the hair shirt base X version, which unfortunately can't be fitted with TSS, even as an option. Pay the extra £475 to add the TSS package into any other Aygo variant, and your insurance rating will fall from either group 7 or 8 to the same group 5 level, which over three years you would have thought would cover the TSS increment, so everybody wins. At the group 5 level, this Aygo makes a great choice for newly qualified or younger drivers who are looking for their first car. Here, it'll probably help that the body panels are designed to pop straight off, which makes accident damage cheap and easy to fix. Talking of maintenance, the five-year, 100,000-mile warranty is extremely good, and even after that runs out, you'll find that most spares are inexpensive, as you'll have the choice to source the majority of mechanical items from either a Toyota, a Citroen, or a Peugeot outlet. There's also a three-year warranty against rust and 12 years of anti-corrosion protection. Servicing, that's required every 10,000 miles or every 12 months, whichever comes first. In many fundamental respects, this Aygo's recipe remains much as it always was. The wheelbase is still the same as the first-generation model launched more than a decade back. You still find a one-liter, three-cylinder petrol engine beneath the bonnet, and the basic handling dynamics are essentially little changed. Even the interior accommodation is much the same. You can achieve a lot with a light engineering update and a bit of extra window dressing, though, and there's little doubt that the changes which have created this updated version of this second-generation Aygo give it a bit more credibility in this segment. The cabin now feels more modern. The upgraded infotainment system is a must-have, and it's really hard to think of a bolder, more progressive-looking city car for sale at any price. Yes, it is a design that might still disappoint in terms of total cabin and luggage space, and the improved handling still doesn't quite hit the class benchmark, but satisfied buyers will tell you that the cheeky looks and the vast options for personalization more than compensate. Now, these people may not notice this revised model's slightly better refinement and its greater degree of engine flexibility, but it's good to have it anyway. In summary, well, Toyota's customer search reveals that the way that a city car looks is the most important factor in influencing people to buy it. To be frank, though, the market's known that for some time, so it's surprising that more brands in this segment haven't taken this reality more to heart in designing interesting and visually expressive contenders in this class. Now, Toyota has, and that's why this Aygo, the sector's third bestseller, regularly racks up more sales and apparently more complete entrants in the segment. It's all about getting your priorities right, and this car seems to have managed to do just that.