Designed and built in conjunction with the PSA Group, and therefore mechanically identical to both the Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107, the Aygo is Toyota’s first attempt at a Euro-specific budget car. The promise of Japanese reliability and French charm should make for an alluring combination.
As DaimlerChrysler proved with the Smart, to design and build a small car profitably, conventional engineering is the only viable option. The Aygo uses a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine bolted into a two-box monocoque. Front suspension is by struts and at the rear, as you’d expect, a torsion beam does the job. The gearbox is a conventional five-speed manual and, despite offering a claimed 61.4mpg on the combined cycle, the car does so through low mass and keen aerodynamics, although Toyota does claim that this is the lightest internal combustion engine on sale, at just 67kg.
From 998cc it produces 67bhp and 69lb ft of torque. These figures would appear fatal for any type of enjoyment were the Aygo not a genuine featherweight being just 790kg at the kerb.