Photo: Guido ten Brink/SB-Medien
People who buy cars in Toyota Aygo's segment usually do it for two reasons: either they live in a crowded city and want a small car to zip around with ease and not waste too much time looking for a parking spot, or they simply can't afford anything larger - and therefore more expensive - than this.
Those in the latter category were treated to a bit of a gem when the current Aygo came out. In a segment where not "bird" but "austerity" is the word, the little supermini from Toyota provided a rare breath of fresh air. Sure enough, it was mostly all show, but give it a funky paint job and a matching interior and you could get an affordable cheer-me-up car, which meant the lack of practicality or some other issues didn't really matter.
The model is now up for facelift and, by the looks of it, Toyota watched too many Botched episodes because that's exactly what it did to the tiny urbanite. It almost feels like a "facedrop." It looks as though somebody pulled its lower eyelids down in an attempt to make it look more like a basset hound for whatever reason.
Gone is the cheeky raccoon-like face and in comes a soggy front end that constantly looks as though it's on its way to bed. The black plastic grilles under the headlights do a great job of highlighting the X on its nose, but with all the added cost we've mentioned so far.
However, it's not all bad news for the "facedrop." Inside, one of the major issues of the previous model has been addressed, and that's the abysmal soundproofing. Don't expect Rolls-Royce-levels of insulation, but a clear improvement should be obvious.
The seven-inch central display dominates the interior and is pretty much the only modern amenity you can expect to find in there. This isn't a tech-laden car, but rather a vehicle meant to fit its purpose: to move you around with relative speed and in relative safety. And just before you complain about too many things being relative to this car, just remember what Einstein said.
Speaking of speed, the Aygo couldn't really hope for any given the puny engine you're most likely to find under its hood. That would be a 1.0-liter naturally-aspirated 3-cylinder producing 72 HP and 93 Nm of torque (69 lb-ft), which takes 13.8 seconds to bring the relatively (Einstein, remember?) lightweight hatch to 62 mph (100 km/h). So it's not just its looks that seem sleepy, but also its performance.
The model is now up for facelift and, by the looks of it, Toyota watched too many Botched episodes because that's exactly what it did to the tiny urbanite. It almost feels like a "facedrop." It looks as though somebody pulled its lower eyelids down in an attempt to make it look more like a basset hound for whatever reason.
Gone is the cheeky raccoon-like face and in comes a soggy front end that constantly looks as though it's on its way to bed. The black plastic grilles under the headlights do a great job of highlighting the X on its nose, but with all the added cost we've mentioned so far.
However, it's not all bad news for the "facedrop." Inside, one of the major issues of the previous model has been addressed, and that's the abysmal soundproofing. Don't expect Rolls-Royce-levels of insulation, but a clear improvement should be obvious.
The seven-inch central display dominates the interior and is pretty much the only modern amenity you can expect to find in there. This isn't a tech-laden car, but rather a vehicle meant to fit its purpose: to move you around with relative speed and in relative safety. And just before you complain about too many things being relative to this car, just remember what Einstein said.
Speaking of speed, the Aygo couldn't really hope for any given the puny engine you're most likely to find under its hood. That would be a 1.0-liter naturally-aspirated 3-cylinder producing 72 HP and 93 Nm of torque (69 lb-ft), which takes 13.8 seconds to bring the relatively (Einstein, remember?) lightweight hatch to 62 mph (100 km/h). So it's not just its looks that seem sleepy, but also its performance.
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