It’s not the fanciest or most powerful car in the world, but the Toyota Aygo is present and accounted for at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Toyota’s little munchkin of a hatchback is packing serious visual and technical updates, fitting for a car that was in need of a mid-life refresh. The updates range from the prominent to the obscure. All told, they make for an impressive-looking hatchback that should help the Aygo gain ground on models like the Volkswagen Up! and Hyundai i10.

2018 New Toyota Aygo Can Overtake the VW Up! and Hyundai i10 in Europe but Has Little Chance Against Fiat

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  • Model: 2018 New Toyota Aygo Can Overtake the VW Up! and Hyundai i10 in Europe but Has Little Chance Against Fiat
  • Engine/Motor: single cylinder
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So, what’s new with the updated Toyota Aygo? There’s a lot to unpack here so let’s start with the visual upgrades. The most prominent of these upgrades is the large X on the nose of the car. It’s been there before, sure, but the updated model features a more prominent version with an integrated three-dimensional design. The headlights are also new, specifically the addition of daytime running lights. The rear section also gets new LEDs. There are also plenty of new colors and new alloy wheel designs to choose from. In keeping with the three-dimensional theme of the X design on the front, the Aygo’s interior also boasts an upgraded combi-meter with graphics that have a more three-dimensional look to them. New seat fabrics are also on the table, as are premium color schemes like Quartz Grey and Piano Black.

Don’t look now, but even the Aygo’s minuscule 998-cc three-cylinder engine also gets a slight bump in power, thanks in part to a new dual fuel injector system, a higher compression ratio, new low-friction components, a cooled exhaust gas recirculation system, and an improved balancer shaft. The result is an output of 71 horsepower — an increase of two ponies! — and 69 pound-feet of torque. Trust those numbers, and you’ll see yourselves accelerating from a resting position to 62 mph in 13.8 seconds on your way to a top speed of 100 mph.

As it is, the updated Aygo isn’t so much about any significant upgrades. It’s about refining the model to lengths that will allow it to better compete against a market that’s becoming more and more crowded by the day. The Toyota minicar has so far done well, finishing sixth in total sales in Europe in 2017 with 84,588 sold units. As impressive as that figure is, there’s also plenty of room for improvement, specifically in terms of catching up to the Volkswagen Up! and Hyundai i10, the two minicars that sit directly above the Aygo in the “sold units” ranking in Europe. The Up! is a little harder to catch after selling 100,715 units in 2017, but catching up to the i10 is attainable since the Hyundai hatch outsold its Toyota rival by just a little over 6,000 units (90,603 units sold in 2017). For the record, the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Panda rank as the top two best-selling minicars in the Old Continent, and they’re sales numbers are unassailable with 189,360 and 187,049 sold units, respectively.

So, can the updated Toyota Aygo unseat the Hyundai i10 in 4th place? Even better, can it catch up to the Volkswagen Up! and become the best-selling, non-Fiat minicar in Europe? Judging from these updates, I’d say the Aygo now has a realistic chance against the i10 and a puncher’s chance against the Up!. As for the two Fiats? Yeah, that’s still not happening.

References

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