Toyota Aygo - city slicker

But Toyota's advertising campaign for the new Aygo - built around the phrase 'Go fun yourself' - takes 'cheeky' to new heights.

I can't recall such a risqué slogan since Pirelli advertised its Cinturato tyres with a picture of a young lady in a very tight angora sweater and the line: "Of all the hazards facing Italian drivers, two in particular stick out."

The Aygo sticks out, too, but not for the same reasons. With a massive white 'X' plastered across its chops, white alloy wheels and a white roof, a pal commented that it looked as if it should be driven by a comic book superhero.

However, thanks to some clever packaging and clear-thinking design, the Aygo is no Incredible Hulk.

ON THE ROAD:

The original Aygo was a co-production with the French Peugeot-Citroen group, and this one is too, but the partners have gone their own way on styling.

Toyota calls the Aygo's styling 'J-Playful' and says it was inspired by Japanese youth culture. I reckon the designers spent a lot of time reading Manga comic books before they fired up the CAD/CAM. As if to confirm this suspicion, it launched an Aygo-inspired Manga strip at London's Comic Con last month.

Toyota admits the striking design won't be everyone's cup of tea, but takes the view that, in a crowded market, it is better to have a car that half the people love rather than one nobody notices.

Unlike its Peugeot/Citroen siblings, the Aygo is only available with one engine - a development of Toyota's existing 1.0-litre three-cylinder power unit.

There's no diesel because Toyota reckons city car drivers don't want them.

The engine's power output is a modest 69bhp at 6,000 rpm but the funky little Aygo never feels out-gunned in town. The five-speed manual gearbox has a bit of slop (and finding reverse is sometimes tricky) but the Aygo's refinement is a definite improvement over its predecessor, which always sounded raucous above 50mph. There's an automatic if you can't be bothered to exercise your left leg.

The steering is alert to your inputs and the chassis feels feisty enough when it's asked to play out of town. Although some of the old car has been carried over, the bouncy stuff (rear axle, springs and dampers) have all been upgraded.

ON THE INSIDE:

The old Aygo was showing its age inside where crummy heater controls and nasty plastics looked cheap compared to the VW Up!

The new one is much better. Although there's still no expensive soft-feel plastic, the fascia layout is more cohesive and looks much better.

Naturally, there's now a high resolution colour flat screen for multimedia duties. The screen also pulls double duty and becomes the biggest digital clock I've ever seen in a car when the system is switched off.

Mid-range models have audio and phone controls on the steering, but only the range-topping X-pression gets a future-proof DAB digital radio tuner.

The first gen Aygo pioneered intelligent cost-cutting (saving money where the customer wouldn't notice) with items like a single string to hold up the boot's luggage cover and fashioning the rear hatch from a single piece of glass.

The same policy is at work here: the rear windows don't wind down they just pop open and the tailgate is once more all-glass. But the luggage cover is as flimsy as a dragonfly's wing and, despite having two strings to keep it in place, collapsed into the boot every time I opened the hatchback. I suspect few second-hand Aygos will come with a luggage cover in 12 months' time.

WHAT DO YOU GET:

Aygo launches in three grades: X, X-Play and X-Pression plus two special editions (X-cite and X-clusiv) which will be replaced on a regular basis.

No small car is complete these days without a range of custom options. Toyota offers the OUTstand Pack, which includes a new front 'X', rear bumper insert and A-pillar extensions, for £395; the OUTburst Pack which comprises a front bumper decal, side sills and rear diffuser decal for £245 and a cabin upgrade (the INspire Pack) which replaces the air vent surrounds and gear shift.

There's also a colour-matched instrument panel, centre console and gear surround for £165.

The test car's white alloys are another option (£499) as is the decal that was applied to the roof (£195). They look good, and everyone likes to drive a 'different' car, but if you tick too many options the final price could come as a bit of a shock.

HOW PRACTICAL IS IT?

Tastes - and waist sizes - have changed since the original Aygo launched nine years ago. The new model is lower, longer and wider than its predecessor without ever threatening to move into the Fiesta class.

There's a decent amount of room in the front but space in the rear seats is best reserved for kids and adults you don't like very much.

RUNNING COSTS:

Cheap(ish) to buy and cheap to run, the Aygo's VVT-i engine returns about 50mpg no matter how hard you thrash it. It also manages to dip below the 100g/km exhaust threshold that qualifies you for free road tax. Result.

VERDICT:

The Aygo is unashamedly aimed at young drivers. Older drivers will be drawn to the Peugeot 108 which looks positively understated next to the brash Toyota.

If you're young - or just young at heart - the Aygo offers an interesting low cost introduction to motoring. Go 'fun' yourself, indeed.

Spec:

Toyota Aygo.

Price: from £ 8,595.

Engine: 1.0-litre VVT-I, three-cylinder, in-line, 998cc.

Power: 69bhp @ 6,000 rpm.

Torque: 95 Nm @ 4,300 rpm.

Top speed: 99 mph.

0-62mph: 14.2 seconds (manual gearbox).

Fuel economy: 68.9mpg (official combined figure).

CO2 emissions: 95g/km.

Equipment:

Front, side and curtain airbags, twin speed wipers, accessory power socket, hill-start assist, tyre pressure warning, multimedia system with DAB (X-pression, X-Cite and X-clusiv models only), air conditioning with clean air filter (not on X models), remote central locking.