Toyota Aygo vs Yaris – which is best?

We're comparing two of the tiniest Toyotas today – the Toyota Aygo and the Toyota Yaris. These city-friendly models are great for tackling urban streets, but which is best for you?

Once you've chosen your favourite, find out how much you could save by shopping used Toyota Aygo and used Toyota Yaris cars for sale at Motorpoint.

Toyota Aygo vs Yaris compared

Styling and design

Starting with the dinky Aygo, you can see Toyota's tried to give big, bold styling to this little car. The front end has a prominent 'X' motif into which the front grille and headlights are incorporated. This blends into a contrast coloured panel that runs up to the door mirrors, through the side windows and up to the blacked-out C-pillar giving the impression of a 'floating' roof. Like most little cars, we think the Aygo looks best in a bright, eye-catching colour.

The Yaris looks quite different – not least because it was launched six full years after the Aygo. The headlights are similarly angled and swept-back like the Aygo, but they sit in a front bumper that looks a little like a handlebar moustache framing the car's blacked-out front grille. The Yaris's side profile looks different too, with a more obvious curve to its roofline that mirrors the car's prominent rounded wheelarches – themselves somewhat reminiscent of the old Volkswagen Beetle.

As for which is best, that'll come down to your personal tastes. In the metal, we think the Yaris looks like the more expensive car. It has less juvenile styling and a selection of tasteful metallic colours borrowed from larger Toyota models. However, if you're not sold on the Yaris's more curvy looks, you might prefer the Aygo's more angular styling language.

Interior and practicality

The differences between these two cars' interiors is more stark. You'll immediately spot more cost-cutting measures in the Aygo's interior. The dashboard, the cupholders, the gearstick and the screen housing are all cheap black plastic. There are some neat details, however, like the flash of chrome on the gear knob, and the gloss black details on the steering wheel and centre stack. We also like the traditional gauge pod with a big centre speedo that's easy to read.

Step into the Yaris and it feels like a more premium experience. Many of the Aygo's hard plastic surfaces have been swapped out for soft-touch materials, and most of the dashboard controls are more neatly laid out. Yaris models in Design trim and up get so-called 'binocular'-style driver's dials, which have big easy-to-read digital-watch-style graphics – though the small centre screen isn't the easiest to read. Unlike the Aygo, you can head further up the Yaris range to get luxuries such as leather upholstery and dual-zone climate control.

Sadly, practicality isn't particularly impressive for either car. The Aygo is properly tiny at less than 3.5 metres long, so it's hardly a surprise that tall adults will feel very cramped in the back. Its 168-litre boot is accessed through a simple glass panel but anything larger than a cabin bag will mean you'll be folding the rear seats. The Yaris is nearly four metres long but its practicality isn't much better. Rear passengers will still be cramped and the 286-litre boot can only handle modest shopping trips. If outright carrying capacity is important to you, you might want to try out some bigger cars.

Size and dimensions

As you can see, both of these cars are small. That impacts practicality for both cars but also means they're easy to live with in tight city streets.

Engines and performance

These are both city cars with a strong focus on efficiency and affordability, so these aren't the cars you're looking for if you're after a thrilling drive. Much more important to most buyers, however, is their economy and reliability and, thankfully, both cars score well in these areas.

The Aygo has just one engine option – a 72hp 1.0-litre petrol engine. Unsurprisingly, this bestows the Aygo with pretty pedestrian performance. Getting from 0-62mph takes a leisurely 13.8 seconds on manual cars, or a positively glacial 15.2 seconds if you pick the 'x-shift' automatic gearbox. The engine is noisy too, sending an unmistakable three-cylinder thrum into the cabin whenever you accelerate hard – something you'll be doing often since the Aygo is so sluggish.

All Yaris models now feature a 116hp 1.5-litre self-charging-hybrid engine, and it's a massive improvement on the Aygo's setup. Acceleration is much stronger with 0-62mph covered in 9.7 seconds. The extra power is most noticeable at slow city speeds where the hybrid electric motor does most of the heavy lifting while remaining near silent. Like the Aygo, the Yaris can get a bit vocal if you really gun the engine but, since the car's much more powerful, you don't have to do this anywhere near as often.

Driving

On the road, the Aygo is easy to control. The steering and pedals are all intuitive enough to use, and the car's so small that even the tightest country lanes present no challenge. What's lacking, however, is the sense of fun that some of the Aygo's rivals achieve. City cars such as the Volkswagen Up and Kia Picanto feel more agile and flickable than the Aygo, without any real ride-quality penalty. Meanwhile, there's a slightly rubbery quality to the Aygo's handling that makes it feel less entertaining on a twisty road.

You might look at the Yaris – a small, sensible hybrid hatchback – and assume it'll be similarly dull to drive. However, you may be in for a surprise as the Yaris feels surprisingly athletic on the road. Body roll is better contained than the Aygo, making the car feel keener to turn tight into a corner, and the extra engine power helps it feel more alert on the move. The Yaris has gone so far the other way, in fact, that we think Toyota might've benefitted from softening the car up a notch or two, as it can occasionally clatter over nasty bumps.

Value and reliability

The Aygo is no longer available as a new car and has been replaced by the Toyota Aygo X – arguably a much better vehicle than the one it replaces. That means we can only directly compare these two cars on their used-car values.

Across Motorpoint's selection of Aygo and Yaris models, we see a price difference of roughly £4,000 between the two. For example, an automatic Aygo on a 21-plate might be priced around £13,000, while a similar Yaris will be closer to £17,000 (correct at the time of writing).

That's a noticeable price gap but we think the Yaris more than justifies this premium over the Aygo. It feels like a much more premium vehicle with more power, better refinement and more entertaining handling. However, if it's just the quality that comes with a Toyota badge you want, the Aygo is priced much more accessibly.

And that's what a lot of potential buyers will be looking at – Toyota's superb reputation for reliability. Both of these cars benefit from its manufacturing know-how, as well as the remainder of Toyota's 10-year service-activated warranty.

Which is best?

Your decision here will most likely be guided by the budget you have available. There are many more affordable Aygo models on the market and the amount you're planning to spend will always buy you a newer, lower-mileage Aygo than it will a Yaris.

However, objectively speaking, the Yaris is the better car. It has more features, a better driving experience and is easier to live with. If you can stretch to the Yaris, it's the car we'd choose.

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