Agh-yah man!
The odd naming convention of Toyota's latest offering in the super busy A segment, the Agya, sounds very similar to a general statement made by South Africans from all walks of life. It rings the same as the Australian 'yeah naw mate' but it must be said that there should be no connotation between what that statement implies and what this diminutive city car has to offer.
Related: 2018 Toyota Aygo X-Cite – Compact, Economical Fun.
The Agya replaces the old Toyota Aygo and does so in quite a fashionable manner. The Agya is manufactured in a joint venture with Daihatsu Motors and is based off of their Ayla model. The Agya enters a very tight market segment with the likes of the Datsun Go, Renault Kwid, Mahindra KUV and Hyundai Atos as classmates. In order to ascertain what we were dealing with, we grabbed the keys and headed out on the highways and back roads of Johannesburg to get to grips with this upstart and found that it has a lot more to offer than its aggressive styling.
Exterior treatment
The Agya has an aggressive low and wide stance. Perched on 14 inch black wheels for stability and control, the vehicle has an air of sportiness that comes from the wide front bumper with its angular inserts that lead into the sharp ended headlights. The rear sees Altezza style taillights, with L shaped elements, that stand proud of a rather flat hatch that is adorned with a spoiler. Toyota is appealing to a much younger crowd here, offering the Agya in a series of bright colours such as Yellow, Red, Anthracite and Burnt Orange.
Interior fitment and features
The interior is open and airy with plenty of space for 4 adults with legroom to spare. It is a city car so don't expect long distance travel comfort levels. Everything falls easily to hand and the large windows and seating position lend to good visibility all around. The seats are cloth covered tombstone style and are comfortable enough for short distance city jaunts. Infotainment consists of a radio/CD player with Aux in and Bluetooth as standard with no steering wheel controls, but you can opt to have a touchscreen system with Apple Car Play and Android Auto fitted as a dealer option. The vehicle is of course equipped with Toyota's onboard WIFI and you will be able to signup to a streaming service and be able to stream music and video to your connected smartphone with the vehicle.
Engine and Drivetrain
The Agya is powered by a 1l, 3 cylinder petrol engine mated to either a 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto transmission. The combination is good for 49kW and 89Nm, which doesn't sound like much but in a car that weighs next to nothing, it easily gets up and goes when prompted. Toyota claims that the Agya will get 4.8l /100km and after you have done some creative maths they are close enough, with the test route returning just 5.3l /100km
The Drive
We haven't had much luck with many of these A segment vehicles in terms of driving dynamics. Many of them become skittish at speed or tend to wander across the road in strong crosswinds. Not so with the Agya, it sits firmly and has a very stable feel at speed and tracks straight and true. The engine delivers the power uniformly and the suspension puts it to the ground with very little loss. The engine is well suited to the vehicle weight and never feels overly laboured even when crossing into the fast lane on the freeway, a task not advised in other entry level offerings. The Agya will not set any speed records, going from 0-100 in about 15 seconds and will go on to a 165km top speed, although we did not attempt that. It does however prefer a more sedate 115km which seems to be its sweet spot for freeway activities.
Pricing
The Agya is available in two drive options and you can spec yours with the aforementioned dealer option audio system
| Agya MT | R 178 600 |
| Agya AT | R 192 500 |
| Agya MT with audio | R 182 400 |
| Agya AT with audio | R 196 300 |
Agya is sold with a 3-year / 100 000 km warranty and a 2-services / 20 000 km service plan is also provided. Customers can purchase additional service plan and warranty options via the extensive dealer network of 220.
Verdict
The entry level segment is dominated by the big three at the moment with them all offering something that appeals to consumers such as touchscreen infotainment or other financial services. The Agyo can't compete on those points but it does have an appeal to those who prefer a good quality, well-made car. The Agya is not the cheapest but it is the one I would spend my money on when taking into account build quality, driving dynamics, safety and aftersales back up.
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