Aygo/C1/107

[Hogweed]

I’m helping a friend of mine to buy a little car, and she’s settled on one of these. Originally she fancied an Aygo, but I read on forums that they are all the same car, with cosmetic differences only – and the C1/107 are a fair bit cheaper etc.
However… my friend who used to be in the trade assured me that, although they’re all built to the same basic design, in the same factory in the Czech Republic, they are on different assembly lines etc, and in fact the C1/107 variants suffer from some of the traditional French reliability problems.

Can anybody give an authoritative answer to this one? Seems crazy to spend an extra Grand just to get the Toyota name – on the other hand, my daughter had a 207 and it was plagued with problems, had to be scrapped in the end.

Thanks

[SteBrown91]

How would the same car built by the same people in the same factory have different reliability issues depending on what line it was running down? The only way I can see the reasoning for a different line would be because the rear quarters are different on the aygo compared to the 107/c1 otherwise the only differences are styling, badges and interior colours etc.

They are all the same.

[J4CKO]

Yeah, they build them all int he same factory, using the same parts but add in some stness...

You friend is talking rubbish, I have had ours in bits (C1) due to a mouse getting in and loads of Toyota sticker on stuff, even Daihatsu ones. Loads of bits bought in from common suppliers.

I had the same nonsense when we visited a Toyota dealer, he told me, when asked why we should buy a Toyota,

1/ Better, thicker steel

2/ Showed me the Toyota logo on the turbo heat shield, "Dont get that in a Citroen or a Peugeot", apparently they put an inferior engine in, so I asked they put an inferior engine in that has exactly the same bore, stroke, cc, configuration, bhp, torque, fuel economy etc and he carried on insisting it was, bought a Citroen, has the same stamp on the heat shield.


i was expecting him to mention styling, residuals, trim differences, finance options, warranty specifics, dealerships perhaps being better in his opinion, but no, just loads of bks. My wife told me off for being a know it all but I cant buy a car of someone so pig headed that hadnt realised I was a proper car bore and knew more than him.


Its the same thing, with different front wings, lights, badges and rear lights, check the parts catalogues and interchangeability, a service kit for an Aygo fits the other two, a clutch from a C1 fits the other two.

[wilksy61]

My good lady has had two C1's and currently drives a Aygo, all bought new and in all honesty nothing other than a faulty brake line and a new battery in the C1's.

The reason for the change to the Toyota was only because she wanted the Mageta Fizz colour, however Toyota's come with a 5 year warranty whereas the C1/107 only come with a 3 year warranty.

[HannsG]

I used to own a Panda 100HP.

How painful are they to drive? Overtake in?

[EmilA]

I looked at those cars for my mum at the start of the year and ended up with an Aygo. 0% interest deals on PCP and so far so good, no issues with the car. It does exactly what it needs to do.

I know on the Aygo, if they were used and registered before the tax laws changed, then the car cost nothing to tax. The Aygo is 120 a year now I think

[paul99]

I ran a C1 1.2 for 3 years as a commuting car, did 40k miles. In that time i didn't have a single problem, got through a set of tyres and that was all.

Performance was fine, even on the motorway, i think the 1.0L version may have been tiresome on long journeys but the 1.2 was nippy enough (Turning aircon on made it quite sluggish though). I think the Aygo only comes with the 1.0L engine.

MPG was nowhere near advertised, never got even close to the stated figures, 45-50mpg was normal. Overall good simple little cars and quite good fun to throw around.

[rayyan171]

Hogweed said:

I’m helping a friend of mine to buy a little car, and she’s settled on one of these. Originally she fancied an Aygo, but I read on forums that they are all the same car, with cosmetic differences only – and the C1/107 are a fair bit cheaper etc.
However… my friend who used to be in the trade assured me that, although they’re all built to the same basic design, in the same factory in the Czech Republic, they are on different assembly lines etc, and in fact the C1/107 variants suffer from some of the traditional French reliability problems.

Can anybody give an authoritative answer to this one? Seems crazy to spend an extra Grand just to get the Toyota name – on the other hand, my daughter had a 207 and it was plagued with problems, had to be scrapped in the end.

Thanks

We have one as a runabout, getting on now at 103K on a 2009 plate. The C1 seems to be the best value, the 107 models we looked at were rather high in price for older years. The C1 was able to get the balance right of being some of the newer model years, a facelift and good spec. For the same money we got ours, it would have got a really early (and old) aygo, which didn't seem of good value at all. The extra grand really is just for the Toyota name.

All three are identical aside from the bodywork. Same gearbox, same engine, same chassis. They all suffer from the same issues, and the famed Toyota reliability doesn't play well here. Whilst ours has gone through MOT's with no issue, it did have the common water pump issue. I thought problematic water pumps were restricted to BMW's, with it having gone about 2 times on our old E39 when we were using it daily, but I seem to have been wrong. Also, ever since I refreshed the brakes, they haven't stopped squealing, even after diagnosis. I just think it is a cheap car and thus things like this are common, they weren't that expensive new and that clearly shows as they age.

They are perfect for first drivers however. Dirt cheap tax, insurance and will pass MOT's. £10 gets 70 miles of city driving. £40 will get you to London and nearly back home from north west. Comfortable ride, easy to drive although weird clutch.

For the C1, at least get it in VTR trim as it comes with a higher spec. 2009 or later is ideal, as that is the first facelift this car received. There was a big redesign in 2011 with LED DRL's and slightly newer stereo.

[Garemberg]

We still have my wife's first car an 05 C1, it's a brilliant wee thing and will never die

[G0ldfysh]

Only real potential for difference would be IF, the different manufacturers have different PDI or other checks at the end of production.


Like the idea of these, ran a Toyota Yaris early '99 model for 18 months 100% reliable bought from little old lady that had just done 2 mile a day in it for most of it's life and it never missed a beat despite my driving being a little more enthusiastic.

[Hogweed]

Thanks for all the kind replies guys - REALLY useful.

Of course, being a woman, she'll get the Toyota anyway I expect, whaever the arguments otherwise

[Tabs]

Wife has a 63 plate Aygo. Brilliant little thing. Seems very highly geared, and lovely to chuck about. Suffered 2 common problems. Indicator stalk played up, fixed under warranty, and backbox blow. Cost about £40 and a drink to a mate to fit it.
Interior light only operates on drivers door, and no electric passenger window switch on drivers door. But within easy reach across the passenger seat!

[renmure]

We bought a new Aygo a few months ago as a runaround. Never really considered the C1 or 107 after looking at them since we much preferred the looks of the Toyota. It's hard to get overly excited about it but for what they are they are great. We added the full length retractable fabric "lifestyle" roof option to ours which gives it a bit of a novelty. Lots of open air sunshine... lots of wind noise tho.

[defblade]

If you're talking about the older style, the Toyotas leak far more than the other two around the lights at the rear. Otherwise, no difference.

[PositronicRay]

Mrs PR has had few 107s. The beauty is in their simplicity, my only complaint, the gearing was a little tall, so motorway hills taken below 80 would need a downchange.

Do it, great wee things.