[imagesource: Toyota]

Toyota’s budget hatchback, the Toyota Agya, has arrived in South Africa.

The five-door car is effectively a twin to its predecessor, the Daihatsu Ayla, and debuted on the market as long ago as 2012, before its first facelift in 2017, and again earlier this year.

It’s not the most attractive vehicle, but if you’re one of those people who routinely loses your car in parking lots, that luminous yellow might be exactly what you need. I’ve heard that it also comes in traffic cone orange.

Lovely.

Looks aren’t really what the company is going for, though. The car is marketed at first-time buyers and slots into Toyota SA Motors’ line-up below the new Starlet.

You can snap a Starlet up for between R204 900 to R272 500.

The Agya starts at R178 600, but we will get to pricing later.

Image: Toyota

Per Car Magazine, it comes with a three-year/100 000 km warranty included in the price, along with a two-time/20 000 km service plan.

Image: Toyota

Standard features include 14-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, electric windows, dual-front airbags, a start button, and an immobiliser alarm – the basics.

Image: Toyota

Under the hood, you’re looking at a 1,0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine which sends 49 kW and 89 Nm to the front axle.

Depending on which of the two variants you choose – manual or automatic – you have the option of a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.

If you’re planning on winning any races, look elsewhere. The manual model will reach 100 km/h from standstill in 14,6 seconds, before topping out at 165 km/h.

Fuel consumption is listed at 4,8 litres/100 km.

So it will get you from point A to point B with minimal hassles.

Here’s where it’s at in terms of options and pricing:

• Manual Agya: R178 600
• Manual Agya fitted with Toyota’s audio system: R182 400
• Automatic Agya: R192 500
• Automatic Agya fitted with Toyota’s audio system: R196 300

If you’re looking for your first car, or want to get your kid something that they can’t drag-race in, this isn’t a bad way to go.

[source:carmag]