Tips For A New Aygo Driver

[viper262]

Hello to all you Aygo lovers :) i just purchased my first car a 2006 3dr Black Edition and i love it but can you friendly people give me any advice and tips you have from you experience with your Aygo's about how to get the most out of them :) thanks in advanced

[Devil-ish]

erm................get in, turn on, drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will enjoy believe me!!!!!!!!!! :D

Oh and welcome to the club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! B)

[viper262]

Thanks for the welcome nice to meet another Black edition owner, I have one question at traffic lights do you balance the car on the clutch or do you people hold the clutch completely out like me and bring it in when the lights go green i am interested to know and does this affect the car in any way?

[toyboata]

OMG that salesman looks just like my manager at work!!

Welcome to the club and enjoy your new wheels!

When driving never rest your foot on the clutch - this slowly wears your clutch out.

When stopped at lights, its best to select neutral and take your foot off the clutch - holding it down puts unnecessary wear on the clutch bearing and possibly the plate’s as well.

Matt

[viper262]

That makes Sence yer, if you like 4th or 5th from the lights but do you really have time to be in neutral if you first at the lights its a good tip though thanks but ill just get use to driving my Aygo and get comfortable with it but i will keep your advice in mind

[toyboata]

Being at the front of the queue at the lights doesn’t make any difference if you anticipate whats going on...

Example..

Your approaching lights but just as you get to them they change to red, you know you’re going to be sitting for a while...and if these lights are local, you will know their sequence...when the cars that are currently on green STOP going, you know their lights have changed to red, and yours will soon be on green..use this time to put it in gear and be ready to go...you could start to engage your clutch when amber or green come on.

Being able to read the road & anticipate whats going on around you, not only will you be safer & more economical, but you will spend less time stopping at roundabouts & traffic lights.

If its your first car am i right in thinking you've just passed your test?

Matt

[daveyjp]

Don't hold down or ride the clutch for any longer than you have to. The Aygo clutch isn't the most substantial piece of kit and will wear quickly if abused. Handbrake and neutral as much as possible. Using this method I've never had a clutch replaced on a car.

If you are first at the lights and they have just changed you should have long enough, if not you can still get it into gear before green shows.

[toyboata]

I had a corsa that did 110,000 miles on the original clutch..95% town-style driving...sold it at that point, so who knows how long it would of lasted!

[viper262]

Right did a lot of driving today town and motorways using a mix of balancing on biting point and using handbrake and neutral it did feel better i must admit, epically stuck in traffic jams on the motorway thanks for that guys, also i don't have a rev counter

how can i tell or what signs apart from the engine tone can give me an indication Im revving to hard, the cars really new and well looked after so i would rather not rag its brains out by over revving if someone could help that would be extremely helpful

i am not putting the accelerator down to the floor but sometimes i do feel i am revving abit to hard when you can hear the engine that loud even my girlfriend commented on how loud it was , also it is very nippy on the motorways i love it :)

[sky0000547]

also i don't have a rev counter

You can invest on a rev counter. Plenty of info on here and they are around £130 iirc. The engine in the Aygo is a 3 cylinder 1 litre engine so it is bound to be noisy.

[viper262]

cheers for that sky ill look in to a rev counter but is it just a case of getting use to the engine tone question for the drivers without rev counters if there are any out there :P

[toyboata]

Rev counter is handy - but once you've been driving it a little bit you should get a feel for when your "really" pushing it - as already said it is only a 1 litre 3 cylinder so your gonna have to push it harder than usual anyway.

I'm not sure - but doesnt a light come on the dash if your reving it too hard?

Matt

[AYGO EA]

cheers for that sky ill look in to a rev counter but is it just a case of getting use to the engine tone question for the drivers without rev counters if there are any out there :P

Hello Viper, I've recently changed from a 4 cylinder 1.8 litre to a 5 door black and yes, its a bit noisier and a bit more 'revy' but you get used to it pretty quick. I had a rev counter fitted but that's because I like to know how hard the engine is working at certain speeds and I've always had one in my previous cars. I think that if you think you're over-reving then you probably are a bit.

But hey, you'll soon get used to it. Enjoy it. . and don't drag that clutch! ;)

Cheers.

[rbeanz]

Foook! Not being rude but can I suggest an automatic!

[AygoIronman]

Greetings from Scotland!

I bought my Aygo on the 24th July. I drove a Peugeot 106 before then. Still have to say that the Aygo is about my 8th car. Its not a luxury car, a dream machine, or a !Removed! magnet, but she is cheap as chips to run. I ve heard a lot of stories about leaks in the car, and other unreliable problems like leaking water pumps but what the hey. Its a new car which has only been around for about 4 years.

I drove a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting once, and if you love small cars, then the Aygo is for you!!!! :D

My road tax is coming up, and I only pay £35. I m grinning all the way to save money, and as the price of the pumps have hit over £1 a litre I m not worried. In fact since I ve bought my new car on the 24th. I ve not even been to the petrol station yet. She`s so cheap to run.

Hope you enjoy the Aygo experience. Look after her, and she`ll look after you!

[viper262]

thanks for all advice guys its all going to good use any more advice i only use like 1/3 of accelerator when pulling away and still loud but as long as Im not damaging the engine its all good :) also anyone any idea for best gear for town driving Ive noticed I have been in 2nd a lot at 30mph+ and it pulls well is this ok for the car and the fuel economy, i usually drive 3rd or 4th and save 5th for 50mph+ any advice for best gear usage, also its raining right now so i will see if i have any leaking problems that i see people have been having on the 3dr version's of the aygo

[daveyjp]

My approach is:

2nd in 20 limits, 3rd in 30, 4th in 40 anything higher use 5th.

2nd is good for about 50mph and 3rd will see you reach at least 80 - the real bonus of the Aygo is the flexiblity of 3rd gear coupled with the very free revving engine.

[viper262]

Do you still get very good miles to the gallon even tho your driving in 30mph limits you never go into a higher gear, i have been told the higher gear you are in the better your fuel saving will be

[daveyjp]

Have a read:

http://www.ridedrive.co.uk/tipoffs06.htm

Higher gear better mpg is not the case.

[viper262]

Hmm very interesting done about 58.2 miles today combined motorway and town driving haven't lost a bar of fuel off my dashboard this car is amazing i love my Aygo but how can i work out from my trip computers information how many Miles Per Gallon im doing going shopping in leeds tommorow so got some more motorway driving ahead of me

[rbeanz]

You can't generalise and say up to 20mph = 2nd gear, as it depends on inclines, traffic conditions, load etc. Just drive for what is comfortable for the engine... not revving the !Removed! off it like an 80 yr old woman in the Tesco car park, but not labouring it either and you'll be fine.

[viper262]

I do not rev it hard i just give it enough of a rev so that i do not stall from a standing start, and i dont use much throttle during acceleration because the gearing is efficient :D thanks for tip rbeanz :D

[daveyjp]

Thats exactly what the article says.

[AYGO EA]

Hmm very interesting done about 58.2 miles today combined motorway and town driving haven't lost a bar of fuel off my dashboard this car is amazing i love my Aygo but how can i work out from my trip computers information how many Miles Per Gallon im doing going shopping in leeds tommorow so got some more motorway driving ahead of me

I just drive to the 'beep', fill up, make a note of the litres I put in and wait until I hit the 'beep' again. Divide mileage by litres used (then a quick conversion to gallons) and that'll do it ;)

A motorway trip should hopefully enable you to get good mpg!! Happy driving :D

[viper262]

Thanks ill set my trip next time i fill up also i will try and use 3rd gear more often as that website states it makes the engine work less and se what happeneds got another motorway journey today so hopefully another solid run will give me good mpg again