Toyota Aygo X overview 2023 | New automobile opinions

Make and model: Toyota Aygo X
Description: Compact city car
Price range: £15,975 to £20,545 (before options)

Toyota says: “The ultimate car for navigating modern urban spaces”

We say: For those still in the market for petrol power – perhaps unable to access an EV charge point – and not wanting something quite as big as a Toyota Yaris, the Aygo X is worth sticking on the shortlist

Introduction

In a world where SUVs are the go-to choice for families, the humble city car can sometimes be neglected. Enter the crossover – a compact mix giving drivers the benefits of both worlds.

The Aygo X (pronounced “Aygo Cross”) isn’t a car that will suit everone, but it has great appeal for its target market. Aimed at urban dwellers and smaller families looking for something that’s easy to park, cheap to run and looks great, the Aygo X ticks all those boxes.

From the kerb side, it sheds the ‘dinky’ tag of the previous-generation Aygo with a chunkier, meatier stance and an air of sportiness.

What’s new about this car?

The all-new Aygo X went on sale in spring 2022 in the UK, replacing the previous Aygo. Made predominantly for the European market, that beefier appearance is actually a lot of smart illusory design. It gains only a smidge over 20 cm extra length than the original Aygo, for all its ‘SUV-like’ styling, so it’s still firmly in the city car class.

But it’s actually this ‘bigger’ image that works so well. Sadly, in certain circles, city cars are falling out of favour. Superminis are getting harder to produce at a price point that works for all parties involved. The previous Aygo was actually a joint venture with Peugeot and Citroën, and was basically identical to the Peugeot 108 and Citroën C1. This time around, the French brands have bailed out and Toyota has gone it alone with the Aygo X.

By souping the Aygo into a car of bigger proportions, however marginal, Toyota is very cleverly tapping into a market for which there are fewer and fewer rivals, year-on-year.

How does it look?

The Toyota Aygo X looks good. It’s different enough from anything else on the road, in the supermini category, to be distinctive without being kooky. It’s well-proportioned so the nose, rear and roof dimensions are easy-on-the-eye.

There are sporty styling cues and a decent selection of body colours to choose from, which can be personalised to a limited degree. The X across the grille, which stood out more on older Aygo and Yaris designs, has been softened and made more subtle, which gives a sense that this is a much more grown-up car than the Aygo.

If the Aygo was the teenager, the Aygo X is now the mature young adult – and definitely of the TikTok generation, where the contrary positions of being bold in red, or more camouflage in khaki green, are entirely acceptable.

Better than: Fiat Panda, Fiat 500 and Smart Fortwo/Forfour
Not as good as: Volkswagen Up, Kia Picanto

What are the specs like?

The Toyota Aygo X was tested by Euro NCAP in 2022 and received a four-star rating, where both adult and child occupants had 78% protection. This is an improvement from the 2017 test on the Aygo, which only received three stars, had poorer child protection and a much lower ‘Safety Assist’. That refers to the driver assistance technologies, of which there’s a decent amount of tech kit in the Aygo X. The Aygo X climbed to 81% from 25% in the Aygo for Safety Assist. It’s also worth noting there are two Isofix points available for child seats.

What’s it like inside?

Up front, the Toyota Aygo X is super spacious. To stick with that SUV feel, the riding position is slightly higher. The seats offer a decent amount of comfort, though might feel a bit unyielding on longer journeys, especially for taller drivers. There’s no adjustment either, which is a bit disappointing.

Fortunately, there’s a truckload of legroom for the passenger and driver. In the rear, things are not so roomy. This is a five-door car, where the rear seat door handles are obscured by the black styling around the rear windows. Not only is sliding in and out of the door a mission if you’re any bigger than Tom Thumb, but once ensconced in the back, the knees of adult humans press against the front seats. It’s not especially comfortable for any real amount of time, but completely acceptable for the school run and pretty much par for the course in the city car class.

The boot space is similarly acceptable for a car in this category. It’ll haul a couple of travel bags without grumbling in a capacity of 231 litres, extending to over 800 with the rear seats folded.

The cockpit of the Aygo X splits opinion. On the one hand, the build quality is respectable – that is to say, there’s no awkward rattles and the switchgear feels sturdy. The dash has been kept very practical, with lots of surfaces that are easily wiped down. Yet, on the other hand, none of this family-friendly set-up exudes the refinement we’d expect for the price tag of the vehicle. Toyota has tried to boost the appearance, with high-gloss accents in various places but these show fingerprints easily so will look dirty very quickly.

The touchscreen (either seven or nine inches in size, depending on how much money you want to spend) features Toyota’s latest software and is easy enough to figure out. Menus are simple, there’s remotely updating navigation and integration with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which will have huge appeal. Toyota has been fairly generous with the standard kit in the Aygo X, despite the fact there’s only one USB port. Wireless charging is only available on the top ‘Exclusive’ trim level.

Air-con, electric windows and Toyota’s Safety Sense suite, which features adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, lane-keep assist and forward collision warning are offered as standard.

Better than: Fiat Panda, Fiat 500 and Smart Fortwo/Forfour
Not as good as: Volkswagen Up, Kia Picanto

Under the bonnet

There’s only one choice of engine, which keeps things nice and simple, but will be a dealbreaker for some. The 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is probably where the Aygo X lets itself down the most. There’s not a great deal of torque and it lacks urgency. Where it’s still punchy enough around town, the Aygo X lacks grunt on the motorway – especially if you have a passenger or two on board.

What’s more, it can be pretty noisy – at times making you feel like you’re driving a diesel. That said, like a diesel, it offers good fuel economy (around 56-59mpg) so there is still something to write home about.

There’s no electrification here, in the form of a hybrid or even a mild hybrid option, but this isn’t actually a disadvantage in real-world driving. Fiat brands its 500 and Panda models as ‘hybrids’, but in reality they are only mild hybrids that add little in terms of performance or fuel economy.

We’d recommend opting for the manual gearbox, giving you half a chance on hills and when overtaking, but the automatic transmission offers a slightly better fuel economy, so provided you’re patient, this is still on the table.

Better than: Fiat Panda, Suzuki Ignis
Not as good as: Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Up

How does it drive?

The low centre of gravity that the Aygo X has makes it pretty nimble. There’s not a great deal of body roll, though you can notice it in corners if you have your foot down.

It’s great around town, completes a U-turn almost as quickly as the UK government and it only produces 110g/km of CO₂ emissions. When it comes to visibility, the rear vision is a bit cramped but the size of the car bolsters driver confidence. Despite its larger dimensions, the Aygo X will slot in almost any tight parking spot and the parking sensors really help avoid any damage.

Better than: Fiat Panda, Smart Fortwo/Forfour
Not as good as: Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Up

Verdict

With prices starting from about £14.5K, the Toyota Aygo X might prove a bit too pricey once any extras are factored in. As mentioned, it’s getting hard for car makers to justify putting smaller cars into serious volume production, as the market moves towards bigger and more electrified vehicles.

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, though – especially if you make heavy use of public transport throughout the week and your car remains parked up for the duration. While the supermini segment is pretty healthy for larger cars, like the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo, there are fewer direct rivals to the Toyota Aygo X than ever before.

The push for electric cars makes a compelling case for the funky Honda e or Fiat 500e (which is a completely different vehicle to the familiar petrol Fiat 500), but their prices are about double that of the Toyota Aygo X. For those in the market for petrol power – which is likely to be most people in this sector – and not wanting something quite as big as a Toyota Yaris, the Aygo X is worth sticking on the shortlist.

Similar cars

Fiat 500 | Fiat Panda | Hyundai i10 | Kia Picanto | Smart Forfour | Suzuki Ignis | Volkswagen Up

Key specifications