Toyota Aygo X – AutoWeek Test

The Toyota Aygo: just refresh the memory.

You undoubtedly know the name ‘Aygo’. For years, Toyota has sold a small city car under this name in collaboration with Peugeot (107 and 108) and Citroën (the C1). In fact, this trio was exactly the same car three times, but the three brands took the liberty of giving their own family face to the small three or five-door hatchback. The technique remained the same.

In the busy A-segment, where the smallest and cheapest cars on the market operate, the cheerful trio always managed to compete well against strong competitors such as the Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii/Volkswagen Up (also triplets) and the Korean gluttons Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10. Cars such as the Renault Twingo (Electric), the Fiat Panda and the Mitsubishi Space Star were no match for the Peugeot, Citroën and Toyota. However, many car manufacturers found out that there is not much money to be made with small cars. That is why many brands have now left the lower end of the market. This includes Peugeot and Citroën, which have canceled their cooperation with Toyota.

You can recognize that it is a cheap car by this: top-hung windows at the rear.

But now there is a new Toyota Aygo. Tell!

That’s right, and the new (third) generation of the Aygo has the letter ‘X’ behind its name. You have to pronounce that ‘X’ as ‘Cross’. With this, Toyota wants to emphasize the tough crossover character of its Benjamin. The designers have done everything they can to put a nice hip car on the wheels. It stands a little higher on the legs and wide, black moldings around the wheel arches and the aluminum-colored strips in the front and rear bumpers arouse associations with an SUV. On the more expensive versions, you can have the roof, C-pillars and rear bumper painted black, giving the Aygo X an even more expressive appearance. However, due to the highly placed light units and the glass tailgate, the Aygo X is still recognizable as Aygo.

The new Aygo is based on the scalable platform of the Yaris, a smart and cheap way of car sharing. In width, the two cars differ only 1 centimeter from each other. However, the Aygo X is a lot shorter than the Yaris: that saves 24 centimeters. There is 13 centimeters of wheelbase between the front and rear axles of the Aygo X. However, compared to its immediate predecessor, the Aygo X has grown considerably. And not only in size: his weight increased by about 100 kilos. This makes the Aygo X almost as heavy as the Yaris.

What do you notice about that growth inside the Aygo X?

You will notice that the Aygo X is wider and longer than its predecessor, especially in the front. You feel like you’re in a Yaris, you have plenty of room for your legs and your head. And even though the steering wheel is only adjustable in height, the seating position is great – we’ve never been so comfortable in an Aygo! In the back you can of course not expect much from the available space in such an A-segmenter. You don’t get that: there is hardly any legroom, you don’t sit with your knees behind, but next to the front seats.

The trunk is slightly larger than before, you can now store 198 liters. The Aygo X lends itself perfectly as a two-seater due to its tight rear seat: when you have folded down the two parts of the backrest in the back, 1,009 liters are available. This means that the Toyota is not inferior to, for example, a Hyundai i10. Under the floor, part of the available space is swallowed up by a hefty subwoofer. A trailer may not tow the Aygo X.

Here you are not really spacious as an adult.

Does such an Aygo X still drive a bit comfortably?

Yes, and that’s thanks in large part to all the Yaris parts. The chassis could easily handle a more powerful engine, which is good news for driving safety. The car is stable on the road, steers pleasantly light and, thanks to the short turning circle, feels perfectly at home in city traffic. But the Aygo X is also a nice car on the highway: flat back seats, suitcases in it and you can drive comfortably to your holiday destination in the sunny south.

The engine of the Aygo X, does something mark it now?

Toyota supplies the Aygo X with one engine. We know this three-cylinder from the Yaris, but it was also supplied in the previous Aygo – and Peugeot 108 and Citroën C1. The block has to do without a turbo, so that the power of 72 hp is modest. The same applies to the torque: it eventually peaks at 93 Nm, if you crank the block up to more than 4,000 rpm. On paper, the Aygo X’s performance isn’t even that bad. The car reaches 100 km/h in 10.9 seconds. It is especially during intermediate sprints that the engine is a bit lifeless. Just overtaking a slower car is a matter of anticipation, where you are ‘obliged’ to downshift to a lower gear.

A lot of revs also means a lot of noise. When you push the three-cylinder to the limit, it rages like a skinny suckling pig. The Aygo X is equipped with a manual five-speed gearbox as standard, but you can opt for a CVT automatic transmission at an additional cost. The 1.0 VVT-i is economical. Toyota gives an average consumption of 4.8 l / 100 km (1 in 20.8), and it does not take much effort to match that figure.

The Aygo X with 1.0 engine is not fast, but it is economical.

The Aygo X will be a very affordable car.

Well, it just depends on how you look at it. Nowadays there are not that many cars that cost less than 20,000 euros. And if you think about it, a starting price of 18,000 euros for such a small car is of course a significant loss. We can still remember that the first Aygo with its price was below 10,000 euros …

That’s a bit of a swallow… How does the Aygo X pay back so much money?

With its extensive standard equipment. Even the simplest version already has Toyota Safety Sense 2. This complete safety package includes adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam switching, traffic sign recognition, an active Lane Keeping Assist and a system that automatically intervenes with an emergency stop if a cyclist or pedestrian suddenly crosses the road. The two simplest versions have halogen headlights, the more expensive versions have LED lighting as standard.

Mature interior and lots of equipment

What else is on and about the Toyota Aygo X?

It is quite special for such a small car that it is already on 17-inch wheels from the basic version. But apart from that – and Toyota Safety Sense 2 – we have discussed all the details of the basic equipment. The second version is the Play, which becomes a bit more interesting with a reversing camera and a multimedia system with a 7-inch screen and smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Number three in the series is the First version. It has automatic air conditioning, alloy wheels, LED headlights and a rain sensor. Then follows the Aygo X, which you can order with two-tone paint, among other things. This version even stands at 18-inch alloy, and the screen of the multimedia system (with wireless smartphone integration) grows to a size of 9 inches. You can also charge your phone wirelessly.

Finally, there is the Premium version. It takes from parking sensors, seat heating and smart entry, which recognizes the receiver of the central door locking from a distance. If you choose the Premium, certain elements of the exterior and interior are finished in an accent color. You can choose from red, orange and gold. The Premium version of the Aygo X stands for more than 25,000 euros in the price list. If you want an automatic, then there will be another almost 2,000 euros on top of that price. The CVT is also available in combination with the Play, First and Envy equipment package.

The choice of AutoWeek test coordinator Marco Gorter

Those who really want can make the Aygo X almost as luxurious as a B-segmenter, but then the price difference with a larger Yaris will be very minimal. The most obvious implementation is therefore the second level, the Play. Compared to the basic version of Carplay/Android Auto, it has an always up-to-date navigation system. The fact that a height-adjustable driver’s seat is also immediately included makes this version a lot more interesting for the Dutch.