Toyota Aygo X – city car grows muscles

With the X standing for Cross, Toyota has given its A-segment car a chunkier, more rugged look, with bigger wheels and a higher driving position.

In many ways, it could be classified as a baby SUV – and it has a super-fashionable look, is fun to drive and provides decent fuel economy.

The city car market has been shrinking, as carmakers focus on bigger, more profitable models.

It means a number of affordable little runabouts are no more, including the conventional Aygo hatch.

However, its new crossover-styled replacement retains many of the things that proved popular with the old car.

That said, the Aygo X actually shares many of its components with the larger Yaris and uses the Toyota Global New Architecture (TNGA) GA-B platform, first introduced on the new Yaris.

That all means the Aygo X is 125mm wider and 235mm longer than the regular Aygo. It’s also 11mm higher off the ground and a total of 50mm taller.

As you’d imagine, this offers better headroom for the driver and front seat passenger, plus a bigger and very practical boot, but a tall adult will still find it a squeeze in the back seats.

Toyota has kept things simple in terms of engine choice - as only one engine is available.

Unusually for a manufacturer that’s always looked keenly at electrification, it isn’t a hybrid powerplant, with the Aygo X getting a 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine.

This decision was made as Toyota wanted to keep both the weight and price of the vehicle to a minimum.

With just 71bhp on offer, performance was never going to be blistering, but there’s just about enough poke for a car weighing just 965kg. Of course, the payback for that sluggish 0-62mph time of 15.5 seconds is the excellent fuel economy of over 55mpg.

In terms of transmission, you can choose between an automatic CVT transmission and a five-speed manual gearbox.

The latter, tested here, provides more engagement and enjoyment when out on the open road, while the CVT probably provides greater ease-of-use in urban environments.

The manual box also allows you to anticipate steep hills where the smaller engine might struggle and to drop down a gear or two in advance to compensate.

On a test drive over the sometimes steep and often twisty Mortimer Road – an old turnpike between Yorkshire and Derbyshire – I was conscious of having to work the engine hard up the heavier gradients. In the twisty sections, the car handled well, with trustworthy body control and decent grip levels that allow a driver to get into their flow.

Once you step inside, you’re greeted with a well-equipped cabin with solid build quality.

The touchscreen is seven inches and forms the centrepiece of the cabin. It’s within easy reach of the driver, and is quite intuitive and responsive.

The Toyota Smart Connect system is impressive, offering a smooth connection from your phone to your multimedia.

In terms of looks, it’s pleasing on the eye, with a distinctive front end, contemporary headlights and those beefy wheel arch surrounds. It’s a funky look that should appeal to the city car audience.

In terms of cost, you could end up spending over £20,000 as you work your way up the trim trail to the Limited Edition automatic model.

However, the Aygo X is well-equipped as standard, so there’s no need to spend that kind of money.

The Pure version, with a manual box, costs £14,795, while this mid-spec Edge version came in at £16,495, which seemed to represent good value.

Sometimes, when manufacturers are looking to keep costs down, some of the driving aids fall by the wayside. That isn’t the case with the Aygo X, as Toyota’s safety sense system is handy, especially in the city, with features such as pedestrian and cyclist sensors offering excellent help.

Toyota Aygo X Edge manual petrol

ENGINE: 1.0-litre petrol, three-cylinder in-line

PERFORMANCE: Max speed of 94mph and 0-62mph in15.5 seconds

FUEL ECONOMY 56.4mpg to 58.8mpg

EMISSIONS: 109-114g/km

PRICE: From £14,805 (£16,495 for Edge model)