Toyota Aygo X Review & Prices

If you want a compact supermini that packs a healthy dose of rufty-tufty off-road styling, then the dinky little Toyota Aygo X could be the car for you.

As an alternative to the likes of the Suzuki Ignis or the Fiat Panda 4x4, the Aygo X isn’t the only pumped up supermini you could spend your hard-earned on, but its sharp styling does help it to stand out from the crowd. With beefy body cladding, alloys up to 18 inches in size and flashes of contrasting colour on higher-spec models, you could say this jacked-up supermini is a bit like Mighty Mouse; it’s small but, well, mighty… 

Inside you’re greeted by scratchy plastics on most surfaces and some smart-looking coloured metallic detailing, but the overall quality is rather good for a car starting around the £16,000 mark. You also sit higher up than in other superminis, giving you a more commanding view of the road ahead. 

There’s a touchscreen as standard, and with that you get a system that’s smooth enough in operation, and it comes equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In the back, most adults over six-foot will struggle to get comfortable. The legroom is extremely limited and you’ll be touching the roof with your head. If you’re not as vertically gifted though, you should be fine. 

The boot in a car this size is never going to be the biggest, but the Aygo X’s is rather good at 231 litres – a 60-litre hike over the previous Aygo and much better than the Fiat 500’s 185 litres. The Hyundai i10 (252 litres) and Kia Picanto (255 litres) are slightly more practical though. You can also fold the rear seats down for an 829-litre space so you can haul a bit more around. 

There’s currently only one engine choice with the Aygo X – a 72hp three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol. Even though it has a characterful thrum, you won’t be getting up hills or up to higher speeds without some significant noise coming into the cabin – especially with the CVT transmission.

When paired to the manual transmission, there’s still a thrum at higher revs, but it works better than the CVT in a car of this size – making town driving pretty easy. With its compact footprint and direct steering, you’ll be able to weave through traffic without many issues. You also get a good amount of safety kit as standard, with the entry Pure trim getting a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and driver attention alert, while the top Exclusive specification boasts front and rear parking sensors, LED headlamps and emergency steering assist. 

On the motorway, the car settles down nicely sitting on the range-topping 18-inch wheels and the engine doesn’t make much of an impact noise-wise. Wind and tyre noise is a bit more noticeable though. 

You can have some fun on a twistier road. The direct steering really shines here, and there’s good grip through tight corners too - it’s just a shame the engine isn’t that little bit punchier. 

On the whole, the Aygo X is practical and charming, but is let down a bit by the engine and the optional automatic transmission. 

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Offered in four trim levels, the Aygo X is one of the most affordable cars currently on sale. As the city car segment is one that is shrinking, those wanting a cheap runaround are short of choice but the Toyota goes up against the likes of the Hyundai i10, Fiat 500 and Kia Picanto.

The jump between trim levels is between £1,000 and £2,000, while going for the Air Edition with the sliding fabric roof is just £500 above the highly-specced Exclusive model.

The Aygo X manages to be a great car around town with light steering and good visibility, but the automatic gearbox isn't great

There’s currently only one engine option – a 72hp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol. You can team that with a five-speed manual or a CVT automatic, with the former the much better of the two.

Don’t expect ludicrous performance , as 0-60mph is possible in a lethargic 14.8 seconds. Top speed doesn’t even crack the 100mph mark, falling short at just 98mph. 

With its tiny 35-litre fuel tank, it’s a good job you can achieve a decent level of efficiency. The fuel economy figure sits at 56.5mpg, while emissions are 109g/km CO2.

In town

As the Aygo X is built for the city, let’s start there. Driving round town, you appreciate the small footprint and direct steering, which means nipping in and out of side streets is really simple. With fewer than three turns lock-to-lock as well, parking and manoeuvring is no trouble. 

Based on the same underpinnings as the latest Yaris, the Aygo X feels stable and well-balanced, while the slimmer A-pillars and well-sized rear window means visibility is also pretty good. The rear passenger window is a bit small for the blind spot though. 

On the motorway

Although it’s not completely at home on the motorway, it copes rather well, despite its low power output. It soaks up most bumps very easily and is settled enough to make long distances simple to cover. The seats might not be the most supportive, but they’re well-cushioned. 

Refinement-wise, the Aygo X does rather well for a cheaper car. There’s some tyre noise on the larger 18-inch alloys but wind noise is limited. If you choose the optional sliding cloth roof, you get quite a lot of turbulence, but it’s nice to have the option for sunnier days.

On a twisty road

Twistier roads normally reveal holes in supermini setups, but the Aygo X is rather composed. There’s not a huge amount of feel from the steering, but you can certainly place it very well. 

Where the Aygo X is lacking is in the power department. The 72hp unit is good enough for around town, but as soon as you get out on an A-road, there’s not enough punch. Up hills, it sounds strained and it lacks pulling power. Team it with the automatic transmission and it sounds like it's struggling even more. 

There are decent storage spots to fit some things in, but on the whole space is at a premium with the Aygo X

Passenger space 

Up front, there’s a decent amount of adjustment in the seat to give you plenty of room for your legs, while headroom is also pretty decent. If you choose the optional Air pack, you get a full-length sliding cloth roof for more open air when you want it – while it also insulates noise when it’s shut pretty well. 

However, if you’ve got passengers in the back they might not be so comfortable, unless you compromise your own comfort. The roof does cut down pretty sharply at the back and taller people will be touching it.

Rear legroom also isn’t great, unless the driver and/or passenger up-front are on the short side. Your knees are likely to be digging into the backs of the front seats if you’ve got adults packed in. 

Storage space

In the cabin, you get plenty of storage spots. There’s good-sized door bins in the front doors, two cup holders in the centre console and a place for your phone. That can be used as a wireless charger, but that’s only available on the Exclusive and Limited Edition models. 

For people in the back, there’s a small door bin on either side and a single cup holder in the centre. However you don’t get seat pockets or a fold-down armrest in the middle. 

Boot space

As standard, you get a 231-litre space when the foldable load cover is fitted. Taking the cover away gives you an extra 38 litres up to the roof, while folding the rear seats down extends that to 829 litres. However, if you go for the Exclusive trim and select the optional JBL sound system, you lose a fair chunk of space - 42 litres in total with the cover in place, and with the rear seats folded down you're down 49 litres. The boot floor is quite low down, too. The lip isn’t that wide, but this a boot better for dropping things into.

Overall, the Aygo X's luggage capacity is good, if not outstanding for this type of car. It has a bigger boot than the Fiat 500 (185 litres), but it's a little bit down on the Hyundai i10 (252 litres) and Kia Picanto (255 litres). The similarly-priced Dacia Sandero supermini is roomier still, thanks to its 328 litre boot.

You can get a surprisingly high-spec with a touchscreen fitted as standard, but overall quality is not to the highest level

Marketed more towards the stylish end of the compact market, the Aygo X does have pretty good interior design. The exterior body colour is carried inside to add a pop to the dashboard and trim detail. 

Add to that the large screen – more on that in a moment – which is surrounded by additional coloured and piano black trims, the overall feel is rather nice. 

Although most of the surfaces are quite harsh plastic, all the panels and pieces feel well screwed together, and it’s not likely the cabin will fall apart any time soon. 

As standard, the Aygo X gets a 7.0-inch touchscreen, which runs Toyota’s latest infotainment software. The graphics used are clear and the system is smooth enough for you to operate it on the go. 

But with USB ports behind the gear lever, you’ll be able to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto – both of which are very clear on the top-spec 9.0-inch display. You even get wireless smartphone connection for the Exclusive and Limited Edition trims. 

You do also get a small display in the instrument binnacle, where you can see your speed, trip computer, the settings for your cruise control and your entertainment selection, as well as a host of other features.

You get the same 35-litre fuel tank fitted to both the manual and automatic versions, and surprisingly the fuel economy for both is around the same. For the manual version it's combined best is 58.5mpg, while the automatic can achieve 56.5mpg.

For emissions, both versions of the Aygo X return low figures of 109g/km, meaning the Aygo X will be on one of the lowest tax brackets for petrol and diesel cars currently available.

As standard, all versions of the Aygo X come with Toyota's full fleet of Safety Sense technologies. With that you get autonomous emergency braking, collision mitigation support, lane departure warning, automatic high beam and road sign assist as standard. You also get adaptive cruise control on all models, even with the manual options.

Being on the smaller end of the scale, the Aygo X's safety setup is pretty good. With the Euro NCAP crash tests it scored four stars out of five, doing the best in safety assists with an 81% result. Both child and adult occupancy scored 78% and pedestrian safety scored 74%.

Rather than keyless entry, there's a key start with an immobiliser, and for additional safety, there's six airbags throughout the cabin.

Toyota is known for its excellent build quality and even though the materials used aren't the finest, the Aygo X is very solidly built.

For further peace of mind, the Aygo X comes with a three-year warranty. Then with qualifying services at Toyota dealers, you get an additional 12 months and 10,000 miles up to 10 years and 100,000 miles of warranty. A truly excellent proposition.