Toyota Aygo X review

The Toyota Aygo X is here to prove that there’s still a place for affordable small cars – and they don't have to be electric to be fun and cheap to run.

If you're thinking of buying an Aygo X as an urban runaround, you might be considering electric cars too, but they demand a bigger investment from the get-go. Indeed, Toyota has set prices for its smallest and cheapest model – which is available with a 1.0-litre petrol engine and, er, that's it – way below the cost of a Fiat 500 Electric or MG4 EV.

There are plenty of petrol-powered alternatives too, of course, including the Dacia Sandero, Fiat Panda, Hyundai i10 and Suzuki Swift.

Despite its mildly rugged looks, the Aygo X isn't blessed with four-wheel drive. Sure, there’s plastic cladding on the wheel arches, but this isn't a car with any notable off-road ability. It's designed to be easy and enjoyable to drive on the road.

So, how do we rate the Toyota Aygo X against the best small cars? Read on to find out...

The Toyota Aygo X has a 71bhp 1.0-litre petrol engine that’s free from any turbocharging or hybrid electrical assistance. Acceleration is best described as "pedestrian" (0-62mph takes at least 14.9 seconds) but you won't struggle to keep up with other cars in urban and suburban environments.

On faster roads, you'll have to work the five-speed manual gearbox hard. You'll need to change down a gear or two when you encounter a hill, for example, and think very seriously before attempting to overtake a slower car on a country road.

The Dacia Sandero and Hyundai i10 have the extra get-up-and-go needed to haul you out of bends and scale inclines without prolonged downwards pressure on the accelerator pedal.

Toyota also gives you the option of a CVT automatic gearbox. With that fitted, the 0-62mph drops by a modest 0.1 second, but the engine's limited power means the engine revs away noisily for drawn-out periods of time.

On a more positive note, the Aygo X's tight turning circle makes low-speed manoeuvres easy. The ride is fairly firm and a bit choppy a times, but always well controlled. There's none of the floaty sensation you experience in some rivals, including the Sandero.

The Aygo X handles neatly, resisting body lean in bends, and while the steering response could be sharper, the well-judged weighting helps you place the car accurately on the road. It's more fun than a Sandero or Fiat Panda, although the pricier Seat Ibiza handles in a more sophisticated fashion.

The noise from the Aygo X's three-cylinder engine fades at motorway speeds but is still ever-present, and you'll feel vibrations from it through the seat and floor when it's idling or you're accelerating hard.

Road noise is kept in check, but wind noise grows markedly at motorway speeds, mainly from around the roof pillar by your right ear and – if fitted – the sliding fabric roof. When it rains, the retractable roof gives you the pitter-patter sound you get in a tent.

Driving overview

Strengths Tight turning circle; tidy handling; slick manual gear change

Weaknesses Noisy at speed; lacklustre acceleration; ride can be choppy

The Toyota Aygo X's driver's seat is height-adjustable and the steering wheel and pedals line up neatly with one another. Sadly, the wheel adjusts only for height (not reach), so you might struggle to get completely comfortable. We'd advise a test drive before buying.

Behind the wheel you'll find a traditional speedo with a 4.2in screen in the middle – this displays useful information including your speed in digits, fuel economy and any music that's playing. It's a simple but effective arrangement.

The air-con controls are easy to use, and forward visibility is excellent, helped by big door mirrors and relatively narrow windscreen pillars. True, the chunky rear pillars and small rear window make seeing out of the back tricky, but all versions come with rear-view camera as standard to help when parking. Opting for the Park Pack (or top-spec Exclusive trim) adds front and rear parking sensors.  

There are two sizes of infotainment touchscreen available, and both have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring as standard. Pure and Edge models have a 9.0in screen, which has fairly sharp graphics and a user-friendly operating system. It can be quite sluggish to respond to commands though.

If you upgrade to range-topping Exclusive trim, the screen grows to 10.5in. We haven't tried the larger screen yet so we can't tell you whether it's quicker to react to prods, but it does add a wireless phone-charging pad and give you the option of adding a more powerful JBL sound system.

As for interior quality, the Aygo X feels really well screwed together. The air-con dials, and indicator and wiper stalks feel surprisingly solid given the car's low price, and even the steering wheel is trimmed with tactile leather.

Granted, it feels pretty low-rent inside compared with a VW Polo (there's no soft-touch plastic on the dashboard, for example) but it has the edge over a Dacia Sandero or Fiat Panda.

Interior overview

Strengths Great visibility; easy-to-use infotainment; interior feels well built

Weaknesses No reach adjustment for steering wheel; touchscreen can be slow to respond to prods

There's plenty of space in the front of the Toyota Aygo X – enough elbow room to avoid you feeling squished, and enough leg and head room for those well over 6ft tall. The front passenger seat doesn't have height adjustment though, so taller occupants might feel perched a little high up.

Storage space up front is reasonable, with two cupholders and a tray for phones in front of the gear lever. The glove compartment is small though, and the door pockets are more like letterbox slots so can only take small bottles.

Rear passengers are not nearly so well catered for. Head room is tight (a six-footer will need to cower) and the optional canvas sunroof lowers the height of the ceiling even further. With limited leg room and small side windows (which pop out instead of wind down), claustrophobia could set in quickly. 

Access to the rear seats is also restricted because of the small rear doors, which makes installing a child seat difficult. What's more, the Aygo X has only two seatbelts in the back, whereas the many rivals have three rear seats. Put simply, if rear space is a priority, you're better off looking at the Dacia Sandero or Hyundai i10.

The Aygo X’s 231-litre boot is pretty titchy – even by small car standards. The i10 and the Kia Picanto offer more than 250 litres, and the Sandero more than 300 litres. Still, there's enough space for a small weekly shop or three carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf.

You can fold down the rear seats if you need to carry more, although the backrest (which splits 50/50) flops on top of the seat base, creating an awkward step in the floor of the extended load bay.

Practicality overview

Strengths Plenty of space in the front; five doors as standard

Weaknesses Limited rear seat space; only four seats; small boot

The starting price of the Toyota Aygo X is higher than that of the budget-focused Dacia Sandero and Fiat Panda. However, it undercuts many big-selling small cars, including the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo.

What's more, thanks to slow predicted depreciation, excellent fuel economy (officially up to 58.8mpg and well over 50mpg in the real world) and cheap insurance, the Aygo X should work out cheaper to own than almost all other new cars in the long run.

If you're planning to sign up to a finance agreement, monthly repayments might be cheaper than you imagine too. To make sure you get the best price, check our New Car Deals pages.

Entry-level Pure trim is worth considering. It has all the kit you really need, including 17in alloy wheels, electric front windows, automatic headlights, air conditioning, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and a touchscreen infotainment system.

That said, we reckon the mid-rung Edge trim is worth paying extra for. It adds a bi-tone paint finish, 18in alloy wheels, climate control, automatic wipers and rear privacy glass.

Range-topping Exclusive trim gets you the larger touchscreen, keyless entry, LED headlights, ambient lighting and some faux-leather trim on the seats, but pushes the price into the territory of more polished small cars. There are some optional extras, including a canvas roof, but none that are really worth forking out for. 

The Aygo X was too new to feature in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey but Toyota came second out of 32 brands in the manufacturer league table. Even if something does go wrong, the standard warranty extends for up to 10 years (or 100,000 miles) so long as you get your car serviced annually by a Toyota dealer.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the Aygo X four stars (out of five), which is better than the score of some other budget small cars, including the Sandero and the Hyundai i10. All trims come with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, traffic-sign assist and tyre-pressure monitoring.

Costs overview

Strengths Well-equipped; excellent fuel economy; generous warranty

Weaknesses Some rivals have a lower starting price

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