Crosstown traffic
£14,795
FOR Chunky looks. Much safety tech
AGAINST Lack of power. Not exactly revolutionary
The Aygo X is here to prove that city cars do still exist they just look a little bit different these days Oh and before we get started we should probably point out that the X is actually pronounced “cross” despite not being written out in full like on the back of Toyota’s new Yaris Cross Strange
Anyway the X is identifiably Aygo with that glassy rear hatch and contrast roof but it’s smartened up with new LEDs or inch wheels and mm more ground clearance The crossover treatment is completed with black plastic cladding around the arches which look odd here as we drove a preprod car
The X replaces the previous Aygo completely That car and its Citroen C and Peugeot siblings were built in Kolin Czech Republic and Toyota has assumed full control of that plant as its former French partners pull out of the segment altogether
The powertrain is a lowexcitement lowcost solution with a bhp litre cyl connected to either a fivespeed manual or a CVT gearbox The manual is the one to go for to inject a little bit of fun but the CVT is better than most of the breed and only struggles if you really put your foot down
Despite the suspension hike the Aygo X is FWD only and ICE only No Fiat Panda x or Suzuki Ignis AllGrip rival here and nothing to worry the Mini Electric or Fiat e Shame Toyota says it merely wanted to get the Aygo onto the crossover bandwagon in order to help with potholed city streets and to improve visibility For a tallish car on skinny tyres with big wheels it does ride surprisingly well There’s no shudder or shock over speed bumps and it’s decent through twisty stuff It’ll stay flat despite the higher centre of gravity whilst the steering is nicely weighted
Inside there’s plenty you’ll recognise from the Yaris Different trim levels get seven eight or nineinch touchscreens and all sit inside a neat oval that’s the main feature of the X’s dash There’s headroom aplenty in the front and decent shoulder space if you’re twoup You wouldn’t want to be using the back bench regularly though legroom isn’t great and the canvas roof does eat into rear headroom
Hardly a reinvention of the city car then despite the look but a decent effort and those who live in town but can’t make an EV work will be interested Just remember ¡mph does take almost seconds