Toyota Aygo X 2022 review

A brand-new city car is rarer than a new supercar these days. Ford no longer makes one. Nor does Vauxhall, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Nissan or Seat. Tiny cars that are made for city life simply don’t sell. Or rather, they do – but car manufacturers aren’t interested in the tiny profits they generate.

Thank goodness for Toyota, then. The ever-clever Japanese giant has given us that oh-so-rare thing: a new city car.

The Aygo X will definitely stand out in a crowded street, thanks to its high-riding, crossover-style stance. If it wasn’t so diminutive, the Tyre Extinguishers would be all over it.

Lighter, simpler, cheaper

It has taken lots of creative commitment from Toyota engineers to produce this car. They started with the platform of the larger and more expensive Yaris, then reworked it to be lighter, simpler and cheaper to build.

Crucially, it should still be very safe; the Yaris is loaded with driver-assist systems and lauded by Euro NCAP as a result. Expect the Aygo X to be little different.

For prices starting from less than £15,000, this is praiseworthy. It also feels like a more expensive car inside, helped by a high-set driving position and firm, supportive seats. The dashboard looks sophisticated – a central touchscreen is standard on all versions – and the exposed metal on the doors is industrial-cool.

Cross marks the spot

You can get it with a huge canvas roof, which I’d opened before I even left the underground car park. It helped me hear the cheery throb from the little 1.0-litre non-turbo engine (note: if this was an electric car, it would cost £10,000 more) and, as I emerged blinking into daylight, gave me a passable sense of being in a convertible.

The first part of my drive was through Barcelona and up into the 1992 Olympic Village. The Aygo X was in its element. For a modern car, it rides bumps beautifully. We’re now too used to big steamroller wheels smashing horribly into potholes and everything feeling shuddery and ill at ease, even on seemingly flat and even roads.

This car absorbs potholes rather than letting them assault you. It has a stable, cushioned feel that never gets aggressive. The ‘X’ in Aygo X is actually pronounced ‘cross’. Driving this car makes you anything but.  

Crossover-spec suspension travel helps here, but this doesn’t mean lots of body-roll in corners. Far from it: this is a lithe and lightweight car that handles in a charming, friendly way. It’s chuckable around town (with a turning circle similar to a black cab) and feels stable and assured on more open roads. I asked one of the engineers whether they’d given any thought to a faster version and he agreed it was an excellent idea, while giving nothing away.

Happy and charming

For now, we just have a 72hp three-cylinder petrol engine that loves to rev, which is lucky, because you’ll need to. Zero to 62mph takes 14.9 seconds, so it’s not fast against a stopwatch, but it doesn’t feel slow because it’s such a happy and charming car.

Even the CVT automatic gearbox works better than you’d think, at least in town. In the ’burbs, the engine will be roaring near its redline a little too often.

The Aygo X can’t totally defy its compact footprint. Rear-seat space is tight, and it’s gloomy back there due to the tiny pop-out windows. The 231-litre boot is smaller than many rivals, too.

Made for the city

Meanwhile, prices quickly rise as you move up the range, with the beautiful cardamon and black Limited Edition launch car costing almost £20,000. Yikes.

But hey, Porsche will charge you a couple of grand just to paint the air vents a different colour. Stand out instead with an Aygo X. It’s the smartest thing the city has seen for years.

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