The Aygo X (pronounced “cross”) is designed and produced in Europe as a pure ICE to meet the demands of city life. It is built on the GA-B platform, first introduced with the Yaris and more recently with the Yaris Cross.
In taking Aygo from a hatchback to a crossover body type, Toyota’s European stylists have given it a new exterior look. Its stand-out styling includes a bonnet silhouette and rocker mouldings that express the “high lift” look of an urban crossover. The front of the car has been brought closer to the wheels which, with the slanted rear windows, creates a condensed, compact look. Flared wheel arches and mouldings emphasise the large-diameter tyres and give it a confident road stance, while the edged roof line, shoulder axis and rear door shape further distinguish it. The new colour concept is inspired by different spices, namely: Cardamom Green; Chilli Red; Ginger Beige; and Juniper Blue.
Inside story
Interior funky highlights match the exterior spice colours to give the cockpit a distinctive look, including the dashboard and centre consoles. The “X” symbol is stitched into the seat upholstery on high-grade models and the Aygo X model name is subtly featured in the LED headlamps.
Size-wise, at 3,700mm, the Aygo X is 235mm longer than its predecessor, although the wheelbase has been increased by just 90mm. The crossover stance is accentuated by a front overhang that’s 72mm shorter than the Yaris hatchback, while wheel sizes are larger, at 17 or 18 inches. Designed for narrow city streets, it has a small turning radius of 4.7m, one of the tightest in the segment.
Total body width has been increased by 125mm to 1,740mm. As a result, the front seats are set 20mm further apart, increasing shoulder space by 45mm as part of the “shared interaction” cabin design. Luggage space is also segment-leading with 125mm more load space length, increasing cargo capacity by more than 60 litres to 231 litres. With the rear 50/50 seats folded, the space available increases to 829 litres. Vehicle height has been increased by 65mm to 1,525mm.
The seating position has been raised by 55mm, giving the driver a better view of other road users, particularly cyclists and pedestrians, and the A-pillar angle has been increased by 10 per cent to 24º for improved visibility.
Interior noise levels have been reduced through the use of sound-insulating materials to create a quieter cabin. The Articulation Index has improved by 10 percentage points, making it one of the top performers in the A-segment.
The soft-top is designed to maximise the driving experience, with an opening enlarged by 40mm with a 20 per cent increase in the viewing angle. The canvas top offers improved water and dust protection. A new wind deflector structure also improves durability and robustness. It’s fitted as standard to the Limited Edition model and is available as an option on Edge and Exclusive grades.
Trim-wise, there are three versions – Pure, Edge and Exclusive – in the UK line-up, plus a special Limited Edition model. All models offer multimedia connectivity and a Toyota Safety Sense package of active safety and driver assistance features.
Interior features of the Pure, the entry point to the range, include air conditioning, a multimedia system with a seven-inch touchscreen, power front windows and leather steering wheel trim. The Toyota Safety Sense features include a pre-collision system with added range and functionality to detect more potential accident risks, including pedestrians, cyclists (in daytime driving) and hazards when making a turn at an intersection. it also provides full-range adaptive cruise control, road sign assist, lane trace assist and automatic high beam. Smartphone integration is made simple using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The Edge grade adds automatic air conditioning, automatic wipers, rear privacy glass, front fog lights and an eight-inch multimedia display. It also gains extra exterior styling details and a bi-tone/metallic paint finish that extends the contrast black finish from the roof to cover the hatch and rear quarters. Owners will also be able to specify Aygo X’s power-operated canvas roof and a parking pack with front and rear intelligent clearance sonars with automatic braking function.
The top-drawer Exclusive model comes with a combination cloth and synthetic leather upholstery, a wireless phone charger, smart entry and start and intelligent clearance sonars with auto brake. It also adopts the new Toyota Smart Connect multimedia system with a nine-inch display, giving access to cloud-based navigation, up-to-the-moment road event information, access to connected services and over-the-air updates for software updates and fixes. Options for the Aygo X Exclusive are the canvas roof and a five-speaker JBL sound system with a 300W amplifier.
Infotainment and connectivity
Drivers can stay connected with their Aygo X via Toyota Smart Connect and MyT smartphone app. Toyota Smart Connect is provided on Exclusive and Limited Edition models. Its core features are a nine-inch touchscreen display, featuring ambient lighting and embedded in a centre console with matching colour schemes. The accompanying MyT smartphone app provides a seamless user experience, allowing customers to keep track of various vehicle data and information, such as driving analytics, fuel levels, warning alerts and a vehicle tracker.
Toyota’s multimedia system offers cloud-based navigation to provide live route information via always-connected services, via an embedded SIM card. New software updates and connected services will be automatically added via over-the-air updates. Toyota Smart Connect also provides wired and wireless smartphone connectivity via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A wireless smartphone charging tray is provided in Exclusive and Limited Edition models. Seven and eight-inch multimedia systems are provided on Pure and Edge models respectively; both enable Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, using a wired connection.
Toyota and JBL collaborated to deliver a premium audio system featuring a sound profile tailored to the car’s characteristics. The audio system, available as an option for the Aygo X Exclusive consists of a four-speaker set-up coupled with a 300W amplifier and a large, 200mm subwoofer in the boot to deliver powerful bass, dynamic speaker response and clear and wide sound stage. The standard audio package is a four-speaker set-up with DAB reception.
Advanced driver assistance systems
All versions of Aygo are equipped with Toyota Safety Sense, a suite of active safety technologies designed to help prevent or mitigate collisions.
The latest Toyota Safety Sense employs a combination of a monocular camera sensor and millimetre-wave radar. The pre-collision system with vehicle detection now operates at higher speeds while its day and night pedestrian detection, daytime cyclist detection, collision mitigation support functions, intelligent adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist, fatigue monitor and emergency steering assist all make their Aygo debut.
On the road
On balance, the interior is a little so-so in places, yet the quality of the materials and pleasing finishes more than compensate for it. It also has plenty of smartphone connectivity. Finding a comfortable driving position is easy with a combination of seat and steering wheel adjustment. Head and legroom for front-seat occupants are great no matter your height. The five-door Chilli Red Edge that we took out and about this week was powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder engine mated to a CVT automatic gearbox. Officially, it will achieve 55 mpg although our real-world test returned a very agreeable average of 50 mpg. Rival models include the VW Up, Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10.
