Toyota Aygo X 1.0 Exclusive Review Car News

Why no electrification at all in the all-new Toyota Aygo X, you might be wondering. It’s a thankfully simple answer: weight.

Even something as minor as a mild hybrid would force Toyota to abandon the fundamental concept around the Aygo, leading to an increase in size and cost. As for an all-electric version, that would add “around 500kg” to the Aygo’s base curb weight of 965kg, according to Stijn Peeters, senior project manager for R&D at Toyota Motor Europe.

So it’s that we’re greeted with a 1.0-litre nat asp triple petrol in a remarkably simple package. The new Aygo is based heavily, at a 50% component share, on the Toyota Yaris’ larger GA-B platform but, thanks to the lack of hybrid bits, with much larger overhangs. shorter. Overall it’s 3700mm long, so good value for the Hyundai i10 but slightly longer than the Volkswagen Up.

The Aygo is a city car pure and simple, but with 2022’s must-have accessory of crossover style. As a result, you sit higher (55mm to be precise), making it easier to navigate city traffic. The outward view is aided by the rearward-sloping A-pillar, while the dashboard is dominated by the 9.0-inch touchscreen. Physical buttons control the temperature.

The front is by far the best place to be in the Aygo, as rear space is tight, not helped by the big front seats. Legroom is decent, but headroom is limited, especially if you opt for the retractable canvas roof. And the big C-pillar causes the onset of seasonal affective disorder, even in sunny Barcelona.

The Aygo gets an impressive list of standard safety, covering everything from the pre-collision system to intelligent adaptive cruise control and automatic high beam assist.

We tried the CVT gearbox, which gives a 0-62mph time of 14.8 seconds, 0.1 seconds faster than the manual. It is therefore not a rocket, but at constant acceleration and in the lower rev range, the engine is a refined little thing. You get more noise from passing traffic than anything else.

Or at least until you want to speed up. At this point, all of the CVT’s weaknesses kick in with a 6000-rpm triple for accompaniment.

You’ll be better off in the manual, which has a nice short stroke and is easier to control the boom of the motor. The car is more than capable of highway pace, but long climbs test its 69 lb-ft of torque.