Toyota Aygo X 1.0 Exclusive review

Is this uncomplicated city car a refreshing antidote to overly complex, bloated alternatives or just too basic for its own good? Why no electrification at all in the all-new Toyota Aygo X, you may ask. It’s a mercifully simple answer: weight.Even something as minor as a mild hybrid would force Toyota to abandon the fundamental concept around the Aygo, leading to increases in size and cost. As for a full-on EV version, that would add “about 500kg” to the Aygo’s base 965kg kerb weight, according to Stijn Peeters, senior project manager for R&D at Toyota Motor Europe.So it is that we’re greeted with a 1.0-litre nat asp petrol triple in a remarkably simple package. The new Aygo is heavily based, to the tune of a 50% component share, on the larger Toyota Yaris’s GA-B platform but, thanks to the lack of hybrid bits, with much shorter overhangs. Overall, it’s 3700mm long, so bang on the money for the Hyundai i10 but slightly longer than the Volkswagen Up.The Aygo is a city car pure and simple, albeit with 2022’s must-have accessory of crossover-ish styling. As a result, you sit higher (55mm to be precise) so urban traffic is easier to navigate. The view out is helped by the raked-back A-pillar, while the dashboard is dominated by the 9.0in touchscreen. Physical buttons control the temperature.Up front is by far the best place to be in the Aygo, because rear-seat space is tight, not helped by the chunky front seats. Leg room is okay-ish, but head room is restricted, particularly if you opt for the retractable canvas roof. And the chunky C-pillar brings on an onset of seasonal affective disorder, even in the sunshine of Barcelona.The Aygo gets an impressive list of standard safety, covering everything from pre-collision system to intelligent adaptive cruise control and automatic high beam assist.